BACOLOD City – Cadiz City was recognized as the most competitive component city in Negros Island in the 2024 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
In Western Visayas, Cadiz City was ranked No. 2, trailing behind the No. 1 Roxas City, and it ranked No. 7 in the entire Visayas.
Other Negros Occidental’s component cities that made it to the top 10 most competitive component cities in Western Visayas are Kabankalan, Sagay, Victorias, Talisay, Sipalay, Escalante, and Himamaylan.
Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. attributed this recent feat 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.
The mayor said the concreting of almost 100 percent of farm-to-market roads in the city’s rural villages had already spelled lots of “goodness” for the city and its inhabitants.
Adding to the city’s robust infrastructure developments are the ongoing construction of Cadiz City Sports Center in Barangay Tinampa-an and the rehabilitation of the city park, he added.
Cadiz is also building its own 50-bed capacity city hospital and city college.
Additionally, the city is known for its innovative approaches, especially on agricultural development that led the city government to win the recent “Walang Gutom” tilt by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
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./PN
