The National Competitiveness Council (NCC) has set up 11 regional counterparts as of midyear, with the agency’s private sector head noting that assessments of these areas’ attractiveness to investors will likely be launched in the fourth quarter.

“We had targeted eight regional competitiveness councils (RCCs) but we were able to establish 11 (out of the country’s 17 regions) as of the end of June,” NCC private sector Co-Chairman Guillermo M. Luz said in a phone interview over the weekend.

The NCC has already met with representatives of RCCs in Central Luzon; the Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon (Calabarzon) region; the Mindoro Occidental-Mindoro Oriental-Marinduque-Palawan (Mimaropa) area; Bicol; Western, Central and Eastern Visayas; Northern Mindanao; Davao Region; South Cotabato-Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani-General Santos City (Soccsksargen) area; and the Cordillera Administrative Region, Mr. Luz said.

“We see the RCCs as one of the building blocks of national competitiveness, along with industry groups for which the government is drafting road maps...,” he said.

Regional competitiveness assessments are expected to be launched in the fourth quarter, Mr. Luz said, noting that indicators are targeted for approval “probably in September”. There are six indicators, each broken down into specific measures: cost and ease of doing business, economy, government response to competitiveness needs, human resources and education, infrastructure development and risk reduction, and quality of life.

original source: www.bworldonline.com