All talk, no progress
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Improving the economy and bringing back investor confidence were among the sales pitches of Noynoy Aquino when he sought the presidency during last year’s elections.
He claimed then that, with the old regime out, and with him as president, investors would flock to the country, as the country would then be opened for business.
The result: Almost a year after assuming power, the competitiveness of the country in the world had slipped and it had remained the doormat in the Asia-Pacific.
The assessment was unanimous, Noynoy is all talk thus far and he has failed to translate lofty promises he made during the campaigns, and afterwards, into action.
The World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) released the other day ranked 59 countries according to their ability to attract foreign investments and consequently also tourists. It placed the Philippines last in competitiveness among 13 countries it ranked in the Asia Pacific.
Noynoy has been criticized as having a slack presidential style that seems to have rubbed over to the whole government.
According to the competitiveness survey, the efficiency of the government had slipped substantially during the watch of Noynoy that landed it at 37th worldwide from its 31st position last year.
On the category of bribery and corruption, the Philippines landed in the top 10 of countries with the worst record as it landed 54th, which was fifth from the country with the worst grade in that area.
On the quality of the bureaucracy, in terms of it not hindering business activity, the country also rated a poor 46th.
On the effectivity of government decisions, the country ranked 44th, while on the transparency of government, which is Noynoy’s battlecry during the campaigns, the Philippines was ranked below average at 36th.
On government efficiency, where the biggest fall during the start of Noynoy’s watch was recorded, the Philippines was also rated weak in the fields of competition legislation, start up days and procedures for businesses, personal security and private property rights, gender inequality, attracting foreign investments, fair competition as a result of protectionism, efficient transit of good due to an inefficient Customs authorities, bribing and corruption and country credit rating.
What was also notable in the survey was that while the Philippines was ranked third in household consumption expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), government spending, also in the same term as a GDP percentage, was only rated 53rd of the 57 nations in the survey which speaks so much of the so-called Private-Public Partnership (PPP) thrust of Noynoy scaled down to the basic social unit.
Worst, the Philippines was rated second to the last in terms of GDP per capita or the total economic output averaged for each of the estimated 90 million Filipinos at $2,000 a year.
The survey uses available government data and complements it with a poll taken among business executives, who are mainly expatriates, in the 57 countries included in it.
According to the Swiss-based International Institute for Management and Development (IMD) that undertook the survey, the results of the annual exercise is used by the business community to help validate investment plans and assess locations for new operations.
It also gives governments the chance to evaluate their performance over time and “to learn from the success stories of nations that have improved their competitiveness.”
Using that measure, Noynoy would find the report invaluable since he has a lot of ground to cover, if he’s still up to it, to attain competitiveness for the country.
The premise, however, being if he has the capability to deliver.
Almost a year into office, it’s still all talk from him and even a shadow of such leadership quality is not discernible.
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