If this were a boxing match, this would be already the third knockdown in a single round, prompting the referee to declare a loss for the Philippines via technical knockout. It is only January so, metaphorically, we are only at opening round of a 12-round match. For a country whose government keeps crowing about how well it is doing, it’s a good sign that its goose is pretty much on the way of getting cooked.

The Heritage Foundation is an American think-tank based in Washington, D.C. that has done 14 of these surveys. It espouses the beliefs of former US President Ronald Reagan. You may not agree with the conservative beliefs of the Heritage Foundation, but the results of their 2008 survey are very instructive.

The individual country index was obtained by taking the simple average in 10 specific areas covered by the survey that are "vital to the development of personal and national prosperity." The index is a measure of how much an individual can fully control the things that can lead to a better quality of life.

In the 2008 survey, the Philippines garnered an economic freedom index of 56.9 coming in right behind Sri Lanka and Senegal and was followed by Pakistan and Ghana. If there’s any truth to the saying that birds of the same feather flock together, then this administration must be lying through its teeth every time it claims that the economy is improving. As far as I know, those countries are all basket cases of poverty.

The survey clearly outlines that the Philippines is not a prime investment destination on a regional basis. Hong Kong and Singapore topped the survey with scores of 90.3 and 87.4. Taiwan came in at 25th overall. Malaysia was at 51st place while Thailand was 54th. If it is any consolation to us, we did do better than Indonesia, which garnered a score of 53.9 and was ranked at 119th.

It is true that China and India, the major developing economies of the world are also ranked beneath the Philippines. India came in at 115th place with a score of 54.2 while China scored an overall index of 52.8, which is good enough for 126th spot. And they are both conceded prime investment magnets now. But China, for example, with around a fifth of the total world population, is notorious for accepting low wages. People there will literally work for almost nothing on top of the fact that their authorities regularly allow the use of penal and child labor. If you ever wondered why those Chinese-made electronic gadgets such as DVD players are very cheap, go ask a 10-year old in China what he or she does at night. Chances are you will get your answer. India, which is almost as large as China, is not far behind in wage rates. How can we ever compete against that?

Clearly, there is a lot of work that needs to be done in terms of making the country globally competitive, especially as it is reflected by the Heritage Foundation survey. Even Malacañang admits that something ought to be done in this respect.

Presidential management staff chief Cerge Remonde said: "The rating given by the Heritage Foundation is a challenge we must overcome."

This is a sink-or-swim situation for the country as we find ourselves more and more under the sway of a globalizing economy.

But it seems that the only thing this administration is doing for now is talking its head off trying to convince the poor and suffering Filipinos as well as the rest of the world that all is well in the halls of the Strong Republic.