ENDEAVOR
Sonny Coloma
A confluence of recent events provides the backdrop for focusing on the pole-vaulting strategy that was advocated by President Fidel V. Ramos 25 years ago at the opening of the National Development Summit (Pole-Vaulting Conference) organized by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on June 8, 1997.
Filipino Olympian Ernest John (EJ) Uy-Obiena, now the world’s third-ranked pole vaulter, grabbed headlines by winning three gold medals in top-level competitions in Europe and winning three other medals for six podium finishes within the past month.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has just visited Indonesia and Singapore to pitch for fresh investments that could fuel the country’s post-Covid economic recovery.
To understand the relevance of the pole-vaulting analogy, it is important to understand the sport. Pole vaulting involves a fast run-up and take-off horizontal velocity to generate energy that would propel the athlete to the desired vertical height needed to clear the bar at the top of the jump.
Then President Ramos’ exhortation still rings true today:
“While we can take satisfaction in what we’ve done these past five years, the challenge of development is still before us, not behind us. Competition in the global economy is now so intense that we must work hard just to stay where we are. The number of our people entering the labor market grows by a million every year — so we need three million new jobs in the balance of this century. And technology is changing so fast that we must reengineer our economic activities and educational programs for us to catch up and then keep in step.”
He emphasized the imperative of leveling up:
“We should be satisfied no longer with leapfrogging, for others are leapfrogging, too. Rather, our arm should be to pole-vault into the 21st century.” This strategy must define our long-term goal. We must not just alleviate poverty, we must eradicate it. We must not be content with nearly industrializing, we must become fully industrialized. We must strive for development in the spirit of the Olympic games, citius, fortius, altius — faster, stronger, higher.”
The Ramos administration’s earnest efforts to achieve global competitiveness were stalled by the Asian financial crisis of 1997. The Philippine economy struggled through the early part of the 21st century before gaining momentum halfway through the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. During President Benigno Aquino III’s administration, the country attained investment-grade rating on account of good governance. GDP growth averaged 6.2 percent and this was sustained by the Duterte administration only to be set back by the pandemic outbreak.
Covid-19 spawned a steep recession that snapped the Philippine economy’s winning streak of consistent and steady economic growth for more than a decade. It also brought on a worsening of the learning crisis as schools were shuttered for two years.
As he assumed office last June, President Marcos acknowledged the tremendous challenge of building back better while the scarring effects of a 15-month recession continue to be felt — even as GDP growth well within the forecast range has been achieved.
The Switzerland-based Institute for Management Development (IMD), in its 2022 World Competitiveness Yearbook, ranked the Philippines 48th out of 63 economies, up four notches from the 52nd spot out of 64 economies in 2021. This was the Philippines’ highest ranking in two years or since placing 45th in 2020 before the deleterious effects of the pandemic outbreak stalled the economy. For the fifth straight year, however, the country placed 13th out of 14 Asia-Pacific countries.
IMD assesses each country’s competitiveness by using 333 indicators classified as under economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.
The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Rizalino S. Navarro Policy Center for Competitiveness, IMD’s Philippine partner institute in producing the competitiveness yearbook since 1997, the country’s economic performance improved to 53rd from 57th a year ago. Even as our infrastructure ranking improved from 59th to 57th spot, it is still the Philippines’ lowest competitiveness, due to poor health and education infrastructure.
The Philippines ranked 48th in government efficiency, down from 45th in 2021, due to the worsening budget deficit and the ramping up of government debt attributed to massive spending and borrowings to finance the Covid response.
Business efficiency declined from 37th to 39th, largely due to the six-place drop to 56th in productivity and efficiency.
IMD’s prescription for improvement includes “innovative governance” and leveling up the readiness of the country’s health and education systems to keep up with global standards. This has been a recurring theme of President Marcos’ recent messages. He is concerned about the decline in the competitiveness of the Filipino youth compared to their peers in the Asia-Pacific region.
EJ Obiena’s rise to the top rungs of his chosen sport serves as a good reference to our government leaders and policymakers. Olympic-class performance is attained by focusing on the essentials and by dint of persistence and dedication to excellence.