Representatives from the 11 municipal local government units and various national agencies gathered last week for a refresher session on the Cities & Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) in a bid to raise their rankings and the overall ranking of Catanduanes in the nationwide survey.
Two resource persons from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Bureau of Competitive Development – Engr. Ma. Sheryl Santos, chief of the National Quality and Competitiveness Division, and program officer Judy Anne Chan – clarified issues on the survey portal with the designated CMCI focal persons as well as representatives of agency data sources during the CMCI Retooling Session and Data Collection Workshop held Oct. 3, 2025 at E-Crown Hotel & Resort in Virac.
Appreciating the effort of several LGUs who took the initiative of getting the required data early, DTI Provincial Director Ma. Belma Escueta expressed hope that the municipalities would take CMCI seriously so that they would be recognized as competitive LGUs, reflective of how they manage their resources.
For his part, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Catanduanes Provincial Director Uldarico Razal Jr. explained CMCI’s importance in measuring the LGUs’ performance under the five pillars of competitiveness: Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, Infrastructure, Resiliency and Innovation.
Pointing out that the survey serves as a diagnostic tool and performance benchmark, he said it determines if the LGU’s programs are still relevant and needed by the community.
The DILG director stressed that CMCI results provides LGUs with a clear picture of their strengths, weaknesses and gaps that need to be addressed in terms of mandates and services to be delivered as well as possible opportunities for advancement,
He underscored that last year only one LGU – Bato – passed the assessment and emphasized that the CMCI ranking is a major indicator in the Search for Good Local Governance (SGLG), guaranteeing the LGU as a passer in business competitiveness.
DTI Provincial Focal Person Geralding Bagadiong, on the other hand, reported that for the past three years, Catanduanes’ ranking in CMCI has stayed in the bottom 10 out of 82 provinces: 69th in 2022, 76th in 2023 and 74th in 2024.
The province is not included in the survey data collection and its ranking is determined by how the component municipalities’ score in the annual CMCI.
Catanduanes’ ranking in 2023 and 2024 was due to the low rankings of the 3rd to 4th class towns as well as the drop in ranking of Virac in 2024.
In last year’s CMCI, Bato (19th) regained its place in the top 20 of its category from 48th in 2023 and was the only LGU from the island which passed all five pillars.
Baras, Gigmoto, Virac and Viga passed in one pillar each, with the latter the most improved after leaping 61 places from 431st to 263rd in its category.
Four towns slipped in the rankings: Pandan (-127), Bagamanoc (-28), Virac (-27) and Caramoran (-4).
The going will be more difficult this year, following the Department of Budget Management’s reclassification of LGUs late last year, including 10 from Catanduanes.
Annual passer Bato has been reclassified to 4th class along with Bagamanoc, Baras, Gigmoto, Panganiban, and San Miguel.
As a result, eight towns here (including Pandan (4th) and Viga (now 3rd class) will compete in a higher category where there are about 600 LGUs nationwide competing for the rankings.
Caramoran, which went up from 3rd to 2nd class, will join 1st class Virac in the latter’s category of 500-plus LGUs.
During the retooling session, Bato CMCI focal person Engr. Franklin Toledana shared their best practices in achieving a higher rank in recent CMCI assessments.
Banking on a serious and data-driven approach across all indicators supported by means of verification, he said regular meetings were held to discuss the CMCI program to align efforts across all departments.
Assignments were given to staff to check specific data points while all departments and stakeholders were involved in filling up the Local Data Capture Sheet from previous years, he disclosed.
The Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator added that updates on the CMCI progress were included in every management committee meeting and support from local officials was solicited to enhance cooperation and commitment.
To ensure updated data, barangays were used as sources for some CMCI indicators including houses with internet connections, sanitary facilities and electricity connections, while proactive follow-ups were made with departments that had yet to submit their data, he stated.
“We didn’t expect to be included in the Top 20 considering that LGU Bato is a 5th class municipality located in an island province, compared to more advanced places across the Philppines,” Toledana shared. “However, with the seriousness of our approach and having available data, achieving a higher rank in CMCI wasn’t difficult.”
With Bato now in the 3rd to 4th class category of municipalities, he said the town expects to drop out of the Top 20 in the current survey.