The Philippine Star 04/05/2006
Political instability, high taxes and mediocre infrastructure have left the Philippines lagging far behind its Southeast Asian neighbors, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines said yesterday.
A study commissioned by the chamber on the investment environment in Thailand and the Philippines noted that Manila was a "leading economic power of Southeast Asia" in the 1970s before being dramatically overtaken by Bangkok over the past 30 years.
Malacañang conceded the Philippines has much work to do in order to catch up with its Southeast Asian neighbors.
However, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the Arroyo administration is not wavering in its push for economic and political reforms to enable the country to have a stable and secure future.
The study concluded that "those managing Japanese corporations in both countries voiced their general evaluation that Thailand is solidly ahead of the Philippines. Political stability and a secure peace and order situation are vitally important and an integral part of an overall evaluation of whether a country is investor-friendly or not.
"We have seen in the Philippines that political instability has been a major obstacle in implementing consistent industrial development policy over a long period of time.
"This has been particularly true in the development of local supporting industries, which are very important for foreign direct investment in the manufacturing sector," the study said.
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