MANILA, Philippines—Six metropolitan areas—four of them in Metro Manila—were identified as the country’s most competitive cities for doing business in an annual survey conducted by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Policy Center.

Named top metropolitan cities in 2007 Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Program were Davao, Lapu-Lapu, Makati, Manila, Marikina and Quezon City.

They were ranked based on their respective costs of doing business; the dynamism of the local economies; human resources and training; infrastructure; the responsiveness of the local government units to business’ needs, and the quality of life of their inhabitants.

This year’s survey covered 90 cities, 25 of which were cited for their competitiveness in the metropolitan, medium-sized and small-sized city categories.

The annual survey is a research undertaking of the AIM Policy Center that seeks to identify the best cities in the country in which to live, work and operate a business.

The annual survey is an important indicator that helps businessmen determine which cities are “the most dynamic,” AIM Policy Center director Federico Macaranas said at a news briefing.

He said cities adjudged to be the best in the country often experienced an inflow of investments immediately after.

“One city that was awarded received so much direct investments that they couldn’t cope with it,” Macaranas said. “They even had to ask the national government for help.”

According to the survey, the best medium-sized cities in the country were Cabanatuan, General Santos, Lucena, Olongapo, San Pablo, Tagum and Tarlac City.

The best small-sized cities were Bayawan, Calapan, Calbayog, Dagupan, Dipolog, Laoag, Malaybalay, Naga, Surigao, Tagbilaran, Tuguegarao, and San Fernando, La Union.

Macaranas said the annual award also has the effect of pushing other cities which participate in the survey to improve their overall competitiveness to match their peers.

“Cities that lose in the competition often ask us why they lost, and they try to improve on those aspects,” he said.

At the news briefing, Calbayog City Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento, secretary general of the League of Cities of the Philippines, said the annual rankings also helped local governments improve the running of their cities.

“It ensures the sustainability of our programs,” he said, adding that even private sector stakeholders in the cities—like the business communities—help ensure that initiatives started by the local governments survive even after the mayor’s term ends.

Launched in 1999, the program aims to promote national competitiveness by encouraging healthy competition among highly urbanized and emerging cities, emphasizing the crucial roles of small and medium-scale enterprises as the backbone of local development. With editing by INQUIRER.net