Policy Forum on Philippine Competitiveness

 

Dr. Ma. Lourdes A. Sereno (2nd from left) receives a Certificate of Appreciation from UPOU officials (from left): Dean Ma. Fe V. Mendoza; Vice Chancellor Melinda F. Lumanta; and Vice Chancellor Nemah N. Hermosa.

 

Hon. Cesar P Bautista (left), Co-chair, National Competitiveness Council and Former Ambassador to the UK; and Mr. Meneleo J. Carlos, Jr. (right), Chair of Federation of Philippine Industry share their insights on Philippine Competitiveness.

The Faculty of Management and Development Studies-UP Open University and the British Embassy-Manila hosted the consultative policy forum titled "The State, Challenges, and Prospects of Philippine Competitiveness: Discourses from Various Perspectives." The forum featured speakers from various institutions in the country. They were Dr. Ma. Lourdes A. Sereno, Executive Director of the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center; Hon. Cesar B. Bautista, Co-Chair of National Competitiveness Council and former Ambassador to the United Kingdom; and Mr. Meneleo J. Carlos, Jr., Chair of the Federation of Philippine Industries.

Dr. Sereno presented the country's ranking in the 2009 World Competitiveness Yearbook released by the Institute for Management Development. The ranking was determined based on 330 indicators grouped into four factors — government performance, business efficiency, infrastructure and labor productivity. Dr. Sereno said that the report showed that the country’s rank declined to 54th place among 57 countries. The country is said to be lagging behind in the areas of basic infrastructure, international investment, scientific infrastructure, and public finance and education but did well in the areas of labor market, fiscal policy, and prices.

Among the indicators, the country received the lowest ranking in basic infrastructure, which put the Philippines at 57th place; international investment and scientific infrastructure, 56th; public finance and education, 54th; productivity and efficiency, 53rd; health and environment, 48th; and institutional framework, 42nd. The only indicators where the country ranked in the top 20 of the survey were labor market where the Philippines ranked fifth; fiscal policy, 13th; and prices, 14th. “My hypothesis is, if we [improve] the [areas where the country posted] poor rankings, then maybe we won’t be in number 53,” Sereno said during her presentation.

Chairman Meneleo Carlos, Jr. said that one of the legislative changes that should be implemented is the review of all presidential decrees (PD) enforced during the martial law era. To date, there are many PDs, such as PD 857 which created the Philippine Ports Authority and reportedly gave way to the building of some ports that “remain of little use” such as Port Irene in Cagayan. He added that there is also a need to ensure that competitive bidding continues with the assurance that firms will be undertaking it with “eyes wide open.” Carlos said there is also a need for the government to subscribe to market forces to encourage more investors to put up businesses.

Ambassador Cesar B. Bautista highlighted the need for the government to further reforms that will promote sunrise industries where the Philippines has a competitive advantage. The eight sunrise industries of the country are tourism; business-process outsourcing; electronics; health, wellness and retirement; supply chain; agribusiness; mining; and vehicle manufacturing. Bautista added that these industries could easily create an additional $80 billion to $90 billion worth of revenues for the country.

Stakeholders from the Senate and the House of Representatives, media, UPOU, and UK Foreign Commonwealth Offices participated in the forum that was held on 13 October 2009 at the Sulo Hotel, Quezon City. This forum, is just one of the series of consultative policy fora that UPOU and and the British Embassy-Manila will conduct as part of their policy research cum advocacy project called “Improving Philippine Competitiveness through Policy Advocacy of Economic Reforms and Strategies.”(Dr. Fe V. Mendoza, FMDS)

Date posted: 21 October, 2009