EDITORIAL - Low on livability

The ranking didn’t get worse, but there was also no improvement for Manila in the latest annual Quality of Living list compiled by global consulting firm Mercer. Manila – or more accurately, the megacity of Metro Manila – retained its 136th rank among 230 cities in the Mercer list.

Mercer draws up the list as a guide for businesses in assessing compensation and personal safety risks for their employees who are assigned in different countries.

The ratings are based on 39 factors grouped in 10 categories. Among the factors considered are crime and law enforcement, personal freedoms as well as the quality of medical facilities, schools and education, housing, transportation and public services, recreation and the natural environment.

Austrian capital Vienna maintained its rank as the world’s most livable city, while Iraqi capital Baghdad retained the bottom spot. The rankings appear to track levels of economic development, although terrorist attacks last year pulled down certain Western European capitals.

In Asia, Singapore as usual was rated highest overall at 26th place. The city-state was also rated the eighth safest in the world. Within Southeast Asia, Manila was behind Brunei capital Bandar Seri Begawan, which placed 102nd; Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, 86th, and Johor Baru, 103rd; and Thai capital Bangkok, 129th.

Manila was ranked ahead of Indonesian capital Jakarta, Vietnamese capital Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Laotian capital Vientiane and Myanmar’s Yangon.

The list is just the latest reminder that the Philippines’ premier mega-city, which is home to more than a tenth of the population, must do more to improve the quality of living. Urban blight, inadequate infrastructure and mass transportation, and a lack of coordination in providing basic services such as traffic management, flood control and garbage collection make Metro Manila one of the least livable cities in the region.

The Mercer study, now on its 18th year, gives an indication of why the Philippines continues to trail several of its neighbors in terms of attracting job-generating investments. It will take time before the country can remedy the high cost of power and constitutional restrictions on foreign investments. But the government can address many of the factors used for assessing livability not just in Manila but also in other urban centers. The improvements must be made not just for expatriates who consult Mercer, but for Filipinos who deserve a better quality of living.