Press Statement Senator Loren Legarda

On H1N1 readiness

While the World Health Organization (WHO) had said that the first batch of vaccines against the A(H1N1) virus would only be available at the end of the year, the Philippines must ensure that it would be able to procure them immediately when they become available.

The budget for the vaccines must be allocated well ahead of the actual procurement, while our government must impress to the WHO the need to include the Philippines among the priority recipients of the first batch of the vaccines.

While A(H1N1) virus is still considered a mild ailment, mostly dangerous only to people afflicted with other diseases, scientists have warned that it could mutate to deadlier strains that could pose graver danger to life.

On competitiveness

Our country's ranking in global competitiveness has sunk deeper from 40th to 43rd place among 57 countries. According to the 2009 World Competitiveness Yearbook, the Philippines fared worse among all four factors of competitiveness, namely, economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure. It is now lagging behind ASEAN nations Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

For the sake of our people, the government should stop bragging about its successful development efforts. Instead it should review its policies and performance and take immediate action to correct them. Of importance is infrastructure, which according to world economists, is the reason why we have failed to attract more direct foreign investments. Government inefficiency should be eliminated so that business and the people should have more confidence to engage in development activities.

Relying on spin doctors to prettify government performance will be self-defeating.