The Philippines has three metropolitan areas as defined by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
Metro Manila is the largest conurbation or urban agglomeration in the country, and its official metropolitan area is composed of the city of Manila plus 15 neighboring cities and a municipality. Metro Cebu, located in the Visayas, is the Philippines' second largest urban area, while Metro Davao, which is located in Mindanao, is the country's third largest metropolitan area.
The official definition of each area does not necessarily follow the actual extent of continuous urbanization. For example, the built-up area of Metro Manila has long spilled out of its officially defined borders into the adjacent provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite.
The number of metropolitan areas in the Philippines was reduced from 12 in 2007 to the current three based from the 2017-2022 Philippine Development Plan by NEDA. The other nine metropolitan areas were Metro Angeles, Metro Bacolod, Metro Baguio, Metro Batangas, Metro Cagayan de Oro, Metro Dagupan, Metro Iloilo-Guimaras, Metro Naga, and Metro Olongapo.