- CHERYL G. CRUZ
The highly-urbanized Bacolod City won the Business-Friendly Award in the 4th Model Cities and Municipalities 2023 of The Manila Times (TMT), and the awarding ceremony was held this afternoon, Sept. 18, in Manila.
“Known as the City of Smiles, Bacolod is true to its moniker for its welcoming and business-friendly environment, making it an ideal destination for entrepreneurs”, the award description states. “With streamlined processes and proactive policies, the city has earned a reputation for ease of doing business. Entrepreneurs find Bacolod to be a place, where setting up and starting a business is a straightforward and efficient process”.
The local government-support initiatives, such as business friendly regulations and access to resources, have encouraged the growth of startup and established enterprises alike; as a result, Bacolod stands as a thriving hub, the award brief read during the awarding of the trophy added.
Councilors Em Ang, Celia Flor, Simplicia Distrito, Thaddy Sayson, and Al Victor Espino received the recognition, on behalf of Mayor Alfredo Benitez, from award presenters, including Megaworld vice president and head of Public Relations and Media Affairs Harold Geronimo, and category sponsor PHirst Park Homes.
TMT earlier said that 12 cities and five municipalities were judged based on 15 categories, for sustainability, social development, economic, and tourism growth, and livelihood improvement.
The LGUs were awarded based on their infra innovation, food security, as retirement haven, as a place where family comes first, on socio-economic development, emergency disaster management, as tourism and culture hub, tech territory, and as sustainability champion, among others.
Themed “Future-proofing the quality of township living”, the award focuses on the abilities of LGUs “to create livable and sustainable communities,” the TMT said.
The Model Cities and Municipalities Awards was last held in 2019, where Bacolod was awarded the Top Philippine Model City for the second time, the first one was in 2017, the maiden edition of the search. It also bagged the Business-Friendly/High Returns and Retirement Haven special awards in the Model Cities and Municipalities 2019.
Ang told the Negros NOW Daily that aside from the business-friendly award, the Bacolod City government did not submit any entry for the other categories in this year’s search./CGC
