The Philippines plunged to the bottom of the Bloomberg COVID Resilience Ranking, again making the country the worst place to be during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The latest Bloomberg report, released Thursday, showed the Philippines was ranked last among 53 countries with a score of 48.3.
In response, Malacañang said Friday the country’s latest economic growth was the best indicator of resilience.
Acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles cited government data which showed that the fourth quarter 2021 growth rate stood at 7.7 percent. This is faster than the 6.9% posted in the third quarter.
Full-year growth was at 5.6 percent, beating the government’s forecast.
Last December 1, 2021, the country was at the end of the list with a resilience score of 43.1.
The Philippines “edged up” slightly from being the worst place to be during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it ranked 50th last December 23, 2021.
“Difficulties administering vaccines in remote areas continue to be a vulnerability as the country sees an Omicron surge worse than other Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand,” the Bloomberg report said, adding developing countries were struggling to administer vaccines due to “logistical issues.”
“Poor health infrastructure, lack of trained staff, and difficulties accessing rural populations are slowing rollouts in poorer places,” the report said.
Nograles also said foreign analysts had projected the Philippine economy to grow above 7 percent in 2022.
“Let the numbers speak for themselves. That is the clearest indication of the resilience of the Philippines amidst the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said at a press briefing.
The United Arab Emirates topped the Bloomberg list with a resilience score of 78.9. It was followed by Saudi Arabia with 77.8, and Finland and Turkey both scored 70.1. Singapore grabbed the 5th spot with a score of 70.
The other nations at the bottom of the list were Argentina with 57, followed by Russia with 55.9, Romania with 55.5, and Vietnam with 53.4.
