BAGUIO CITY – The City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) said that financial intermediation continues to play a key role in the city’s robust economic growth over the past several years.
City Planning and Development Officer (CPDO) Engr. Evelyn G. Cayat said that to date, there are 451 banks and financial institutions operating in the city, an indications of the good economy the city currently enjoys.
She added there was a significant increase in the number of remittance centers, pawnshops, micro-finance institutions, savings and loans associations with quasi-banking functions and money changers.
Aside from the significant increase in financial institutions operating in the city, Baguio garnered various awards, such as the Lingap Circle Award for implementing community-based rehabilitation programs for persons with substance-use disorders (PSUDs) given by the Rehabilitation alternative Program Interventions for the Treatment and Prevention of Illegal Drug Dependency (RAPID), and regional winner and national finalist for the Presidential Award for Child-friendly Cities and Municipalities under the highly urbanized city category.
On the other hand, Baguio remains the educational center north of manila, a preferred choice for educational services by both local and foreign students. In schoolyear 2017-2018, graduation rate in the elementary level, both private and public, was 99.02 percent, higher by 2 percentage points compared to schoolyear 2016-2017. The graduation rate in the first graduates of the senior high school was at a very high 99.48 percent
For the Alternative Learning System (ALS), Baguio posted high passing rates both in the elementary level and junior high school level in 2017 as compared to the national passing rates. Elementary got 97.22 percent passing rate while the national passing rate was 57.21 percent. Junior high school was at 82.75 percent while the national passing rate was 69.49 percent.
Other awards and recognition received by the city were first place in the Purple Ribbon Award on family planning – city level, Best Performing City Epidemiology Surveillance Unit; Red Orchid Award; third place, Best Performing Barangay Health Workers Federation; Recognition for Typhoons Ompong and Rosita Response Teams and High Performing Health Facility of the National Immunization Program.
Baguio is a Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner on Nutrition (CROWN) awardee because the city excelled in implementing various nutrition programs and projects in the different parts of the city through the years.
Cayat underscored that Baguio City has enough supply of water on a rationing basis and the city does not experience massive brownouts while its road network is also in good condition, making the city a consistent potential investment hub for tourism-related businesses.
By Dexter A. See
