MANILA, Feb. 18 (PNA) — In the official results of The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal’s Index of Economic Freedom, the Philippines now ranks 89th out of 178 countries, improving from last year’s 97th out of 177 countries.
The Philippines ranks 16th out of 42 Asia-Pacific countries, with a score of 60.1, or 1.6 points higher than the regional average of 58.5.
According to the report, the Philippines improved its ranking because of “notable improvements in investment freedom, business freedom, monetary freedom, and control of government spending,” and is “moderately free.”
Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima noted that the report only proves the Aquino administration’s principle that good governance is good economics.
“By focusing on deepening the virtuous cycle of good governance, the administration’s efforts in addressing the problems of corruption, fiscal mismanagement, and inefficient regulatory processes are being noticed by international organizations and observers, making the Philippines more attractive to investors,” he said.
Purisima noted that the challenge now “is to continue our improvements and to ensure our recent economic growth and inclusive development remain beyond President (Benigno) Aquino (III)’s term ending in 2016.”
“We are now focusing on legislating these reforms to ensure the dividends of good governance will be here to stay,” he said.
Looking forward, Purisima said, “We hope that Filipinos will demand succeeding administrations to enter into the virtuous cycle of good governance.” (PNA)