RP competitiveness boost sought

THE National Competitiveness Council (NCC) is pushing for so-called five-star projects to boost the country’s rankings in competitiveness surveys.

In a statement on Wednesday, Ambassador Cesar Bautista, NCC co-chairman, said the following “key process improvement programs” must be immediately put in place:

• a Process Monitoring System for appeals or complaints addressed to Malacañang;

• an integrated logistics infrastructure master plan for Mega Luzon—which includes the National Capital Region, Region III and Region IV-A—geared toward world-class supply chain capability;

• an online updating system in public finance management process;

• an information technology (IT) system that tracks cases filed with the Office of the Ombudsman;

• the drafting of a strong Investors Assistance Process;

• the development of local government unit (LGU) “sparkplugs” for a streamlined business permits and licensing system;

• faster discharging process for exports and imports; and

• use of a corporate governance scorecard rating system on government agencies.

Bautista said a priority among these projects is the establishment of sparkplugs by LGUs to increase the productivity of business establishments in their localities, especially those from the country’s “sunshine” industries, namely agri-business, health and wellness, IT-enabled services, manufacturing, mining, supply chain logistics and tourism.

Bautista said NCC aims to put up about 120 LGU sparkplugs this year.

At present, Bautista said about 85 LGUs already have these sparkplugs in place.

Bautista said a country’s competitiveness can be measured by the productivity of companies operating there.

“The real measure of competitiveness is in the productivity of firms. This is consistent with the principle that ‘nations do not compete; companies do.’ The government’s role then, is to provide the right environment for these businesses to grow, flourish and expand,” he said.

“Public-private partnership is crucial in improving the country’s overall competitiveness,” he added.

In May, the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2009 released by Switzerland-based International Institute of Management Development ranked the Philippines 43rd, or three notches down from its position last year, among 57 nations surveyed.

The World Competitiveness Yearbook measures a country’s economic performance, business efficiency, government efficiency and infrastructure.

Earlier, the World Bank released survey results showing that the Philippines’ investment promotions agencies had failed to respond favorably to inquiries by potential foreign investors.  –Ben Arnold O. de Vera, Reporter, Manila Times