Gov. Dennis ‘Delta’ Pineda has accepted on Thursday a plaque recognizing Pampanga as the seventh most competitive province among 81 Philippine provinces, saying the 2021 ranking increased Pampanga’s standing as an investment center.
The Department of Trade and Industry awarded the recognition at the Central Luzon Regional Competitiveness Summit held via Zoom on Feb. 10, the governor’s executive assistant, Angelina Blanco confirmed.
The DTI said the competitiveness index of cities, towns, and provinces is an annual ranking developed by the National Competitiveness Council through the Regional Competitiveness Committees (RCCs) with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development.
It said local governments are scored on the four pillars of economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure, and resiliency. provincial rankings, the DTI said, are based on population and income weighted average of the overall scores of cities and municipalities under a province.
The DTI added that for the business community, the “index can serve as a guide in deciding where to locate. Aside from the overall score, data on the different indicators will prove valuable depending on the specific needs of their business.”[data on cmci.dti.gov.ph]
“Sa maganda po nating ranking, mas makukumbinse po ang mga negosyante na dito sa Pampanga mag-invest. Masisipag po ang mga Kapampangan. Supportive din po sa negosyo ang mga local government units. Payapa po sa ating mga syudad at bayan,” Governor Pineda said when asked what the recognition meant. “Yung economic recovery ng Pampanga mula sa slowdown dahil sa COVID-19 pandemic, mapapabilis ng mga new investments o renewal.”
He said the resumption of operations of the Clark International Airport (CRK) in Clark Freeport and the ongoing construction of the railway project PNR Clark from Manila to CRK were expected to perk up the local economy.
