“No one left behind,” Chatto

tells Bohol LGUs to compete  

CEBU CITY, March 23 (PIA)—No one should be left behind.

Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto told members of the public and private sector (PPS) task force created to promote and develop strategies to make the province’s towns and city compete with other cities and local governments in the country.

Earlier formed to make sure that Bohol Local Government Units get mentors in their efforts to rate high in the Seal of Good Local Governance which the Department of Interior and Local Government grants to LGU practicing governance excellence.  

An LGU that would earn the SGLG should have shown good financial housekeeping, a good disaster preparedness program, social protection and three essential criteria: business friendliness and competitiveness, peace and order and environmental management.

 

The ultimate goal was to get as much LGUs earning their SGLGs, Chatto bared as the SGLG is now considered a criteria for LGUS to access government funds and funds from funding agencies, funding agencies knowing that there is in place in the LGUs a good fiscal capacity to manage their resources.

But as the SGLG assessment ran, and with the stringent demands of global competitiveness, the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) under Executive Order No. 44 (s. 2011) also intended to promote and develop national competitiveness strategies and push for the implementation of the Action Agenda for Competitiveness.

Consistent with the intentions of the local leaders in getting towns to earn their SGLGs, the entrance of the NCC and its goals, the Province of Bohol immediately received the programs with positive outlook.

“Competitiveness is a factor to determine the LGUs readiness for investments and growth and their openness for business,” Gov Chatto pointed out to the mayors who were at the NCC Roadshow at the Jjs Seafoods Village. 

But, aware of the issues that LGUs face in upping the tasks to competitiveness, Chatto said “I wouldn’t doubt that the towns are doing its best, but submitting the right information is critical because the substance of the date submitted is what counts.”

To address this concern and the competitiveness factors that impacts on LGU competitiveness, Gov Chatto issued Executive Order (EO) No. 10 (s. 2016) creating the PPS TWG which is now renamed Bohol Competitiveness Council (BCC).

The BCC would be responsible in promoting and developing strategies to enhance our competitiveness and upgrade Bohols’ ranking, propose and act on policy affecting Bohol’s competitiveness, guides LGUS on theri development plans based on the Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan (PDPFP), Provincial Development Council (PDC) and Investments Priority Plan (IPP), states the executive order.

The council also coordinates monitors, and ensures key policy improvement processes associated with national competitiveness are implemented, recommends to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) and the Provincial Development Council (PDC) any proposed legislations that may contribute to increased chances at competitiveness.

The council also coordinates with LGUs to ensure that their policies and standards, plans and budgets, support initiatives towards competitiveness and of the action plan of the BCC, coordinate with concerned agencies for resource generation, as may be appropriate.

And as the main body strategizing and executing steps to improve the Bohol’s competitiveness ranking, the BCC also coordinates with LGUs on the formulation of steps to ensure resiliency and sustainability.

BCC, possibly the first in the country, is composed of the Chairperson who is the governor, Co- Chair who is the Provincial Director of the Dept. of the Interior and Local Government; Vice- Chair who is the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, Department of Trade and Industry, Bohol and the Bohol Investment Promotion Center as secretariat.

Its members include Bohol Information and Communication Technology Unit (BICTU), SP Chair on Trade and Industry, Vice-Mayors League of the Philippines, Philippine Councilors’ League, Provincial Planning and Development Office, Provincial Engineer’s Office (PEO), Provincial Health Office, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.

Also in are the Department of Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Commission on Higher Education, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Social Security System, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Home Development Mutual Fund heads in Bohol.

From the private sector, BCC members also include the heads of Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bohol Alliance of Non-Government Organizations, Bohol Bankers Association and the Holy Name University. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

Bohol’s intent to get all towns to the list of the most competitive municipalities and cities also opens up its chances of getting investors, and Governor Edgar Chatto desires just that to bring up all towns to respond to the challenge and lift each other to a more inclusive economic growth. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)