The Palace responded to the recent World Competitiveness survey that showed the Philippines sliding two notches to a poor 41st place this year through a spin, saying the 63.291 overall score that the country got was an improvement over the years.
In a report released the other day by the Swiss-based International Institute for Management and Development (IMD), the Philippines dropped from 39th place last year to 41st but Malacañang apparently does not see it a cause for concern at this point.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that while the country ranked 39th last year, the overall score during the time was 56.526. The year before, Philippines was placed at 43rd with an overall score of 54.49.
Lacierda, therefore, claimed that the 63.291 overall score achieved by the country this year is an improvement even as it slipped two notches from its previous ranking. “It’s a big jump from the previous years,” he said.
The IMD cited poor infrastructure development as among the major factors that affected the country’s slip from the annual global competitiveness ranking and such evaluation is understandable precisely because the Aquino administration is yet to roll out its public-private partnership (PPP) projects.
Lacierda said that once the PPP projects have been rolled out by the economic managers hopefully by the start of the bidding process this July, the country’s ranking will “increase dramatically” in the next report of IMD.
“In terms of infrastructure, we are going to do that by way of our PPP. It has taken us sometime to do the feasibility study and once we are able to roll out the PPP, we believe and we are very confident that our rankings will increase dramatically,” Lacierda told reporters at a news conference.
Strengths of the country, as listed by the IMD, have to do with long-term employment, terms of trade and cost of living under the economic performance criteria; ageing of society, collected total tax revenues and government subsidies in government efficiency; remuneration in services professions and compensation levels in the business efficiency category; and high technology exports and fixed telephone tariffs for the infrastructure development level.
The IMD noted that the Philippines was weak in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, start-up procedures for businesses, overall productivity and labor productivity, pupil to teacher ratio and the proliferation of the use of the Internet.
This, even as President Aquino bragged just recently, that his administration managed to increase the country’s GDP by 7.6 percent, correcting the previous 7.3 figure that was announced by the government.
Improvements in the country’s economic performance are still being attributed by the IMD to that 7.6 percent GDP growth as well as the strong rebound in exports last year.
The survey released the other day showed the Philippines as the least competitive country in Asia-Pacific aside from its global ranking falling two notches.
In Asia, the Philippines was last among 13 countries ranked with a 63.291 out of a perfect 100 which was lower than that of Indonesia at 12th with a 64.61 score; India, 11th with a score of 70.649; Thailand, 10th with a score of 74.886; and Japan, 9th with a 75.214 score.
At the top of the rung were Hong Kong, first with a perfect 100; Singapore, second with 98.557; Taiwan, third with 92.011; Australia, fourth with 89.259; Malaysia, fifth with 84.12; and China, sixth with 81.1.
The report noted that challenges facing the country’s competitiveness included the need to improve policy coordination between national and local governments to improve governance, low investments in energy, transport, and other infrastructure to stimulate job creation and improve services delivery, poor access to and quality of basic education; the need to create a better business environment by lowering the costs of doing business to attract more investments; and lack of disaster readiness to reduce social abd economic risks and costs.
The category on government efficiency in the ranking showed the Philippines falling a steep six notches to 37th globally, from 31st last year.
According to the report the Philippines worsened in the area of fiscal policy, institutional framework, business legislation, and societal framework while improving only in public finance.
The Philippines improved its ranking on the category of business efficiency, from 32nd in 2010 to 31st this year and economic performance, from 34th to 29th.
On the level of infrastructure development, the Philippines was ranked second to the last or 57th from 56th last year.
The IMD listed the strengths of the country as long term employment, terms of trade and cost of living under the economic performance criteria; ageing of society, collected total tax revenues and government subsidies in government efficiency; remuneration in services professions and compensation levels in the business efficiency category; and high technology exports and fixed telephone tariffs for the infrastructure development level.
It was weak in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, start-up procedures for businesses, overall productivity and labor productivity, pupil to teacher ratio and the proliferation of the use of the Internet.
An executive opinion survey that accompanied the IMD report stated that the key attractiveness factors for the country are its skilled workforce, competent managers, high educational level, productivity of workforce and low operating costs. –Aytch de la Cruz, Daily Tribune
