THE COUNTRY’S continuing efforts to improve has once again been recognized as we inched up in rankings of this year’s Global Innovation Index (GII).
Published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in coordination with Cornell University SC Johnson College of Business and the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD), the index is an annual benchmarking exercise of the innovation performance of 129 countries and economies around the world including the Philippines.
This year, the GII puts the country’s performance at 54th out of the 129 — a huge jump from last year’s 73rd spot. Since the inception of the GII more than a decade ago, this is the first time our country has been dubbed as an “innovation achiever” or among the economies who outperform on innovation relative to their level of GDP. This designation puts us together with such countries as Thailand, Montenegro, Costa Rica and South Africa.
According to the report, the Philippines improved in almost all indicators of the GII. Among those are our business sophistication (32nd) or how favorable businesses are to innovation, knowledge and technology output (31st), infrastructure (58th), and creative goods output (63rd). Such strong showing has in part been brought about by the private sector’s apparent enthusiasm to improve its services and inculcate innovative ideas such as introducing app-based access to their goods and services.
Our government has also done its part to improve our competitiveness in terms of innovation. For example, in a statement by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Secretary Ramon Lopez optimistically emphasized that our global ranking is expected to continue improving especially with the help of recently enacted laws such as the Philippine Innovation Act and the Innovative Startup Act to boost our MSMEs and industries.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has also pledged that projects and programs — with regard to science, technology and innovation (STI) — for the advancement of Filipino companies, universities and other institutes will be given more priority.
The index also revealed however that we have yet to catch up with most of our Southeast Asian neighbors. Economic powerhouse Singapore is ranked 8th and is the only East Asian country to be in the top 10 while Malaysia (35th), Vietnam (42nd) and Thailand (43rd) continue to be ahead of the Philippines. In fact, since 2011, Vietnam has consistently been among the innovation achievers while Thailand has held this classification five times already.
According to the study, the country should focus on improving our ease of starting a business, ease of getting credit (or financial inclusion) and expenditure on education, among others. As we’ve been successful with the passage of the Free College Law in the previous congress, we are confident that the reforms to ease the process of starting businesses and financial inclusion will follow suit.
For instance, just recently, the government finally issued the implementing rules and regulations of the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act, which was signed into law last year.
As for our country’s financial inclusivity, in 2018, the Philippines was among the rising countries in terms of financial inclusion. In a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the country was 4th among the 55 nations reviewed – making us the highest ranking Asian country along with India.
Clearly, the rise in our global innovation index ranking can be a source of pride for the many who work hard to push for reforms in this country. This is a particularly welcome development considering that today innovation is key to adding value to products and enhancing productivity in any economy—which in turn increases incomes.
Rather than using this result just to toot one’s horn, the more pragmatic attitude would be to analyze this study and assess how its findings can be used to provide real benefits that trickle down to regular Filipino families. If anything, this result could serve as an opportunity for both the private and public sector to take stock not just of the good points, but also of the focus areas that need to be improved.
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Sen. Sonny Angara has been in public service for 15 years — nine years as representative of the Lone District of Aurora, and six as senator. He has authored and sponsored more than 200 laws. He recently won another term in the Senate. (Email: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com | Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara)/PN
