The National Competitiveness Council (NCC) ranked Tagbilaran City in First Place in the whole of Central Visayas and ranked 6th all over the Philippines in terms of “government efficiency” from among 136 cities and 399 municipalities all over the country this year. Tagbilaran City bested three of the most highly urbanized cities in Region 7, which are Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City and Cebu City. In Central Visayas, Tagbilaran was also the first among the cities to receive this distinction. Developed by the NCC through the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the index is an annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities. There were three indicators for this distinction: economic dynamism, infrastructure, and government efficiency.

Tagbilaran City scored high in the pillar of Government Efficiency which means that the quality and reliability of government services and support for effective and sustainable expansion were already in place. Tagbilaran City was singled out in the 6th spot among the 136 cities and 399 municipalities over the Philippines, joining the ranks of Naga City in top spot, followed by Iloilo, Angeles City, Makati, and Cagayan De Oro. City Mayor John Geesnell “Baba” Yap was elated with the distinction given to the city, saying that the award only affirmed the hard work and consistency that the city government has been giving. Mayor Yap also underscored the fact that all the accomplishments were not just lip-service written in paper, but were indeed measured against a certain set of criteria. The recognition was based solely on statistics and data collected in the local government unit. The results were not based on public opinion surveys or boards of judges.

The scores clearly reflected the progress which the city has achieved. Mayor Yap reiterated its importance since all want to make Tagbilaran to be affordable, accessible, socially acceptable, environmentally-friendly, economically viable, climate resilient and competitive to attract business investments. The merit strongly signifies that Tagbilaran City is ever-ready for employment and investment opportunities. To further stress on the matter, in the indicator of “Investment Promotions” under Government Efficiency, Tagbilaran City ranked No. 1 in the entire country. The National Competitiveness Council was formed last October 2006 as a Public-Private Task Force on Philippine Competitiveness by virtue of Presidential Executive Order No. 571, amended to E.O. no. 44 to address the improvement of the country's competitiveness from the bottom third of competitiveness rankings to the top third by 2016. The council is chaired by the Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory L. Domingo for the public sector and co-chaired by the former Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of Ayala Foundation and former Executive Director of the Makati Business Club Guillermo M. Luz for the private sector.