More than half of the global population today lives in cities. Cities, having served as beacons of social progress and unprecedented economic growth, account for more than 80 percent of global GDP. However, complex problems of congestion, pollution, climate change vulnerabilities, socio-economic inequalities, and inadequate urban infrastructure undermine the livability of cities within and outside the Philippines. While there exists various frameworks and indices that quantify the livability of a city, they also get criticized for having a Global North bias at the expense of cities in the Global South. In this paper, we conducted focus group discussions (FGDs) of select residents of the Greater Manila Area (GMA), an urban agglomeration of 28 million people to investigate their perceptions, priorities and aspirations about the livability of the cities they lived in. A livable city for the respondents of this study is generally in line with the factors and categories mentioned in the different livable cities indices. Nevertheless, local values and realities that were not fully captured by the different livability indices have also emerged. The results of this study can help the government in providing policies and programs that are in line with the priorities of GMA residents.