Quezon City emerged as the most competitive highly urbanized in the Philippines, followed by Manila and Davao, based on the 2017 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index.
Davao City, President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown, figured in the top 3 list for the first time in five years, during the 5th Annual Regional Competitiveness Summit and Awards at the Philippine International Convention Center Wednesday.
The Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index measures the LGUs’ competitiveness based on several pillars: economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure and resiliency.
Davao’s inclusion displaced Makati City from the list. It was also cited as highly urbanized in terms of infrastructure and resiliency.
Antipolo City, Rizal was the most competitive component city, followed by Naga City in Camarines Sur and Tagum City, Davao del Norte as second and third placers, respectively.
Among the most competitive first and second-class municipalities, Cainta, Rizal ranked first, followed by Taytay and Angono, also in Rizal.
Baler, Aurora was as the overall most competitive 3rd-6th class municipality, followed by Mambajao, Camiguin and Tayug, Pangasinan.
The National Competitiveness Commission also cited the most competitive provinces, led by Rizal, followed by South Cotabato and Cavite.
Pasay, Quezon and Makati City ranked as the first top urbanized cities for economic dynamism while General Trias City, Cavite; San Fernando City, Pampanga; and Naga City led the race for component cities.
Also under the economic dynamism pillar are the top 1st-2nd class municipalities that included Cainta and Taytay, Rizal and Santo Tomas, while leading the 3rd-6th class municipalities were Mambajao, Tayug and Dumanjung, Cebu.
Under the government efficiency pillar, Manila was the most competitive, with Quezon City as second and Muntinlupa City as third. For component cities, Naga City led the ranking followed by Cotabato City and Antipolo City.
For 1st-2nd class municipalities, Cainta, Rizal ranked first followed by Isulan, Sultan Kudarat and Taytay, Rizal. For 3rd-6th class municipalities, Cardona, Rizal ranked first followed by Bauko, Mountain Province and Baras, Rizal.
In terms of infrastructure, the top among highly urbanized cities were Quezon City, Manila City and Davao City while the top 3 component cities were Antipolo, Tagum and Naga.
The most competitive among 1st to 2nd class municipalities in terms of infrastructure were Taytay, Cainta and Angono, all in Rizal. For 3rd to 6th class municipalities, the most competitive were Baler, Aurora; Allapacan, Cagayan; and Panglao, Bohol.
Among the highly urbanized cities, Davao City placed first in the resiliency pillar, trailed by Quezon City and Manila. For component cities, Antipolo City ranked first, while Tagum City, Cavite and Naga City placed second and third places, respectively.
For 1st-2nd class municipalities, Cainta, Rizal was the most competitive, followed by Veruela, Agusan del Sur and Carmona Cavite. For 3rd-6th class municipalities, the most competitive were Mambajao, Camiguin; Nasipit, Agusan del Norte Laguna; and Baler, Aurora.
Aside from these citations, NCC recognized the most improved LGUs from each category: Taguig City for highly urbanized city; Bago City, Negros Occidental for component cities; Bongabon, Nueva Ecija for 1st-2nd class municipalities; and Ivisan, Capiz for 3rd-6th class municipalities.