Competitiveness body says RP’s dismal poll rank ‘wake-up call’

The recent low competitiveness ranking of the Philippines in Asia-Pacific calls for concern, according to the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) is a wake-up call.

“This is a wake-up call and a signal for us to work harder,” Guillermo Luz, the newly appointed private sector co-chairman of NCC, said.

The Philippines slipped two notches down from 39th to 41st place in 2011 World Competitiveness Yearbook released by International Institute for Management Development (IMD) last May 18.

Based on the survey results, the Philippines ranked poorly in the following indicators: 56th in foreign direct investments, basic education and basic infrastructure; and 58th in scientific infrastructure.

On the other hand, the country performed well in the following fields: 1st in worker skills and number of females in top management posts, 4th in labor productivity, 5th in labor market efficiency. The country’s economic performance also improved to rank no. 34, five notches up from 2010, which is attributed GDP increase of 7.6 percent last year. The country also ranked 18th in international trade.

The IMD proposed that the country concentrate on lowering the cost of doing business, which hampers the nation’s competitiveness. For the long term, the Philippine should focus on the following concerns: access to basic education, scientific infrastructure, energy, transportation, value chain and infrastructure.

Luz added that the council will focus on the country’s lowest ranking indicators, including infrastructure, governance, and ease of doing business.

He said the NCC will map each indicator and assign it to the concerned agencies which will identify and implement programs to improve the said area.

The NCC projects will also be aligned with the Philippine Development Plan, the national budget, other development policies to ensure better efficiency and coordination of effort. He also called on all agencies of the government and the private sector to collectively work harder together so we can move up in the global competi-tiveness ranking. –Ayen Infante, Daily Tribune