MANILA, Philippines – Quezon City is the most competitive city in Metro Manila and is ranked No. 2 in the entire Philippines.
These were the findings of an international study, the “Philippine Competitiveness Ranking Project 207,” which evaluated 20 cities in the country and ranked them according to how effective they were in providing an environment conducive to business and industry.
Quezon City was cited especially for the dynamism of its local economy, the quality of life of its residents and the responsiveness of the local government to business needs. Other criteria used were human resource and training, infrastructure and cost of doing business.
Quezon City Mayor Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr. attributed Quezon City’s remarkable performance to his strategy of “balanced development” which seeks to effectively address the fundamentals of quality living as well as business productivity. This significant transformation over the almost seven years of his administration has earned both local and global recognition.
In the overall Philippine ranking, Quezon City was outranked only by Davao City, but it led Makati, Manila, Marikina, Lapu-Lapu City and Parañaque, among the top seven cities.
The Asian Institute of Management Policy Center in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Asia Foundation, the German Development Cooperation and the International Labor Organization spearheaded the study, called “Pinoy Cities on the Rise!” The study bases its methodology on that used by the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development, which prepares the World Competitiveness Yearbook.
The study also evaluated mid-sized and small cities, where Olongapo topped the mid-sized category and San Fernando City was no. 1 in the small category list.