Tacloban City (October 22) -- Presidential Assistant for Eastern Visayas, Secretary Victor Domingo urged the other local government units especially the City of Tacloban to follow the example of Tanauan, Leyte in ensuring a business-friendly environment in order to attract job-generating investments and to increase the income of the local government.

Secretary Domingo’s exhortation was a reaction to the news that Tanauan, Leyte was awarded as the 2006 Most Business-Friendly Municipality of the Philippines. He said that it takes political will and sincerity in putting up the necessary policies and measures which will encourage the businessmen to invest in the area.

Secretary Domingo congratulated the local government of Tanauan under the leadership of Mayor Roque Tiu for giving not just honor and pride to the province of Leyte and the Eastern Visayas Region but for setting a very good example for the other local government units in the country to follow.

Tanauan’s fete, Secretary Domingo said, showed that excellence is not the monopoly of the more progressive Local Government Units in the more progressive areas of the country. This should encourage the other local government units to aspire for excellence in governance. Better governance and enhancement of business friendly environment, afterall, are among the thrusts of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s administration, Secretary Domingo added.

Secretary Domingo wished Tacloban City which is the Regional Center of Eastern Visayas, would also do something towards enhancing its environment to become more business-friendly. After all, the economic development of any community depends on the number of investors coming in to put more capital and to employ the citizens of the locality, Secretary Domingo added.

He said that if only Tacloban City will follow the Tanauan model where the businessmen are not made to pay lower charges but are able to obtain the Mayor’s Permit in just one hour, more investors will be encouraged to do business in Tacloban.