5th ORSP National Conference

11.11.11.

I attended the 5th National Conference of the Operations Research Society of the Philippines on November 11 at the Eastwood Richmonde Hotel.  In case you didn't know, OR is one of the loves of my life and I just appreciate being in this field.  This is one day in the year that I get to immerse myself in all things OR and reconnect with colleagues as well.

This year's theme was OR: Towards a More Competitive Philippines.  For the morning plenary sessions, we had speakers from the AIM Policy Center and the National Competitiveness Council.

Dr. Ronald U. Mendoza of the AIM Policy Center

Representative of Guillermo Luz from the DTI

We were shown statistics and reports from the World Economic Forum and the International Finance Corporation about the state of Philippine competitiveness and economic progress relative to the rest of the world.

My key takeaways from the plenary session:

  • Progress has to be inclusive.  As much as possible, all members of society should feel improvement in their economic conditions.  For example, we may report improvement in the national GDP but maybe some sectors experience worsening conditions like farmers... This could also address issues of peace and security which in a way is caused by some sectors not feeling the improvement in their lives, contrary to what is reported at the national level.
  • Inefficiencies and corruption need to be addressed in order to improve national competitiveness.  Ease of doing business is a frequently cited criteria, and it's still true that our processes a lot more inefficient compared to other countries (18 steps, more than 50 days).  In Singapore, you can setup your business as a legal entity in 30 minutes, online.  From the 2012 report of the IFC entitled Doing Business in a More Transparent World, the Philippines is second to the last in East Asia and the Pacific for ease of starting a business, just ahead of Cambodia.
  • It was encouraging to note that we have people in government and the business sector who genuinely care about uplifting/improving the status of the Philippines.  The speaker from NCC mentioned that they are regularly meeting with some 200 businessmen towards this effort.
  • Our country has a lot of problems, for sure.  It takes commitment and willpower to overcome the sobering competitiveness ratings and I hope and pray that the efforts of a few will gain momentum and drive our country towards a more promising future, economic and otherwise.

Useful links:

Snapshots from the conference.

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