On March 5, 2025, the Liveable Cities held its first lab of the year, with this year’s overall theme, "Sustain+Ability: Enabling Cities of the Future." This theme underscores Liveable Cities' ongoing commitment to sustainability by equipping urban centers with the tools, knowledge, and partnerships necessary to drive transformative change. The Liveable Cities Lab: Data and the City brought together government leaders, private sector experts, and academics at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City to explore the critical role that data plays in shaping sustainable and competitive urban development.

Guillermo M. Luz, Chairman of Liveable Cities, opened the event by emphasizing cities as hubs of innovation and opportunity while stressing the importance of leveraging data-driven solutions to address urban challenges. The event featured valuable insights from a range of distinguished speakers. Ofelia Templo, Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, spoke about the significance of the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) in measuring city competitiveness and local government performance. Dr. Alvin Ang, Senior Researcher at the Center for Strategic and Policy Studies, joined virtually to explain how the CMCI framework evaluates local government units (LGUs) across critical areas such as economic dynamism, government efficiency, and infrastructure, demonstrating how data-driven policies can improve public services.

Mayor Ferdinand Estrella of Baliwag City, Bulacan, shared his administration’s success in utilizing CMCI data to identify areas for improvement and boost local competitiveness. Abel Capco, Senior Manager at Globe Telecom highlighted how the private sector thrives on data insights for growth, while Ivanna Aguiling-Dela Torre, Senior Director for the East Cluster at Coca-Cola Philippines, stressed the importance of data transparency and fostering public-private partnerships to achieve sustainable urban development.

Throughout the event, discussions underscored the power of data to empower both government and the private sector to make informed decisions, optimize resources, and enhance inclusive governance. — making cities competitive, sustainable, and livable.