COA: Makati overtakes QC as PHL's richest city

Makati City has earned the distinction of being the country's new richest metropolis, replacing Quezon City, after more than quadrupling its total assets in 2017, the Commission on Audit (COA) said in its report.

Based on the 2017 COA financial report on local governments, Makati City raked in total assets worth P196.57 billion, or an increase of more than P141 billion, compared to its 2016 record of P54.85 billion.

Makati City management explained in its financial statement that its assets ballooned by 258 percent when it included public infrastructure projects in the computation of its assets last year.

"All public infrastructure projects such as road networks and other public infrastructure projects were no longer transferred to the registry of public infrastructure," the statement read.

This forced Quezon City to fall into second place after years of being the richest city, with total assets worth P68.33 billion. It topped COA reports in 2016 at P59.56 billion and in 2015 at P51.64 billion, with Makati City always a close second.

Manila City, meanwhile, remained in third place with P38.68 billion worth of assets, or around P2.5 billion compared to its P36.1 billion haul in 2016.

Cebu and Pasig cities also retained their spots in the top five with estimated assets around P33.86 billion and P33.7 billion, respectively.

Taguig City (P19.6 billion) still came in sixth place, while the cities of Caloocan (P17 billion) and Pasay (P16.66 billion) switched places at the seventh and eight spots compared in 2016.

President Rodrigo Duterte's hometown of Davao City, meanwhile, went up to ninth place after it entered the top 10 list in the previous COA report. The total assets of the city rose from P8.9 billion in 2016 to P13.18 billion last year.

Calamba City in Laguna displaced Iligan City in Lanao del Norte in tenth place with assets worth P12.41 billion.

Cainta still richest municipality

Cainta, Rizal, meanwhile, retained its hold as the richest town in terms of assets, with a haul of around P3.99 billion. Sual, Pangasinan climbed to second place last year with assets worth P2.53 billion, displacing Limay, Bataan, which fell to third place at P2.45 billion.

Sto. Tomas, Batangas, and Binangonan, Rizal, completed the top five with P2.15 billion and P2.1 billion, respectively.

Other municipalities included in the top 10 are Mariveles, Bataan (P2 billion); Tanay, Rizal (P1.79 billion); Carmona, Cavite (P1.66 billion); Narvacan, Ilocos Sur (P1.63 billion; and Silang, Cavite (P1.6 billion).  —KBK, GMA News