[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’Loren seeks ‘holistic growth’ for PH ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
By Prince Golez, Manila Reporter
[/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
MANILA – Calling for the need to revise the indicators used to measure the country’s level of development, Sen. Loren Legarda said “happiness” and “well-being” should be part of it.
Legarda said the quality of life, which remains “poorly understood” in the Philippines, goes beyond economic resources.
The quality of life also relies on the promotion of good governance, equitable and sustainable socio-economic development, environmental sustainability, cultural preservation, and disaster resilience, said the senator from Antique.
“Statistics such as gross domestic product and gross national product, which only indicate the value of goods and services turned out by the market economy, are not designed to measure the quality of life, as these economic yardsticks foster policies that place too much emphasis on economic growth at all costs,” she explained.
Legarda, who filed a resolution asking the National Economic and Development Authority to adopt Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (BNH) concept, directed the government to establish a comprehensive approach measuring the happiness and well-being of Filipinos in order to review the impact of existing policies and introduce corrective measures.
Bhutan’s four pillars of happiness are the promotion of equitable and sustainable socio-economic development, the preservation and promotion of cultural values, the conservation of the natural environment, and the establishment of good governance.
Its GNH is further broken down into psychological well-being, health, education, time use, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity and resilience, and living standards.
“We need to pursue the holistic development of the country amid the threats of climate change and increased disaster risks,” Legarda said.
A recent report by New Economic Foundation, a UK-based research institute “promoting social, economic, and environmental justice,” said that the Philippines is the 20th “happiest” country in the world.
The country got a Happy Planet Index score of 35.0 in terms of life expectancy, wellbeing, inequality of outcomes, and ecological footprint, the leading think tank said./PN
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
