Philippines slips to second-to-the-last spot in latest COVID-19 Resilience Ranking

The Philippines has slipped into the second-to-the-last position in a global ranking that measures the success of the 53 biggest economies at containing the COVID-19 pandemic with least amount of disruption to the society and the economy.

Under the  COVID Resilience Ranking which scores the 53 largest economies, the Philippines is ranked 52nd in June with a score of 45.3, only ahead of Argentina with 37.

Among the ten worst countries in the latest ranking are Malaysia with a resilience of 46.6, India with 47.7, Indonesia with 48.2, Colombia with 48.6, Pakistan with 50.7, Bangladesh with 51.3, Peru with 51.4, and Taiwan with 52.1.

“India, the Philippines, and some Latin America countries rank lowest amid a perfect storm of variant-driven outbreaks, slow vaccination, and global isolation,” Bloomberg said in its writeup.

The ranking was topped by the United States with a resilience score of 76, followed by New Zealand with 73.7, Switzerland with 72.9, Israel with 72.9, and France with 72.8.

Rounding up the top 10 are Spain with 72, Australia with 70.1, Mainland China with 69.9, the United Kingdom with 68.7, and South Korea with 68.6.

Indicators used in the ranking include people covered by vaccines; lockdown severity; flight capacity; vaccinated travel routes; one-month cases per 100,000; one-month fatality rate; total deaths per million; positive test rate; community mobility; 2021 GDP growth forecast; universal healthcare coverage; and human development index.

Bloomberg in the latest list introduced a new element to its COVID Resilience Ranking, Reopening Progress, which captures the easing of moving and out, and the recovery of air travel.

“This pivot has ushered in dramatic changes to the ranks. The US is now No. 1, with its fast and expansive vaccine rollout, dominated by the highly effective Messenger RNA shots, stemming what was once the world’s worst outbreak,” Bloomberg said.

GMA News Online has sought the reaction of Malacañang but presidential spokesperson Harry Roque has yet to reply as of posting tim.

Locally, the Philippines on Monday, June 28, reported 5,604 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 1,403,588. This includes 5,604 active cases; 1,327,103 recoveries; and 24,456 deaths.

It has received over 17.455 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far as of June 28, of which over 10 million have been administered, versus the estimated population of 109 million.

The country metropolis, the NCR Plus bubble — Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Bulacan — also remains under general community quarantine (GCQ), while restrictions in other areas in the country range from the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) to the modified GCQ (MGCQ).

Growth forecast

Just last month, Moody’s Analytics slashed its economic growth forecast for the Philippines to 5.3% while its peers in the region are on track to return, making the country the “clear laggard” in Asia.

In response, Roque admitted the slow growth due to the reimposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), but expressed confidence that a rebound is expected in the coming quarters.

“We can still recover… We are confident that we can catch up,” he said during a virtual press conference.

The Philippine economy shrank for the fifth consecutive quarter in the first three months of the year, with the GDP at -4.2%. This follows the record-low -9.6% for the full-year 2020. — RSJ, GMA News