We’ve come to a close of another busy year at Liveable Cities and we’d like to thank the Mayors and followers we’ve engaged with throughout the year. In the last 12 months, we’ve been able to run our Liveable Cities Labs covering major topics of interest in urban management, joined the Bloomberg Global Mayors Challenge, and co-organized World GIS Day.
For the Bloomberg Global Mayors Challenge, we are particularly proud that three Philippine cities – Cauayan (Isabela), Naga, and Pasig – have made it to the Top 50 in the world out of over 600 entries and are in the final stages of evaluation for the Top 25 city projects in the world.
We are also particularly proud to launch Bayan e-Hub. This is our geospatial data hub covering data from 150 Philippine cities across key topics like Energy, Water, Connectivity, Education, Health, and others. We hope this makes decisions more data-driven for City Mayors, Investors, and Residents.
Throughout the year, our theme “Sustain+Ability” shaped our work. It reminded us that long-term sustainability must be matched with the ability to act every day with focus, discipline, and integrity. Across all the Labs, no matter the topic, the same core idea came through. Cities move forward when they build capability.
In our conversations with mayors and city teams, one truth became clear. The biggest barriers are often not technical. They are institutional. Most cities already know what they want to achieve. They have plans, programs, and policy directions. The real challenge is carrying these plans through a system that is often slow, fragmented, or vulnerable to politics and corruption. When the system is weak, even good ideas cannot survive. Resources leak, projects stall, and public trust suffers.
What stood out this year was that corruption and inefficiency had clearly gotten out of hand. They had grown in environments where processes are unclear, data is lacking, and accountability is inconsistent. There is now a deeper understanding that good governance is the foundation of real sustainability.
Cities also shifted their questions. Instead of asking only for new concepts, they asked for ways to implement better. They wanted practical routines that keep teams aligned, tools that help them track progress, and clearer systems that let people know who is responsible for what. Delivery is not a one-time push. It is a steady habit that strengthens institutions over time.
Partners from the private sector and development organizations echoed this. They noted that their support becomes more effective when local governments have reliable systems. Data tools, training, and technical assistance all work better when the city has the capacity to absorb and apply them. Sustain+Ability therefore became a shared responsibility between cities and partners. Each one strengthened the other.
A valuable insight from this year was the power of simple routines. Short feedback cycles. Clear public targets. Transparent metrics. What gets measured, gets managed. These are not complex reforms, yet they change behavior. They reduce room for arbitrary decisions. They narrow the space for corruption by reducing ambiguity. Cities that adopt these methods will see how small, consistent adjustments can produce meaningful outcomes.
Another important lesson is the value of the community we have built. After six years of holding Labs, city leaders now speak a common language. They compare experiences, test ideas, and discuss both successes and failures. They are more open to asking questions and learning from one another. This peer exchange is now one of the strongest assets of Liveable Cities Philippines. Capability grows faster when learning is shared.
As we look ahead, Sustain+Ability gives us a clear direction. Sustainability cannot depend on ambition alone. It must rest on institutions that are reliable, transparent and able to deliver. It must be supported by leaders who value performance and integrity. And it must be anchored in systems that protect public resources and maintain momentum even when leadership changes.
We move into the coming year with a deeper appreciation of what cities can achieve when vision meets capability. Our goal is to continue strengthening the systems that help leaders deliver results, help partners support them more effectively, and help communities experience real improvements in the quality of daily life.
This is how we build cities that are truly liveable. Not through one-time breakthroughs, but through steady, credible progress built on sustainability and the ability to act.
The journey towards achieving liveability and true prosperity is a shared one, built on partnership, momentum, and practical action. We hope you can continue to join us in this endeavor. Together, let’s work together in creating more liveable cities and localities across the Philippines.
GUILLERMO M. LUZ
Chairman, Liveable Cities Philippines
