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| CEEO Tagum City presentation of its operations |
With the will to generate higher local revenue to uplift the economic condition of the people of Loreto, Agusan del Sur, the leaders of this municipality proactively sought help from one of the most successful local economic enterprises in Mindanao, owned (operated) and managed by the top four in the CMCI component city, Tagum City.
The Mayor's and Vice Mayor's teams (including the Sangguniang Bayan member head on ways and means) traveled to Tagum City to benchmark.
The municipal mayor initiated the activity, and with the cooperation of the teams, they successfully garnered knowledge of the operations of local economic enterprises, especially the public market, land transport terminal, and livestock auction center.
The City Economic Enterprises Office (CEEO) of the City of Tagum, headed by its acting CEEO Manager, Sir Pocholo Melendres, gladly welcomed and accommodated the MLGU teams. He and his team presented the history of their economic enterprises, their first ninety days of revenue (around thirty-two million pesos), and their actual operations under the leadership of their current city mayor.
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| The teams going to Tagum City Public Market |
After the indoor presentation, the teams decided to check one-by-one the actual operations. The teams first went to the ticket booth at the land transport terminal. They observed and inquired about the flow of the process, the personnel schedule, and the overall terminal operations.
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| In the photo: Mayor's staff (of MLGU Loreto) conversing with CEEDO's staff |
Under the sun, they walked a few meters away to find out what was in their "bagsakan center." Inside the center are sacks of fruits and vegetables (mostly locally grown) sold wholesale or retail.
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| Bagsakan Center |
At the side of the "bagsakan center" is the "livestock auction center." Pigs and chickens are the commonly found livestock there.
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| Livestock Auction Center |
Walking a few more meters, the teams reached the new public market in Tagum City. It is a gigantic marketplace with various meat, fish, and other (processed) food products.
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| Tagum City Wet Market (in the Public Market) |
In the photos (above and below), the teams checked out the new wet market inside their public market. At the entrance is a "timbangan ng bayan" where the buying public can weigh the products they bought from the sellers in the market to help them determine whether the weight is exact. That is in accordance with the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) mandate to protect buyers and consumers from fraudulent schemes by sellers.
It was a fruitful benchmarking because the teams from the MLGU Loreto were inspired to do better and aimed to follow in the footsteps of the Tagum City Economic Enterprises Office. They started with negative criticism from the citizens, but with the political will of their mayor and the hard work of the appointed leaders, employees, and workers, Tagum City ranked 4th in the 2022 Top 10 Component Cities in the Philippines based on the Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index (CMCI) data. Their "Economic Dynamism" ranked 13th out of one hundred thirteen (113) entries.
What's their secret to success?
According to the CEEO's financial supervisor, their daily financial activities are reported to the accounting office daily. They make sure that they are the first to submit financial reports to the national agencies requiring those reports. They always aim to be recognized in the national (or, if possible, international) realm because that's how they get more funding. The assessment shows they are very competitive but maintain harmonious relationships within and outside their workplace.
