President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. has conferred on Bulacan Governor Daniel Fernando and the Provincial Cooperative and Enterprise Development Office (PCEDO) the prestigious Presidential Recognition for Outstanding Development Partner for Northern Luzon on Improving Business Climate Category during the 2024 Presidential Awards for Outstanding MSMEs and Presidential Recognition for Outstanding Development Partners at Malacañan Palace, Manila on July 10, 2024.

The award is in recognition of the program INVEST BULACAN and supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

PCEDO Head Atty. Jayric L. Amil said that for almost three decades, INVEST BULACAN has been considered as one of PCEDO’s most notable, institutionalized, and sustainable programs, focusing on building and enhancing Bulacan’s stature as a viable location for local and foreign investments, accelerating economic growth, developing and strengthening industries, and raising the quality of life of its citizenry.

“Under the leadership of Gov. Fernando, we at PCEDO, have spearheaded transformative initiatives aimed at fostering a conducive business environment. We are committed to promote a vibrant local economy and to help provide jobs for every Bulakenyo, thus the upgrade of INVEST BULACAN to INVEST BULACAN PLUS which revolutionizes economic strategies by Promoting, Leveraging, Upscaling, and Synergizing the efforts across stakeholders to propel Bulacan’s economy to unprecedented heights,” Amil said.

Building upon the gains of the program INVEST BULACAN PLUS, the province has achieved significant improvement in its competitiveness ranking, dramatically moving up from 49th spot in 2018 to 8th spot in the 2023 Annual Ranking of the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index. This milestone is a clear indicator of the success contributed by concerted efforts by the Provincial CMCI-TWG and the remarkable improvements of 18 LGUs (75% of the total LGUs) to the 2023 CMCI Ranking.

“Maraming salamat po sa pagkilala sa aming dedikasyong isulong ang economic and investment promotion sa aming lalawigan sa pamamagitan ng aming INVEST BULACAN PROGRAM. Patuloy na nagbubunga ang ating pagsisikap dahil mayroon na tayo ngayong INVEST BULACAN PLUS. As I always say, Bulacan is the next global destination. Kaya naman sinisiguro po nating handa ang ating lalawigan, lalo’t higit ang mga Bulakenyo, sa pagyakap sa mga oportunidad na paparating,” the governor said.
The 2024 Presidential Awards for Outstanding MSMEs and Presidential Recognition for Outstanding Development Partners is organized by the Department of Trade and Industry and the MSME Development Council to recognize and celebrate exceptional MSMEs and its development partners.