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[av_heading heading=’Quality of life’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
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ECONOMIC managers of the Duterte administration are bullish about the country’s growth. We’ve heard the same sentiments even during the Arroyo and Aquino administrations. But people are not impressed with the rising gross domestic product. They can’t feel it. That’s the main complaint of voters in the recent elections.
In truth, improving the quality of life goes beyond economic growth and should include equally important factors such as good governance, equitable and sustainable socio-economic development, environmental sustainability, cultural preservation, and even disaster resilience.
The overall quality of life of Filipinos remains poorly understood due to the absence of measures that will reflect their happiness and well-being. We need to pursue the holistic development of the country amid the threats of climate change and increased disaster risks.
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.
There is a need for a comprehensive approach to measure the happiness and well-being of Filipinos in order to review the impact of existing policies and introduce corrective measures. The innovative “gross national happiness” (GNH) concept used by the Royal Government of Bhutan measures progress by giving equal importance to non-economic aspects of well-being.
The four pillars of Bhutan’s GNH 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. The four pillars are further classified into nine domains: psychological well-being, health, education, time use, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity and resilience, and living standards.
To better appreciate the impact of existing policies — and even introduce corrective measures – a comprehensive approach to measure the quality of life of Filipinos is needed.
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