Iloilo City hailed as Most Competitive HUC in Western Visayas

Iloilo City retains the top spot as the Most Competitive and Most Improved Highly Urbanized City (HUC) in Western Visayas for 2023.

The awards were given earlier today, October 13, during the Philippine Creative Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Congress by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Region VI held at Zuri Hotel, Iloilo City.

The city is also the biggest winner among the local government units (LGUs) in the region after ranking first in all five competitiveness pillars such as the Most Competitive HUC in Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, Resiliency, Infrastructure, and Innovation.

Mayor Jerry P. Treñas was represented by EA Jay Treñas and Velma Jane Lao of the City Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions Office (LEDIPO) during the awarding ceremony.

The city mayor expressed his gratitude to DTI-6 for the recognition.

“This accolade serves as a testament to our dedication and tireless efforts we have invested in pursuing our vision of transforming Iloilo City into one of the most competitive cities in the country,” said Treñas.

The mayor congratulated all other local governments that were also cited.

“This recognition serves as a powerful motivator for us to level up our governance and resilience efforts to even greater heights. With an ignited determination, we are more committed than ever to continuing our journey toward competitiveness and building a more creative city,” he added.

Last year, Iloilo City also won the coveted awards, except for competitiveness pillar on Innovation.

The CMCI is one of DTI Competitiveness Bureau’s data-driven and evidence-based programs which enjoins LGUs to gather and submit data on indicators of competitiveness which is the basis for their scores and ranks.

Since 2012, the CMCI Program culminates with a Summit, where the most competitive cities and municipalities are recognized. (Iloilo City PIO)