Davao City is still No. 1

Thank God, Davao City is still the No. 1 most competitive city in the Philippines. It remains as the best place to do business in the country.

Results of the latest ranking by the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center presented last night showed Davao City beating local government units in the capital Metro Manila. In the last survey two years ago, Davao City was tied for No. 1 with Makati City, the nation’s premier financial center.

A total of 90 local government units were included in the survey, metropolitan, mid-sized and small cities. Davao City topped two of six key competitive drivers and scored the highest rate among highly urbanized cities.

Key drivers:

Cost of doing business – No. 1 – Davao City

Infrastructure – No. 1 – Davao City

Dynamism of local economy – No. 1 – Makati City; No. 4 – Davao City

Quality of life – No. 1 – Mandaluyong City; No. 7 – Davao City

Responsiveness of local government – No. 1 – San Juan City; No. 3 – Davao City

Human resources & training – No. 1 – Marikina City; No. 7 – Davao City

Overall among the metro cities:

1. Davao City

2. Quezon City

3. Makati City

4. Manila City

5. Marikina City

6. Lapu-lapu City

7. Paranaque City

8. Muntinlupa City

9. Cebu City

10. Pasay City

Olongapo City topped the mid-sized cities while San Fernando, La Union was No. 1 among small cities.

Check the complete rankings here.

Noteworthy is Davao City’s improvement in two key drivers – Responsiveness of the local government – ranked No. 6 in 2005 to No. 3, and in Human resources and training – from No. 11 in 2005 to No. 7.

Kudos to the people of Davao City and its leadership led by Mayor Rody Duterte. Thank you too to the Philippine-Australian Human Resource Development Fund (PAHRDF) for responding to the city’s needs in improving HR development.

7:01 a.m.