EDITORIAL- Another slide in competitiveness

They’re still fighting over who gets credit for the robust 7.6 percent GDP growth posted in 2010. Perhaps credit should go to spending for the general elections. But regardless of who or which sector deserves credit, the government must focus its efforts on sustaining the growth momentum even during years without elections, and without overly relying on the remittances of overseas Filipino workers.

OFWs are now returning to the country in droves because of continuing unrest in the Arab world. Labor officials have warned that new hiring overseas isn’t expected to pick up any time soon. The country will have to absorb the newly unemployed, in addition to the thousands who are added to the workforce every year upon finishing higher education.

Those people will not want contractual jobs or seasonal agricultural work during harvest time. They will need jobs with decent pay that are best provided by solid investments. The country, however, has steadily lost out to its neighbors in attracting foreign direct investment. And if surveys on international competitiveness are to be a gauge, the situation isn’t going to improve soon.

In all competitiveness surveys, the country keeps slipping in ranking. The latest is in the World Competitiveness Yearbook, where the Philippines fell to 41st place from the previous year’s 39th among 59 economies despite a six-point improvement in its overall score, mainly because others performed better in the major criteria. The latest WCY, prepared by the Switzerland-based Institute for Management Development and released last week, also ranked the Philippines as the least competitive in the Asia-Pacific region for the third straight year.

The World Economic Forum, in its 2010-2011 competitiveness report, also ranked the Philippines 85th out of 139 economies. While the country continues its slide, several of its neighbors have leapfrogged in competitiveness and have reaped the rewards in terms of more foreign direct investments and economic growth.

All the studies on competitiveness list a country’s weaknesses that must be addressed. In the Philippines, those weaknesses have long been pointed out by investors and other sectors. What is needed is decisive action to address the issues.