EDITORIAL - Among the world's worst

This is nothing new, but repetition does not make the criticism go down easier. US business news channel CNBC has just rated the Philippines as the worst country to do business in Asia. Meanwhile, the travel news website of Cable News Network, CNNGo, has ranked the Ninoy Aquino International Airport as the fifth most hated airport in the world.

The two rankings are based on surveys published recently. CNBC’s list ranked the Philippines as the fourth worst place to do business among the world’s 50 largest economies, with the country ranked behind India and Indonesia. The ranking was based on the World Bank’s annual Ease of Doing Business survey, of which the report for 2011 was conducted among 183 economies. CNBC noted that in 2010, the Philippines drew only 2.5 percent of the $76.5 billion in foreign direct investment that flowed into the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

As for the airport named after President Aquino’s father, CNNGo has put it in the same league as Paris’ Charles de Gaulle, Los Angeles International, London’s Heathrow and John F. Kennedy International as the world’s most hated airports. The ranking is similar to the results of a survey conducted recently by a budget traveler’s website. CNNGo said the NAIA “brings the term ‘Stuck in the 1970s’ to a new level.”

“A rash of bad press this year (including a ‘Worst in the World’ ribbon from Sleeping in Airports) was capped by a collapsed ceiling in T1 [Terminal 1], a paralyzing ground service strike at T2 [Terminal 2], and the usual charges of tampered luggage, filthy restrooms, seat shortages at gates, re-sealed water bottles sold in retail shops, and an Amazing Race-style check-in routine spiked with bureaucracy, broken escalators, lengthy dot-matrix passenger lists, and creative airport departure fees,” CNNGo reported.

The description may be exaggerated, but CNNGo is not the first to observe those problems at the NAIA. CNBC is also just the latest in a continually growing list of businessmen, companies and organizations that have pointed out the difficulties in doing business in this country.

Responding to CNNGo, airport authorities have vowed to turn the NAIA into the world’s most loved airport. The Aquino administration has also been trying to restore investor confidence by saying that the country is open for business under new management. The latest rankings show that travelers and investors alike need a lot more convincing.