An Inquiry Into the Competitiveness of Emerging Philippine Cities attempts to approximate the competitiveness performance of ten leading emerging urban centers in the country: Angeles, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Davao City, General Santos, Iligan, Iloilo, San Fernando La Union, Tacloban, and Zamboanga. The study uses both ranking and scoring methods that rate the cities vis-à-vis eight major drivers: Cost competitiveness, Human resources endowment, Infrastructure, Linkages with major urban centers and growth areas, Quality of life, Responsiveness of local government units, and Dynamism of local economy. It best serves as a policy and urban management tools -- for concerned local officials and leaders of various private sector groups – that will identify the cities’ strengths and areas of improvement.
Insights on overall scores and rankings point to the importance of local leadership, emphasis on improving quality of lives in urban centers, and the role of surrounding local and/or international growth formations in enhancing urban competitiveness. Any combination of these factors actually explains the high rankings taken by General Santos, Angeles City, and Baguio.
