AFTER failing to gain in the world competitiveness rankings, the public-private National Competitiveness Council (NCC) is now rolling out its so-called five-star projects that will not only improve the standing of the Philippines but will also trigger a 7-percent annual economic growth.

Ambassador Cesar Bautista, NCC cochairman, said these initiatives will make Philippine-based companies more productive, which will “really ascertain whether a nation is globally competitive.”

“The real measure of competitiveness is in the productivity of firms. This is consistent with the principle that ‘nations do not compete; companies do.’ The government’s role then, is to provide the right environment for these businesses to grow, flourish and expand,” Bautista said in a statement.

The “five-star projects” include the development of local government units (LGUs) into economic “sparkplugs” by assisting their “sunrise” or up-and-coming industries such as agri-business, tourism, information technology-enabled (IT-enabled) services, mining, manufacturing, health and wellness, and supply-chain logistics become more productive.

The NCC, Bautista said, hopes to drive a 7-percent per annual economic growth if their target of 120 sparkplug LGUs will be established this year.

The NCC initiatives also calls for the setting up of an integrated logistics infrastructure master plan for Mega Luzon composed of Region 3, National Capital Region and Region 4A and arm them with world-class supply chain capability.

The other programs include the facilitation of streamlined business permits and licensing system, use of a corporate governance scorecard rating system on government agencies, an online updating system in public finance management process, a faster discharging process for imports and exports, a Process Monitoring System for appeals or complaints addressed to Malacañang, an IT system which tracks cases filed with the Office of the Ombudsman, and the drafting of a strong Investors Assistance Process.

These projects are in response to the results of the Institute for Management and Development World Competitiveness Yearbook 2009 released by the Asian Institute of Management, where the Philippines ranked 43rd out of 57 countries studied.

The Philippines dropped three notches from last year in the rankings, which measures economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.

Bautista also identified six areas of productivity in reference to the Porter Diamond Model of the Harvard Business School that the country needs to improve on.

These are competitive human resources, management expertise in both public and private offices, effective access to financing, upgraded infrastructure and transport network, reduced transaction costs and improved transaction flows, reduced energy costs and secure supply of energy. - businessmirror.com.ph