Tagbilaran City among RP's best cities

Makati, Cabanatuan, Tagbilaran are RP's best cities to live in

By CARMELA FONBUENA
abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak

Among the best cities in the Philippines, Makati City, Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija, and Tagbilaran City in Bohol offer the best quality of life, according to a new survey of the Asian Institute Management (AIM).

These three cities ranked highest in the quality of life category among 25 cities that made it to the AIM’s Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project 2007, a survey of cities’ global competitiveness.

The cities were separately ranked according to size. Makati, Cabanatuan, and Tagbilaran were categorized as metro, mid-sized and small-sized, respectively.

Quality of life is one of six categories in AIM’s survey. The other categories are cost of doing business, dynamism of local economy, human resources and training, infrastructure, and responsiveness of local government units (LGUs) to business needs.

Unlike its previous surveys, AIM decided not to rank the cities based on total performance.

This is the 5th round of the AIM survey on Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking.

Quality of life is considered one of the yardsticks in determining which cities have successfully developed and which have succumbed to the ills of urbanization.

Among the relevant aspects of quality of life are social welfare of the people, peace, and order, quality of living environment, and local amenities.

Cabanatuan and Tagbilaran ranked first in their respective city sizes, rating 7.17 and 7.97, respectively. The highest rating is 10 points. The average rating in their city sizes is 6.31 and 6.43, respectively.

Makati ranked second among metro cities, with a rating of 6.98. The average rating of metro cities in terms of quality of life is 6.06.

Cabanatuan was credited for its good access to commercial banks, low or non-existent informal fees, and total crime solution efficiency.

Tagbilaran was noted for its low or non-existent informal fees, good supply of water, and low water rates. Its local environmental planning and management program was also praised.

Makati was recognized for its good access to commercial banks, total crime solution efficiency, and supply of potable water among others. AIM also noted its programs such as the Makati Health Program, the “Yellow Card,” the Makati Command Center, and its Satellite Real Property Tax collection.

A total of 90 cities were surveys—20 metro cities, 25 mid-sized cities, and 45 small-sized cities. The AIM survey was conducted in collaboration with the German Technical Cooperation, International Finance Corporation, International Labour Organization, SM Investments Inc., and Petron Corporation.

The following is the complete list of the top performing cities.

Metro Cities:
1. Davao
2. Lapu-Lapu
3. Makati,
4. Manila
5. Marikina
6. Quezon City

Mid-sized Cities:
1. Cabanatuan
2. General Santos
3. Lucena City
4. Olongapo City
5. San Pablo City
6. Tagum
7. Tarlac

Small-Sized Cities
1. Bayawan
2. Calapan
3. Calbayog
4. Dagupan
5. Dipolog
6. Laoag
7. Malaybalay
8. Naga City-Camarines Sur
9. San Fernando City-La Union
10. Surigao
11. Tagbilaran
12. Tuguegarao

Welcome to Bohol, Island Paradise :)

The Island Paradise of Bohol is located in the Central Visayas Region in the Philippines. It is one of the current top tourist destinations and Panglao Island, a small island part of Bohol, has always been one of the world's best divespots.

First off, how do we get to Bohol?

1. By plane - from Manila (Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific) to the Tagbilaran Airport
2. By boat - from Cebu (OceanJet) to the Tagbilaran pier. Another alternate route is through the Tubigon pier.

How much are the fares?

1. Plane fares from Manila cost approximately P6000-7000 roundtrip for peak season (December to June I think), and half those prices for off-peak.
2. From Cebu, it's P500 one-way via the OceanJet.

Who should go to Bohol?

1. Families
2. Barkadas
3. Honeymooners and lovers
4. Photographers
5. Foodies
6. Really stressed people
7. Nature-lovers and trekkers
8. Divers
9. Beach-lovers
10. Anyone who wants to get value for money on a trip =)

How long should we stay in Bohol?

Personally for tourists I think the optimum time would be 4D/3N. =)

What dialect/s do they speak there?

Boholano or Bol-anon is essentially Cebuano, save for the J-dominated words. Since it is a tourist hotspot Boholanos are very fluent in English and Filipino-Tagalog.

Why should we go to Bohol?

1) quiet, pristine white sand beaches and resorts
2) cheap food and accommodation
3) Loboc river cruise
4) old original churches that date back to the Spanish era, esp. in Baclayon
5) the national tarsier sanctuary
6) a wonderful man-made forest in Bilar
7) Chocolate Hills
8) Hinagdanan Cave
9) Sikatuna-Legazpi compact site
10) dolphin and whale watching
11) places like Panglao and Balicasag which are one of the best diving spots in the world
12) Bohol Bee Farm

Where can we stay in Bohol?

For a comprehensive list of resorts and transient places, visit the official website of Bohol.

Great forums on Bohol:
Bohol 1
Bohol 2

I believe there are a lot of YouTube videos on Bohol too. :)


***
Yay, I finally started this blog. I've been meaning to start one for Bohol for the longest time. I plan to include write-ups on the different tourist sites in Bohol for interested tourists. I'm not an official tour guide nor do I own any travel agencies or resorts. This is just for fun. I am based in Metro Manila but I fly to Bohol at least once a year (and my mom, almost monthly!) because my grandmom lives there. I have been helping friends and people online plan their trips to Bohol for several years now. The same questions keep coming up and so I thought of starting a blog.

- Ivy