The town of Bato saw its lofty ranking slip 10 spots from 9th in 2021 to 19th last year in the 2022 Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index (CMCI), with five other towns moving up in their respective classes.
Mayor Juan T. Rodulfo’s administration scored a total of 33.46 based on the sum of its scores on the five main pillars that pool data from several sub-indicators.
Among the total 315 5th-to-6th class towns, it ranked 22nd in Economic Dynamism, 61st in Government Efficiency, 9th in Infrastructure, 11th in Resiliency, and 92nd in Innovation.
Also registering drops in rankings in the same class were Baras, from 149th to 157th; Gigmoto, from 250th to 262nd; San Miguel, from 218th to 232nd; and Bagamanoc, from 222nd to 281st.
The only 5th to 6th class municipality to go up the competitiveness ladder was Panganiban, which rose 22 spots from #206 in 2021 to #184 in 2022.
Among 3rd to 4th class towns which number 657 in all, three LGUs improved their rankings: Viga, which rocketed 261 spots from 627th to 366th; Caramoran, which rose from 564th to 347th; and Pandan, which crawled up past 85 towns from 516th to 431st.
On the other hand, San Andres was dragged down by low scored in Resiliency and Innovation, as it fell from 415th to 444th.
The only 1st class town in the province, Virac, was in the list of the most improved towns as it zoomed 102 rungs to 227th from the previous rank of 329th.
The capital municipality’s ranking on a score of 29.43 is respectable, considering that there are 510 1st-class towns in the country.
It ranked 103rd in Economic Dynamism, 132nd in Government Efficiency, 83rd in Infrastructure, 395th in Resiliency, and 310th in Innovation.
Virac scored low in the Cost of Doing Business (254th), Capacity to Generate Local Revenue (215th), Education (369th), Employed Population (251st), Emergency Infrastructure (228th), Availability of Basic Internet Services (162nd) and STEM Graduates (152nd).
Meanwhile, the province of Catanduanes placed 69th overall in the CMCI with a score of 27.5777.
The province’s ranking was based on its population (265,493) and income(P270,725,457.84) and the weighted average of the overall scores of municipalities under it.
CMCI defines local competitiveness as how a city or municipality knows its resources and how it uses these to improve its standard of living.
Scores are determined by the values of the actual data, as well as the completeness of the submitted data. The higher the score of a city or municipality, the more competitive it is.
ECONOMIC DYNAMISM creates stable expansion of businesses and industries and higher employment. The pillar matches the output and productivity of the local economy with the local resources. Localities are centers of economic activities, and due to this, business expansion and job creation are easily observable in local settings.
It is divided into ten indicators: Local Economy Size and Local Economy Growth (as measured through business registrations, capital, revenue, and permits); Active Establishments in the Locality; Safety Compliant Business; Employment Generation; Cost of Living; Cost of Doing Business; Financial Deepening; Productivity; and Presence of Business and Professional Organizations
GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY refers to the quality and reliability of government services and government support for effective and sustainable productive expansion. This factor looks at government as an institution that is generally not corrupt; able to protect and enforce contracts; apply moderate and reasonable taxation and is able to regulate proactively.
It is divided into ten indicators: Compliance to National Directives; Presence of Investment Promotions Unit; Compliance to ARTA Citizens Charter; Capacity to Generate Local Resource; Capacity of Health Services; Capacity of School Services; Recognition of Performance; Getting Business Permits; Peace and Order; and Social Protection
INFRASTRUCTURE pertains to the physical assets that connect, expand, and sustain a locality and its surroundings to enable provision of goods and services. It involves basic inputs of production such as energy, water; interconnection of production such as transportation, roads and communications; sustenance of production such as waste, disaster preparedness, environmental sustainability; and human capital formation infrastructure.
It is divided into ten indicators: Road Network; Distance to Ports; Availability of Basic Utilities; Transportation Vehicles; Education; Health; LGU Investment; Accommodation Capacity; Information Technology Capacity; and Financial Technology Capacity.
RESILIENCY applies to the capacity of a locality to build systems that can absorb change and disturbance and being able to adapt to such changes. It spans frameworks that bind LGUs and their constituents to prepare for possible shocks and stresses; budgeting for disaster risk reduction; hazard/risk identification mechanisms; resilience-related infrastructure; and resilience-related mechanisms.
It is divided into ten indicators: Land Use Plan; Disaster Risk Reduction Plan; Annual Disaster Drill; Early Warning System; Budget for DRRMP; Local Risk Assessments; Emergency Infrastructure; Utilities; Employed Population; and Sanitary System
NNOVATION refers to the ability of a locality to harness its creative potential to improve or sustain current levels of productivity. It hinges mainly on the development of creative capital which are human resources, research capabilities, and networking capacities.
It is divided into ten indicators: Start Up and Innovation Facilities; Innovation Financing: R&D Expenditures Allotment; STEM graduates; Intellectual Property Registration; ICT Use: E-BPLS Software; Internet Capability; Availability of Basic Internet Service; Online Payment Facilities; ICT Plan; and New Technology
