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Provincial Development
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In the Philippines, many people have been flocking to Metro Manila for decades to seek opportunities, resulting in an overcrowded capital. What’s keeping provincial leaders from developing more opportunities in their home provinces?
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There are many interconnected reasons for this. Manila is the social, cultural, economic and pretty much everything center of the country. While efforts are being done to improve the other cities, the approach and execution fall very short in my opinion. While places like Cebu, Mindanao and Cagayan could one day equal or surpass Manila as major centers of the Philippines, these growths need to be properly planned and strategized in advance. And it all starts with infrastructure. Although manilas mass transportation systems are abysmal, at least it actually has them. The other cities fall far behind in terms of coverage and options, making simple things like moving tourists, commuting to work and generally moving around feel just as awful as Manila. And just think, the population of these cities isn't even a tenth of Manila. However the size of these cities could be the catalyst that allows them to evolve into something greater. Whilst the populations are small, they are just big enough to warrant attention. This compounded with small city sizes (check out Cebu on google maps, ts tiny!) . Means large government infrastructure projects can easily be done affecting few people and creating a foundation to handle growth. Imagine how easy it would be to install an mrt at this point. Or a London standard bus system, fix the roads, add bike lanes, proper driving rules, Etc. the small size of these cities makes it easy to roll out these programs and enfofce proper behavior, requiring only proper maintenance and expansion as the city grows, with changes made where nescessary. A project of this scale becomes much easier to manage and handle as it grows rather than trying to tackle the behemoth that is Manila. Further more once it's easier to move around, businesses will naturally flock there, as it will be easier for the existing population to find employment, once companies realize that more talent is available to them because of this they will shift, thus creating more jobs, thus causing people to consider these cities when looking for jobs and he cycle continues
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There are a few things I can think of but I am sure others will have many more and better ones. Unitary government means that the national government in Manila has most of the control and if they want to keep opportunities in Manila they can do so. The local governments only have the independence to do what Manila allows them to do.Similarly, lack of funding to create the necessary conditions and lack of authority give the necessary tax breaks to create these provincial opportunities prevents them from being offered.Many provinces lack the necessary infrastructure. A few like Cebu do have the infrastructure, and not surprisingly do have more opportunities than the others, though not nearly as many as Manila.Proximity to the center of power, both political and financial.This is not to say that there have been no efforts to create opportunities in the provinces. There have been and some have been fairly successful but even the most prosperous provincial cities (e.g. Cebu and Davao) are still behind Manila and are likely to be for many years, while others are having little if any success generating opportunities. If you are interested in some of what is being done now to create opportunities in the provinces, check out peza.gov.ph. From what I can tell though, this has not stopped the migration into Metro Manila or the great sprawl that metropolis has become, though it may be slowing its growth. It definitely is leading to the growth of provincial cities like Cebu. At least people moving from the provinces have more than one urban area to move to for greater opportunities now, but in my opinion anyway, it would be better if there were opportunities even in the smaller provincial municipalities. That may be a long time coming though.