Davao City: most competitive in RP
Another metric by which Davao City can proudly affirm her status as a major player in Philippine industry is the Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Program (PCCRP) of the Policy Center of the Asian Institute of Management. Results of the PCCRP’s biennial study (2007), presented in Makati last 4 July 2008, declare that Davao ranks Number 1 in the metro cities category.
This flagship research project by the AIM, established in 1999, is conducted every two years, and has since become a benchmark of Philippine cities’ overall economic standing. To quote the AIM:
…the Program envisions to promote national competitiveness by encouraging healthy competition among highly urbanized and emerging cities, emphasizing the crucial roles of small and medium enterprises as the backbone of local development. By gathering and compiling strategic data and providing focused analyses of the results, the PCCRP also seeks to cultivate competitive industries, promote healthy communities and maximize the economic potentials of the cities.
This should be another reason for Dabawenyos to be proud of their beloved city. And it should be one more indicator of just how viable Davao is as an investment destination.
I have recently been to Lapu-Lapu, Makati and Quezon City, and the progress in those cities is clearly evident. Still, Davao City tops them all in the 2007 survey. The PCCRP includes the following criteria in its study: dynamism of local economy, cost of doing business, infrastructure, human resources and training, responsiveness of LGU to business needs and quality of life.
Dynamism of local economy / Cost of doing business / Infrastructure. There certainly is much dynamism in Davao’s local economy, as evidenced by an ongoing construction boom, and the entry of new industry players such as call centers and other BPO operators.
Human resources and training. Davao is a favorite hunting ground among headhunters, and the hiring rate of Dabawenyos is reportedly high. Call centers (e.g., Concentrix and People Support) view their Davao staff as highly trainable.
Responsiveness of LGU to business needs. Davao’s local government is the first to establish a "911" emergency response service, which is being supported by the Davao Light and Power Company. Aside from this, the LGU maintains very good working relationships with private enterprises and organizations.
Quality of life. Just read this blog and my readers’ comments… Need I say more? 
Thank you to Councilor Pete Laviña for alerting us to this piece of news! It’s something all Dabawenyo bloggers should proudly post about!
July 7th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
astig! galing ng davao.
July 8th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
I’m happy reading this post and proud to be Dabaweño
Davao too has one of the cleanest water in the whole world right?(^_^)
July 8th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
wow… ayus ah… wee… proud to be a nitibo sa dabaw hehehe.. @ ice: yeah, davao ranked #2 next to new zealand… but now, i heard it’s in #3 already…? i dunno if it’s true.. hehehe… can anyone confirm? lolz..
July 21st, 2008 at 6:39 am
i was just looking at the summary report and hmm.. pasay scored higher than davao for quality of life?? how is that at all possible? i used to live in makati, near the pasay border, and pasay has always had garbage problems. that, and prostitution (let’s just say that the many motels near the roxas blvd area don’t exactly cater to travelers), traffic jams, smog, flooding, not to mention the many resident leeches (mangingilad) in and around the NAIA and domestic airports… these don’t exactly scream “quality of life” to me.
then again, that was a few years ago. i’d be happy to be proven wrong since i’m sure pasay has improved. then again, so has davao. but i guess having the 3rd biggest mall in the world counts for something. oh well.
July 21st, 2008 at 6:42 am
sorry.. i was just re-reading my post. bitter much? lol.
congrats davao and dabawenyos!!! and thanks for the post, blogie. my manila friends don’t need convincing that davao is awesome, but i’m gonna go ahead and shove this report in their face anyway! lol. (j/k)
July 21st, 2008 at 12:43 pm
@Sonny — Hi there! I passed through Pasay a couple of months ago, and yeah, it did look much changed from some years ago. Uh-huh, having the biggest mall in Asia does help.
Thanks for your comments!
July 30th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Yes, no doubt, davao city the best among the cities here in the phil
August 2nd, 2008 at 2:47 am
I won’t leave any comment because it would be partial since I’m a Dabawenyo. But let this fact speaks for itself (excerpted from MINDANEWS)
In the previous assessments three under the Philippine Competitiveness among Cities Ranking Project (PCCRP), Davao also made it to the top five. The assessment started in 1999 where Davao City ranked 5th among 10 cities; 1st among 30 cities in 2002; while 3rd among 50 cities in 2003, 1st again among 65 cities in 2005.