RP competitiveness likely to suffer due to calamities

MANILA, Philippines - The competitiveness of the Philippines when compared to other countries is expected to drop next year as more money is allocated for social services to help typhoon victims, the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) said yesterday.

In an interview on the sidelines of the policy forum The State Challenges and Prospect of Philippine Competitiveness held at the Sulo Hotel, NCC co-chairman Cesar Bautista said that using the guidelines of the World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) Report, there is a possibility that the country’s competitiveness may drop because the devastation of the tropical storms have forced the government to allocate more money for social services.

The country’s competitiveness ranking went down to 43 this year from 40 in 2008. The WCY surveyed 57 countries and the Philippines was one of the least competitive at number 43 this year.

The WCY measures a country’s economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure — factors affecting the overall efficiency of a country.

Bautista feared that some of the budget for infrastructure and education may be taken out and allocated for something else.

Because of the tropical storms Ondoy and Pepeng, the House of Representatives approved a joint resolution authorizing the use of unprogrammed funds for the proposed P10 billion calamity fund.

Last Monday, Congress passed a joint resolution which authorizes the use of unprogrammed funds for “relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and other services in areas affected by natural calamities.”

Quirino Representative Junie Cua, chairman of the appropriations committee explained that the P10 billion  was approved as calamity fund instead of a supplemental budget because a supplemental budget would need a certification as to the availability of funds from the National Treasury.