Palace ‘confident’ Philippines to climb ranking as ‘best country in the world’

MANILA, Philippines — The Malacañang showed confidence on Sunday that the country would continue to increase its rank as one of the best countries in the world as reforms are consistently being instituted.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo issued this statement after the 2019 US News and World Report survey showed that the Philippines ranked 50th in the 2019 Overall Best Countries Ranking by the U.S. News and World Report.

“We are therefore confident that we would continue to improve our ranking as we remain committed to institute reforms for the betterment of the Philippines that we all love,” Panelo said.

The 2019 Best Countries report and ranking is based on how global perceptions define countries in terms of a number of qualitative characteristics; impressions that have the potential to drive trade, travel, and investment; and directly affect national economies.

The Philippines bested 30 other countries as the report only covers the perceptions of 80 countries across the globe.

READ: PH ranks 50th ‘best country in the world’ – 2019 US News and World Report survey

“We welcome the latest US News and World Report 2019 Best Countries Ranking which puts the Philippines at Number 50, drawn from a survey of more than 21,000 global citizens,” he said.

The overall ranking of best countries measures global performance on a variety of topics which include adventure, citizenship, cultural influence, entrepreneurship, heritage, movers, open for business, power, and quality of life.

According to Panelo, the Philippines “scored highly” in the adventure category at Rank 22, open for business at Rank 26, and quality of life at Rank 27 which shows that the country is “an emerging market for business, investments, and tourism.”

“The Duterte Administration continuously breaks ground to nurture the country’s business climate and drive investor confidence to a higher level by cleansing the government of corrupt officials, streamlining the delivery of frontline services, among others,” Panelo said.

“Tourism, which is one of our major economic drivers, is likewise a priority with the focus now given on environmental sustainability,” he added. /je