CEBU, Philippines - Stakeholder engagement campaigns are important to further drive up the growth of the Philippines, the National Competitiveness Council said.

 Performance metrics should be institutionalized to instil a culture of competitiveness in government offices and give Filipinos with performance standards for government agencies, the council said in a statement sent to The FREEMAN.

 These metrics include the Annual Enterprise Survey on Corruption by Social Weather Stations and Business Permits and Licensing System Customer Experience Survey.

 “With information on what to expect from government, the public will be empowered to assess performance and hopefully demand better services,” it said.

“Ultimately, this competitive mindset is what will drive the Philippines to the top third of global rankings,” it also added.

NCC said its projects aimed to address various competitiveness issues have been linked to its dialogue and roadshow campaigns which have engaged different stakeholders.

Among the council’s programs to improve the country’s growth are Ease on Doing Business Task Force, Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index, Liveable Cities Design Challenge and Islands of Good Governance.

In a previous interview, Guillermo Luz, NCC private sector co-chairman, said “greater focus and teamwork from among government agencies and the private sector” must further be improved to lead to greater competitiveness. 

“We have learned that focusing on implementation yields results,” the public-private sector body noted.

Maintaining that focus on implementation will be the country’s big challenge this year, it said.