A
senator wants the government to come up with new growth indicators that would
measure Filipinos’ “gross happiness”.
Senator Loren Legarda noted that the quality
of life of Filipinos remains poorly understood due to the absence of measures
that would reflect the happiness and well-being of the people.
Legarda then filed Senate Resolution No. 672
“urging the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) to develop new
indicators that will reflect the happiness and well-being of Filipinos” by
adopting the “gross national happiness” (GNH) concept of the Royal Government of Bhutan.
"Statistics such as gross domestic
product (GDP) and gross national product (GNP), which only indicate the value
of goods and services turned out by our market economy, are not designed to
measure the quality of life of Filipinos," she said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Our extractive and consumptive model for
progress, which conveniently factors out the impact of economic activities on
the natural environment and on the well-being of people, increasingly reveals
our vulnerability to disasters and climate change and puts our sustainable
development goals in peril," she added.
Bhutan’s GNH, Legarda explained, measures
progress by giving equal importance to non-economic aspects of
well-being—sustainable and equitable socio-economic development, environmental
conservation, promotion and preservation of cultural values, and good
governance.
This concept has been adopted by various
countries, said the senator.
She also cited the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD), which launched a happiness index that seeks
to complement the GDP and other indicators, while the United Nations (UN)
General Assembly adopted a resolution encouraging member states to implement
such concept.
"To ensure an improved quality of life
for our people, it is imperative for the government to measure and pursue the
kind of progress that is founded on good governance, equitable and sustainable
socio-economic development, ecosystems protection, cultural preservation and
disaster resilience," Legarda said.
Maila Ager
Philippine Daily Inquirer
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