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Saturday, January 01, 2005
Politics, lack of funds get in way of progress
THE Philippines should improve its basic infrastructure and reform its institutional and political system if it is to attract more foreign investment, a recent study concluded.
But stakeholders say politics and the lack of money often stymie efforts to do just these.
?Filipinos are very good at policy making, but often poor at implementation,? said Prof. Mario Antonio G. Lopez of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM).
?We declared open skies policy, and then we exempt PAL,? he said in a reference to the stiff resistance by Philippine Airlines to give foreign airlines unrestricted access to Philippine skies, which some tourism players are advocating to increase tourist arrivals.
Lopez was making a presentation of the results of the World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) of the Swiss-based Institute for Management Development (IMD), which ranked the Philippines a dismal 52nd among 60 economies in global competitiveness in its 2004 scoreboard.
The AIM Policy Center is the IMD?s country research partner for the survey.
Department of Trade and Industry Cebu Provincial Director Nelia Navarro admitted that the Philippines is really poor in terms of infrastructure, but she blamed this on the lack of funds.
Money
?Malaysia is providing 4.5 times as much (money as the Philippines) for infrastructure. Thailand is 230 percent, while the Philippines? infrastructure investment is only three percent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product),? she said during the presentation at the University of San Carlos.
Navarro said the country could certainly benefit from the building of more infrastructure but ?we don?t have the funds to do so.?
The Philippines ranked last in basic infrastructure in the WCY survey.
She urged the country to use its human resources to full advantage instead.
Since the country ranked third in labor force growth among the 60 countries surveyed and seventh in the availability of competent senior managers, Navarro suggested that Filipinos ?replace the aging workers overseas? and earn US dollars.
The challenge, however, is to ensure that overseas Filipino workers not only remit their earnings to the Philippines, but also come back to the country to share what they learned abroad. ?This is what is happening in China,? she said.
During his presentation, Lopez said the Philippines was ranked number one in high-technology exports, largely semiconductors.
But this still did not give Navarro any reason to celebrate.
Value added
?We may not even have achieved the 30 percent value-added requirement for exports,? the trade official said. ?Many (foreign investors) didn?t put up R&D centers here, and they buy supplies from foreign suppliers.?
Cinema operator Vale-riano Avila complained about the road infrastructure in Cebu, saying some good roads connect to bad roads because the local politicians in those areas did not support the government officials that are instrumental in releasing funds for road works.
He also questioned the wisdom of continuing to asphalt roads in Cebu ?when we have the best cement in the world? in Naga, referring to Apo Cement Corp. in Naga, Cebu which, according to him, built the Golden Gate Bridge in the United States.
?We should make a policy that we should only cement Cebu roads,? he said.
In terms of soft infrastructure, the problem of the long-term availability of a skilled workforce was raised, after it was learned that many students drop out of school in their elementary years.
Lopez said Grades 4 to 5 were the levels at which the greatest attrition of students took place.
?We lose about 30 percent of them,? he said.
The Philippines ranked dead last in pupil-teacher ratio among the 60 economies surveyed. Lopez said that in some schools, the ratio was over 100 students to a teacher.
Health
The country ranked second to the last in health expenditure ?because the income distribution is very poor,? Lopez said.
Again, this has repercussions on the health of the economy, because children in poor health cannot be expected to pay much attention to their teachers in school.
According to Lopez, former Education Secretary Edilberto de Jesus told him that ?92 percent of public high school graduates are not prepared for a college education, and the private schools are not far behind.?
Private sector groups are now stepping in to help. Among these are the Philippine Business for Social Progress, a non-profit foundation which has programs to develop more competent teachers and increase the number of classrooms, desks and textbooks. (CTL)
(January 1, 2005 issue)
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