CCCI Survey Identifies Enablers and Obstacles Impacting the Competitiveness of Cebu

The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry revealed during its 4th General Membership Meeting and Induction of New Members last October 29, 2019 the result of a survey entitled Shared Ambition: Driving Cebu to the Next Level. The survey focuses on Cebu’s overall competitiveness and how shared ambition (between the private and public sectors) can drive it to the next level.

The survey was conducted with the members of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry serving as respondents from June to July 2019. The business owners and senior executives involved in the survey were asked to share their views on various issues that directly affect the competitiveness of Cebu including business confidence, compliance, and growth ambitions.

General Outlook

According to the survey, the cooperation, collaboration, and unity of both the private and public sector in pushing for reforms that bring back and allow a vibrant business environment can help drive Cebu’s competitiveness to the next level.

In terms of overall competitiveness, the Philippines ranked no. 41 in 2017. The following year, the country’s rank dropped to no. 50. It later made a slight recovery in 2019 when it ranked no. 46.

Competitiveness of Cebu

Due to the result of the survey, the CCCI conducted an exercise with its members to identify enablers and obstacles which impact the competitiveness of Cebu.

Here are some of the most notable results of the said survey:

Top 5 Enablers of Competitiveness

✔️ Linkages, partnerships, and business networks
✔️ Lower cost of doing business
✔️ Access to credit and marketing facilities
✔️ Upskilled manpower
✔️ Good product quality

Top 5 Obstacles of Competitiveness

✔️ Government regulations and the element of corruption
✔️ The high cost of utilities
✔️ Lack of quality physical and technological infrastructure
✔️ Lack of available talent
✔️ Tight competition

The survey also identified the ease and cost of doing business – a major factor that drives overall competitiveness. As government regulations can greatly affect the failure or success of business operations, the CCCI decided to add this section to further identify the different factors that hinder Cebu from achieving its full potential as a business mecca. This section of the survey was divided into two areas: 1) Transparency of dealings with the government and 2) Concern on informal payments.

Based on the survey, the different government agencies that have influenced and affected Cebu’s competitiveness include:

Top 5 Government Agencies in Terms of Transparency

Top 5 Government Agencies in Terms of Transparency

✔️ DTI
✔️ SEC
✔️ DICT
✔️ AFP
✔️ BOI

Bottom 5 Government Agencies in Terms of Transparency

✔️ PNP
✔️ DOTR
✔️ BFP
✔️ BIR
✔️ BOC

The survey also discussed the ‘informal payments’ that business owners and executives have to deal with when running their businesses. According to the results, 36% of businesses in Cebu are asked to give gifts, tokens, and other informal payments to government officials or agencies. The survey also revealed that 20% of respondents made informal payments in the last year. When asked further, more than 41% of those who made informal payments shelled out 1-10% of their annual business expense. About 40% made less than 1% of informal payments and only about 12% made from 11-20% of informal payment. Only 7% of those who said yes gave informal payments amounting to more than 20% of their annual business expense.

According to the respondents, informal payments were made: 1) due to delays in processing transactions with government agencies, 2) as voluntary payment to gain favors or advantage, and 3) because it was asked by a government official or agency.

Despite the obstacles, however, the survey revealed that business owners in Cebu remain very confident about their growth. In summary, Cebu business owners were found to be confident and ambitious, collaborative, and rooted visionaries.

Here are more scenes from the 4th CCCI Membership Meeting and Induction of New Members:

CCCI’s 4th General Membership Meeting & Induction of New Members was held at Summit Galleria Cebu last Oct 29, 2019.