So what’s wrong with RP?

What do other Southeast Asian countries have that the Philippines doesn’t, for them to have gone ahead in the race towards economic dominance through business and tourism?

Nothing, said Alaska Milk Corp. president and chief operating officer Wilfred Steven Uytengsu.

"I have long believed that the Philippines would be an ideal location for multinational regional offices. First of all, the Philippines is a bilingual country. English is more prevalent here than in any other Southeast Asian country. We also have a very high literacy rate, not to mention a high level of computer literacy, which is one of the reasons the Philippines has become a popular location for call centers, as well as for medical transcription," he said.

The Philippines is also centrally located, being just a couple hours from Hong Kong, Shanghai, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. "An office located in Hong Kong has further to travel south and the same is true of those offices located in either Singapore or Malaysia," he said.

Uytengsu, however, cited some areas of concern that, if left alone, could discourage foreign investors from spreading their resources to the Philippines. This, in turn, would delay the economic recovery of the Philippines, which has been steadily gaining momentum since the start of this year.

"It had been said that our airport is not at the same level as that of our Asian counterparts and if you have traveled to Hong Kong, Singapore or Malaysia, you will probably agree. Perhaps with the development of the new international airport by the end of this year, we can begin to approximate this new standard. Clearly we need to have a much better first impression and it starts with our international airport," he said.

Improved telecommunications in the Philippines should also serve as a come-on to MNCs scouting for an Asian base. "During the times that telecom was regulated, this was a greater concern. But the influx of new players to the industry has provided more access, higher quality of service and lower costs. As demand of corporate clients increases, we should expect to see more development of TI lines, DSL and ADSL communication. Video conferencing will become more common place as it becomes less expensive," he said.

Mr. Uytengsu compared the cost of living here in the Philippines to that in other Southeast Asian countries. "We have a lower cost of living compared to Hong Kong, Singapore or Malaysia but nor necessarily of lower standard. In fact, over the years, many of the expatriates I have met comment how the Philippines was their preferred destination in Asia. Of course, the friendliness and hospitality of the Filipino plays a large part in this," he said.

Uytengsu was a speaker of the Philippine PR Summit series organized by Virtusio Public Relations, Inc. and CONTEXT Communications Int’l Inc.