Several years ago, foreigners living in Asia, responding to a survey, rated Manila as the best city for expatriates to live in the region. The respondents cited the quality of life in the Philippine capital.

As in many other international surveys in various categories, Manila has since fallen behind its neighbors in living standards. In the latest survey conducted by another group, human resources consultancy ECA International, Metro Manila was ranked 25th in Asia, down one notch from the previous year, and 142nd worldwide.

Among Asian expatriates, the city-state of Singapore was rated the best place in the world to live, with the respondents citing the low crime rate and overall quality of life. Two Australian cities – Sydney and Melbourne, followed, with Kobe in Japan sharing the third spot. Within Asia, Hong Kong and Tokyo ranked fourth, followed by Taipei, Macau, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and Seoul.

The annual survey is based on factors including air quality, health services, housing, personal safety, political tensions and climate. ECA International provides information used, among others, to assess expatriate salaries and work-related risks. In the survey, some of the advanced Asian economies such as Hong Kong were pulled down in ranking by air pollution. The same problem was cited in New Delhi and Beijing, but both cities still fared better than Manila in the survey released last week.

In the age of globalization, quality of life can be a decisive factor when corporate executives pick the places where they intend to invest or expand their businesses. A developing country cannot provide expensive world-class infrastructure overnight, but it can do many other things that can make at least its key urban centers more livable. The Philippines cannot ignore the fact that other developing countries in Asia are consistently faring better in all international surveys involving national competitiveness in different fields.

There is another reason why the quality of life in this country needs to improve. The same factors that are driving foreign visitors and investors to other countries are contributing to the continuing exodus of Filipinos, apart from the principal reason, which is the lack of decent jobs in the Philippines. Unless Filipinos see their own country as a good place to live, neither will foreigners.