Three municipalities are finalists in the Most Business Friendly Municipality of the Philippines. These municipalities were identified as General Trias in the province of Cavite, Guimbal in the province of Iloilo and Tanauan in the province of Leyte.

The finalists were interviewed at the Heritage Hotel last October 9, by a panel of judges led by Atty. Miguel B. Varela, Chairman Emeritus of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chairman of the 33rd Philippine Business Conference Awards Committee.

The finalists faced and answered the queries of the distinguished Board of Judges on the issue of business friendly local government unit. The interviewees were requested to introduce himself to the Panel by the Chairman of the Board of Judges.

Each of the three nominee then made a presentation or showing of Audio-visuals or power point presentations prepared by the local government itself. The remaining minutes were devoted to the question and answer portion with each member of the Board asking one question only.

The finalists will be judged on good governance which includes the quality customer service that the local government renders specially on the display of simplified procedures, private and public sector partnership, competitiveness in investment promotion and adoption of innovations and interlocal government relations.

The area winners will first be determined and then all the area winners in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao will compete for the Most Business Friendly Municipality in the Philippines.

The announcement of winners will be done thru letters, although the three finalists are already to receive a citation as a finalist.

The awarding will be held during the 33rd Philippine Business Conference which will be held before the end of October, at the Manila Hotel.

As the "voice of Philippine business," PCCI continues to act as a consultative mechanism for the business community to put forward proposals and policy recommendations geared towards the promotion of a sound and dynamic business environment. PCCI promotes the interests of the business community by making representations in government and quasi-government bodies. These forums are used to constructively engage government on issues affecting the business community. Aside from this, PCCI also takes on the role of a 'salesman,' as it promotes trade and business among and in behalf of its members.

From the 53 original charter members, the PCCI family has grown over the years consisting of an estimated 20,000 direct and indirect members engaged in private enterprise, making it the biggest private business organization in the country. (PIA 8)