In the recently released annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities developed by the National Competitiveness Council through the RCCs—better known as the Regional Competitiveness Committees—with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development, Cebu City ranks as the tenth most highly urbanized city in the country.
The 2021 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) identified Cebu City as part of the top ten cities in the Philippines that leads in terms of Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, Infrastructures, and Resiliency. According to the annual ranking, for the 2022 recognition, a fifth criterion will be added: Innovation.
By doing this kind of assessment, the local government units get to identify their economic strengths and weaknesses; thereby, allowing them to further improve their services to the people. Also, through this ranking, cities and municipalities get a local-level comparison with other LGUs in the country and can see how each city and municipality works for the development and improvement of their economy, public administration, and social services.
Through the leadership of the current Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, the city’s governance ranked 11th with a rating of 11.7988 in terms of Government Efficiency. Criteria under this pillar include Social Protection, Compliance with National Directives, Presence of an Investment Promotion Unit, Business Registration Efficiency, Capacity to Generate Local Resources, Capacity of Health Services, Capacity of School Services, Recognition of Performance, Compliance with Business Permits, and Licensing System (BPLS) Standards, and Peace and Order.
As for Economic Dynamism, Cebu City ranked 8th with an overall score of 8.0049. With regards to Resiliency, it garnered a total of 12.1804 points, ranking 31st in terms of Land Use Plan, Disaster Risk Reduction Plan, Annual Disaster Drill, Early Warning System, Budget for DRRMP, Local Risk Assessments, Emergency Infrastructure, Utilities, Employed Population, and Sanitary System. Cebu City ranks 8th in Infrastructures, scoring high in Distance to Ports and Availability of Basic Utilities.
2021 Rankings of Highly Urbanized Cities in the Philippines
Overall, Quezon City bagged the top spot with an astounding score of 59.3090. This is seconded by Manila City, ranking first in Government Efficiency and Infrastructures. Here’s the complete list of the Top 10 Highly Urbanized Cities in the Philippines.
| OVERALL RANKING | SCORE | LGU | CMCI FOUR PILLARS RANKING | |||
| Economic Dynamism | Government Efficiency | Infrastructure | Resiliency | |||
| 1st | 59.3090 | Quezon | 2 | 19 | 24 | 15 |
| 2nd | 58.8263 | Manila | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 3rd | 52.8006 | Pasay | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 4th | 52.7380 | Davao | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 5th | 48.0032 | Muntinlupa | 19 | 7 | 5 | 1 |
| 6th | 46.7149 | Makati | 4 | 9 | 6 | 7 |
| 7th | 45.7649 | Cagayan De Oro | 11 | 5 | 9 | 4 |
| 8th | 42.0990 | Valenzuela | 22 | 15 | 11 | 9 |
| 9th | 41.4838 | Pasig | 6 | 6 | 17 | 11 |
| 10th | 40.5160 | Cebu | 8 | 18 | 13 | 16 |
