QUEZON City is the “most competitive” city in the Philippines in 2016.
In its annual report to city residents, the city government said Quezon City is the most preferred location of the largest number of registered businesses in the country.
“When you do business in QC, you are automatically tapping into the resources and convenience of the biggest city in the most highly urbanized metropolis of the Philippines,” it said.
Quezon City was adjudged the “Most Competitive City in the Philippines,” topping 1,338 other local governments participating in the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) in 2016.
Quezon City was followed by Manila, Makati City, Pasig City, Davao City, Cebu City, Cagayan de Oro City, General Santos City, Caloocan City and Muntinlupa City on the list.
It ranked in the top three on the three pillars of CMCI—infrastructure, government efficiency and economic dynamism.
“It is also the most-searched location in the country by those looking for residential and commercial areas, according to a popular online real-estate search portal that maintained property listings in 34 countries,” the city’s report read.
People preferred Quezon City over other highly urbanized places because of its value-for-money properties in easily accessible locations with multiple amenities nearby.
The city has 67,096 establishments, of which 48 percent were corporations, the report added.
In 2016, Quezon City also had the largest consumer population and largest in-city source of young and productive human resource compared to other cities in the CMCI.
Other plus points for business in the city were the city government’s comprehensive code for business incentives, multiple business districts, and international recognition of governance.
Last September, Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista partnered with 58 mayors, governors, prefects and other local officials from 24 countries to share perspectives, challenges and concerns in managing diversities and globalization.
The city government also pushed for the promotion of strong programs for Filipino migrants in putting up overseas Filipino workers’ desks at its Public Employment Service Office, employability through call center training, capacity-building of entrepreneurship, and multiple income-earning opportunities at home for persons with disabilities, expansion of public schools, and reduction of greenhouse gases.
Quezon City has an area of 161.126 square kilometers, with the most number of residents at 2,936,116 people among Metro Manila’s 16 cities and one municipality.
“It is a city of mostly young people. About 37 percent are 21 years or younger, and about 36 percent are aged 20 to 40,” the report read. “This provides businesses a large, in-residence, manpower pool.”