EDITORIAL - Regional laggard

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is stepping down, but the way the political crisis was resolved is likely to keep his country ahead of the Philippines in competitiveness. Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who persuaded Thaksin to step down, has long been a stabilizing factor in his country.

The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in a report the other day, said the Philippines is lagging far behind Thailand and many of its other neighbors in Southeast Asia. Reading the study commissioned by the Japanese chamber can be disheartening, although many of the observations in the report are shared by Filipinos.

The Philippines was a "leading economic power of Southeast Asia" before being overtaken by Thailand over the past three decades, the study said. The start of that period of decline coincides with the declaration of martial law. But the country cannot keep blaming Ferdinand Marcos and his dictatorial regime for the current mess that has turned the Philippines into the region’s laggard.

The Japanese blamed the decline in Philippine competitiveness on political instability, mediocre infrastructure, high corporate taxes and labor problems. These are no longer residual woes from the Marcos regime. And even if they are, it is up to the current crop of public officials and concerned citizens to address the problems.

Similar observations about disincentives to investments have been made by the chambers of commerce of other countries in recent years. Corruption remains a serious problem. Investors complain of unpredictable economic policies and an unstable regulatory environment. They complain that the judiciary, which wields too much power over economic matters, cannot guarantee justice to aggrieved parties.

Positive responses to the problems raised rarely go beyond political rhetoric and best-efforts pledges. The nation is too set in its ways, unable to rise from the sludge of poisoned politics. This guarantees instability for many more years. Will the Japanese investors’ observations serve as a wakeup call? Don’t bet on it.