DAGUPAN City’s competitiveness and performance continues to improve over the years based on the overall rating given by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Policy Center during their roadshow presentation on the city’s state of competitiveness on October 5.

Out of the ten most competitive small-sized cities, Dagupan scored the highest in quality of human resources and infrastructure, ranking first and third respectively.

From a 5.80 rating in 2003, the AIM team said that the city increased its level of competitiveness to a 6.25 rating based on their 2005 Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project (PCCRP).

“With the participation of our citizenry, Dagupan City will become even more competitive in the years to come,” said Mayor Benjamin Lim in his welcome remarks.

The AIM team, led by program manager of AIM policy center Leah Umali, presented the 10 strongest indicators that contributed to the city’s high level of competitiveness, as” average rent of commercial space, number of tertiary educational institutions, number of vocational institutions, number of banks and lending institutions, incidence of theft per 100,000 population, hospital beds per 100,000 population, adequate is easy, rest and recreational activities are adequate and internet service providers are adequate.

Umali also cited Dagupan as one of the best implementers of participative governance where local government units, non-government agencies and the basic sectors adhere to a common vision.

Lim however said that the city government is more concerned with the factors that pulled the ratings of the city because it ranked 12th in both dynamism of local economy and responsiveness of local government, 16th in quality of life, 19th in linkages and accessibility, and 31st in the cost of doing business.

“We want to get deeper in these factors in order to improve our rating further,” Lim stressed.

The roadshow, part of AIM’s Philippine cities competitiveness ranking project, gathered government officials, city hall employees, professionals, business sector, non-government organizations, religious sector, academic institutions, banking and medical institutions, civic organizations and the media sector.

After the presentation, an open forum that aired various concerns of the different sectors was conducted by the AIM team. (CIO/Leziel T. Cayabyab)