25 cities make it to competitive list

MANILA, Philippines - Twenty-five of the country’s 90 cities surveyed emerged as most competitive based on a survey recently conducted by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). In addition, smaller cities were found reforming faster and better compared to major and medium-sized counterparts. Results of the Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project 2007, launched in Makati City Friday, showed it was harder for metropolitan areas such as Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao to institute reforms due to their large population. "The results showed that small is beautiful. Some of the smaller cities appeared to be doing well than most mid-sized and big cities. This is primarily because bigger cities are harder to manage. Maybe what these small cities had done could be replicated by mid-sized and big cities," AIM Policy Center Executive Director Federico Macaranas said. The nationwide survey conducted last year was aimed at measuring the competitiveness of 90 cities classified into three categories: small, mid-sized, and metropolitan. It surveyed 45 cities in Luzon, 21 in Visayas and 24 in Mindanao, or 20 metropolitan, 25 mid-sized, and 45 small cities. It used six drivers to measure competitiveness, namely, cost of doing business, dynamism of local economy, human resources and training, infrastructure, responsiveness of local government units (LGUs) to business needs and quality of life. Respondents were asked to rate these indicators using a 10-point standard scale. Results showed it was less expensive to do business in smaller cities, or those with a population of 200,000 or less, having scored 8.49 compared with metro cities’ 7.22 and 8.07 in mid-sized cities. Infrastructure or transportation and utility services; responsiveness of local government units to business needs or investment promotion, ease and transparency and city administration; and quality of life or environment, peace and order and health, were also ranked better in smaller cities than mid-sized and metro cities. Metro and mid-sized cities, meanwhile, ranked above smaller cities in terms of dynamism of economy or firms’ growth and performance, access to financing and voice in LGUs, with a score of 4.16 and 4.34, respectively compared with small cities’ 3.9; and human resources training or available manpower and skills-enhancement program, having scored 7.46 and 7.67, respectively, from 7.26 in small cities. "Metro cities have the facilities, colleges, universities to train their people. The problem is, the talent does not stay in these cities. Skilled people go abroad to seek better opportunities," Mr. Macaranas said. Twenty-five cities were chosen as top performers — four from the National Capital Region, 11 from Luzon, four from Visayas, and six from Mindanao. For the metro category, Davao, Lapu-Lapu, Makati, Manila, Marikina, and Quezon Cities made it to the list. Mid-sized cities Cabanatuan, General Santos, Lucena, Olongapo, San Pablo, Tagum and Tarlac were also in the list while Bayawan, Calapan, Calbayog, Dagupan, Dipolog, Laoag, San Fernando, Malaybalay, Naga, Surigao, Tagbilaran, and Tuguegarao Cities were named most competitive small cities. — Bernardette S. Sto. Domingo, BusinessWorld