Analysts: Philippines needs logistics reinvention

The Philippines has to “re­invent its logistics sector” to raise its visibility as a favored business destination in Asia, or increasingly lose out to neigh­boring countries, according to industry analysts.

Owing to regulatory bur­dens, the country’s logistics industry is faring poorly com­pared to its peers in the As­sociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Aida Velas­co and Salie Siao said in an industry situationer recently.

Moreover, logistics per­formance surveys indicate that the Philippines has been slowly backsliding, they add­ed, speaking during a public consultation on regulatory bur­dens on industry organized by the Development Academy of the Philippines.

“Given the low competi­tiveness standing of the coun­try in comparison with its ASE­AN neighbors with regards to logistics, the country has to reinvent its logistics sector to have a better chance in its bid to be a choice business des­tination in the Asia-Pacific re­gion,” they said.

“Given that the transpor­tation sector and infrastructure that supports it are highly reg­ulated by the government, a review of regulations that bur­den the players in the logistics industry should be reviewed to better support the ease of doing business in the country,” they further stated.

In terms of global ranking, the Philippines’ standing has been fluctuating, they noted. In the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI), the Philippines placed 65th out of 160 countries in 2007. In 2010, the rank improved to 44th place, only to go down to 52nd, in 2012.