AIM exec: Iloilo very accomplished port city
“Iloilo is a very accomplished city, one of the major port cities,” said Atty. Rhodora Roy-Raterta, project management specialist the Asian Institute of Management (AIM).
This is the reason why this port city will represent Western Visayas in the second round of the study on doing business at the sub-national level conducted by the AIM Policy Center and World Bank-International Finance Corp. (WB-IFC).
The study covers all Metro Manila cities and port cities stretching the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH) to include Batangas, Iloilo, Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-lapu, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and General Santos.
Kicking offthis August, Raterta said it’s not a perception survey but the study will look into hard facts to determine the procedure, time and cost of doing business specifically on starting a business, registering a property and construction permit.
“We do not seek to rank but we would just like to look at their procedures, time and cost. We will come up with a set of recommendations for regulatory reform,” she explained.
Expected to be completed and available by March 2010, Raterta said the study results will also give investors an idea about the business environment on the respondent cities.
The first sub-national survey was conducted in 2008 covering only the Manila cities, Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-lapu and Davao. This project is as an offshoot of the Global Doing Business covering 178 economies including Manila, representing the Philippines.
Aside from the Doing Business Project, the city is also included in the AIM’s Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project (PCCRP) covering 30 cities all over the country. (PIO)