BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan urged adjudged competitive local governments in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) to strive to surpass their previous accomplishments and excel in local, regional and national competitiveness rankings being undertaken by concerned government agencies.
The local chief executive made the challenge to his fellow local officials during the 5th Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness (CMCI) regional awarding ceremonies held at the Albergo Hotel Tuesday afternoon.
Domogan, who chairs both the Regional Development Council (RDC-CAR) and the Regional Peace and order Council (RPOC-CAR) and serves as vice chairperson of the Regional Competitiveness Council (RCC-CAR), congratulated all the local governments regionwide which significantly improved their competitiveness rankings over the past several years while encouraging other local governments which did not perform well in terms of competitiveness to strive for the best in terms of governance for the benefit of their constituents.
“We have to sustain the gains of our performance in terms of our competitiveness because what matters to us is the satisfaction of our constituents and the people we serve in the way we govern our local governments. We have to continue working for the greater interest of our people being public servants without fear or favour,” Domogan stressed.
He stressed what matters to him most is that the development should spread in other areas of the region so that less developed local governments will also experience economic dynamism with the influx of investors in potential areas of growth and development, especially in the towns of Benguet which are situated near Baguio City. Relatedly, he pointed to the need for other rural areas in the different parts of the region which have the potential to become urban centers to position said places for the expansion of relevant businesses for the creation of more jobs for qualified residents and thus discourage them from flocking to the already established urban centers and this will also provide additional sources of livelihood for residents in the said places.
He claimed that the recent decision of the Cordillera Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB-CAR) to include potential development centers outside the capital towns as one of the classifications in the minimum wage categories will greatly help in enticing people to stay in the said places and for businessmen to consider the said areas for their expansion to help decongest Baguio City and other highly urbanised centers from being overcrowded.
The RCC-CAR is chaired by Department of Trade and Industry regional director Myrna Pablo with Domogan serving as the vice chairperson and the Department of Interior and Local Government regional director Marlo Iringan, Cooperative Development Authority regional director Franco Bawang and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Cordillera Regional Governor Engr. Ernesto Panis, as members.
By Dexter A. See