Cadiz City has been hailed as the number one competitive component city in the entire Negros Island in the 2024 Cycle of Awardees for the Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index (CMCI) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Cadiz was followed by the cities of Kabankalan, Sagay, Victorias and Talisay in second to fifth places, respectively.
In the entire Western Visayas, Cadiz trailed the over-all number one Roxas City in Capiz.
While in the Visayas Region, Cadiz is the seventh placer with Tagbilaran City, Bohol as number one followed by Ormoc City in Leyte (2nd), Danao City, Cebu (3rd), Roxas City, Capiz (4th), Bogo City, Cebu (5th) and Baybay City, Leyte (6th).
DTI’s CMCI assessment on the competitiveness of all local governments (cities and towns) across the country was based on five areas – dynamism, resiliency, infrastructures, government efficiencies and innovation.
Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. said he attributes the city’s recent feat in the CMCI to all Cadizeños.
“We can’t achieve this prestigious accolade from DTI for two consecutive years now if not for the progressive-minded and resilient Cadizeños,” he said.
Escalante said the concreting of almost 100 percent of farm-to-market roads in Cadiz rural villages had already spelled a lot of “goodness” for the city and its inhabitants.
Adding to Cadiz’s robust infrastructure developments are the ongoing construction of Cadiz City Sports Center in Barangay Tinampa-an and the rehabilitation of the city park.
Cadiz is also building a 50-bed capacity city hospital and a city college as well.
Aside from the existing 132-megawatt solar farm by Helios, Cadiz is also set to host two more solar farms from Aboitiz and SM Prime estimated to bring in around P50 billion investments.
Cadiz is also known for its innovative approaches, especially on agricultural development that led the city government to win the recent “Walang Gutom” tilt of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Likewise, its coffee, pineapple, and coconut ventures are now gaining grounds.
In terms of environmental conservation, Cadiz takes pride in its two-hectare giant clam village located at Lakawon Beach in Barangay Cadiz Viejo.
The three-year-old conservation haven known as G.C. Ville is now home not only to endangered giant clams, but also to many marine species.
In terms of resiliency, Cadiz’s barangay were already equipped with state-of-the-art emergency vehicles for quick responses, ensuring the safety of patients while being transported to and from the hospitals.
Cadiz, meanwhile, is also known for its 11-minute standard operating procedure (SOP) in approving and releasing business permit application or renewal.
The innovation is the city’s compliance with Republic Act 11032 (Ease of Doing Business) aimed at enticing more investors to explore Cadiz now dubbed as the “Land of Splendid Opportunities”.
Meanwhile, aside from Cadiz and Sagay, the town of Manapla also ranked 25th among the first and second class municipalities in Western Visayas, making all the three local governments within the 2nd Congressional District of Negros Occidental competitive in the entire country. ||
