THE GROSS Domestic Product (GDP) accounting system has been used for many years now to measure the health and condition of the national economy.
I wonder, however, how the data is being collected to overall GDP computation, because I have always believed that all data collection should start from below, to be eventually integrated and analyzed at the top.
Perhaps there is no direct connection to this main subject matter, but I also believe that Bottom up Budgeting (BUB) should be the default standard in local government budgeting and accounting, in line with a Barangay Development Plan (BDP).
As a requirement that is based on the Local Government Code (LGC), BDPs should be prepared and approved by the Barangay Development Council (BDC).
As it is now, the performance of the President is already being measured by the health and condition of the national economy during and after his or her term of office. Of course, the measurement is always based on the national GDP since there is no other credible measure that could be used as an alternative.
That being the case, my friend and fellow columnist Manny Valdehuesa suggested that we should also measure the GDP at the barangay level, and in connection with that, to also use the barangay GDP to measure the performance of the barangay based on the health and condition of the local economy. Valdehuesa has the credibility to suggest this idea, being the founder of the Gising Barangay Movement (GBM).
Aside from the BDC, there are also supposed to be Municipal Development Council (MDCs), Provincial Development Council (PDCs) and Regional Development Council (RDCs), also as required by the LDC.
What this means is that there is already an existing structure or organization to collect GDP data from below, so that these could be submitted upwards for eventual integration and analysis. That way, the BUB standard could be easily implemented without any additional implementation costs.
Although there is really no empirical basis that would correlate the local barangay budget to the local GDP, there could be lessons that could be derived from the comparison. Besides, it would be logical to say that the quality of the BDP should somehow result in a positive GDP.
As it is supposed to be, all cities and municipalities are supposed to submit their Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUPs) to the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB). As it is now, the HLURB does not really require the Local Government Units (LGUs) to submit their CLUPs in Geographic Information System (GIS) format, but that would be a practical idea. (To be continued/PN)
