Press Release
March 27, 2008

Education key to improving RP's global competitiveness -- Loren

SAN PABLO CITY - Senator Loren Legarda said today that Filipino graduates and workers will continue to rank low in global competitiveness unless deep-rooted problems in the country's education system are solved.

"The painful reality is that instead of becoming more competitive, we have become less so. There are clearly a lot of things we must address, not only to catch up with other nations, but to be ahead of them," she said.

Legarda issued the statement during the commencement exercises of Dalubhasaan ng Lungsod ng San Pablo, which she lauded for giving quality education not only to residents of the city but also to those from neighboring towns and provinces.

She recognized the efforts of Mayor Vic Amante and members of the city council in establishing the city college in 1997 and in continuously elevating the quality of education the college affords to its students.

The senator said the college's focus on so-called practical courses like business management, information technology and education is in the right direction as jobs in the said fields are expected to be always in demand.

"As graduates of this college, always bear in mind that your education should empower you not only as individuals but as responsible and productive members of our community," Legarda told the graduates.

She urged them to always strive for excellence as they join the labor force or become entrepreneurs to serve as pillars of Philippine progress, more so since the country is slipping in terms of global competitiveness.

Legarda cited the lowly 71st ranking of the Philippines among 125 countries survey in the latest Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum. The index measures the competitiveness of countries vis-a-vis one another.

"We are being left behind by our Southeast Asian neighbors as Singapore ranked fifth, Malaysia 26th, Thailand 35th and Indonesia 50th in the index," she said.

In the year 2000, the Philippines ranked 48th in the index, but from thereon slipped lower and lower.

Among the factors considered in the index were market efficiency, macro-economy, basic institutions, infrastructure and education, with the Philippines doing dismally in the last three categories.

To remedy the situation, Legarda said the quality of Philippine education should be elevated through a collective effort by the government, private sector and every Filipino citizen.

"Our educators - themselves expected to keep abreast with the latest trends, developments and technologies - are, in return, being counted on to equip our students and the younger generation with the necessary knowledge and skills," Legarda said.

She lamented that instead of increasing the budget for education, the government is continuously reducing it, with the public educational system, including state universities and colleges, being most affected.

Legarda said that the lack of classrooms, educational materials, poor teacher-students ratios, poverty, among others, are bedeviling Philippine education, resulting to poor quality of graduates and the ever-increasing number of dropouts.

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