The Philippines' 6.6% GDP Growth Rate (Part 4)

So we have a GDP that is only a fraction of that of Singapore. And it is the lowest of the six original ASEAN states (sorry I missed Brunei in a previous column). And our age structure leaves much to be desired. Some sectors will say, "but it's much cheaper here compared to living abroad." True, the cost of living varies all over the world. And generally, it's much higher in more developed countries (usually countries with higher GDPs).

But does that even out? Say it takes a P500 a day income to allow a family of five to live at the barest. And that family's income is P1,000 a day. That should be comfortable enough to allow certain niceties in life. If suppose, in another country, it takes the equivalent of P1,000 to make ends meet, and the family's income is P2,000. All things considered equal, the two families in both countries would seem to be at the same quality of life.

But it doesn't work that way, as many of our countrymen who work in other countries know. There will be commodities which do have higher prices in more developed countries than in developing ones. But many of the other items - goods and services, the basic and non-basic ones, cost comparatively the same. This allows people from developed countries to have higher purchasing power for the money they earn. That's why they're better off.

I was discussing this issue with my good friend from Yishun, and I asked the question, "Why do we have so much incidents of phone snatching in the Philippines, which is quite rare in Singapore?" We postulated, "Is it because of our law enforcement?" Is it because they don't love phones while we are the texting capital of the world? We came down to the conclusion that it is simply because of higher per capita incomes and purchasing power.

Cellphones might cost approximately the same in Singapore and the Philippines. In fact, they cost less there, and so are many other electronic gadgets that we use in everyday life. When we attended a conference in Singapore last January, a lot of my colleagues bought iPads and hi-tech cellphones, which are actually available in the Philippines. It has gone so ridiculous that a lot of our OFWs actually bring large TV screens with them when they come home. We see these in the airport every day, many of them often getting entangled with Customs.

That's the irony of life - many everyday commodities in life actually cost less in countries with higher GDPs than in ours. You can tell by the number of balikbayan boxes and luggage that our countrymen from North America bring into the country each year. The more disappointing reality is that we often yearn, long, ask, and demand for things, which other countries have and blame the government why we can't have those. It's just like some kid from a poor family living beside a mansion of a billionaire who complains why he can't have an iPad, when he sees the next door child playing with one and 10 other gadgets.

Governments, and its agencies and people are not immune from that, too. We demand metros and subways, and other infrastructure other countries have, forgetting that those countries have GDPs much much higher than ours. We forget the basic laws of development, which is to improve the quality of life of everybody, and the way to do that is to increase per capita income as well as make provisions for human development. That's why for decades, the main two economic development goals of the Philippines remain the same - first is eradication of poverty, and second is equitable distribution of life.

People often equate progress with all the nice things that other countries have. But there is no progress if majority of the population is left out. The basic goal is to improve income levels for everybody and not just the big corporations. Having a 6.6 percent GDP growth rate is one of the best, if not the best, achievement any President can have. Coupled with renewed investor confidence exhibited by the inflow of huge capital investments into the country, we are really in for a brighter future. We should always remember that capital inflows in foreign direct investments results to job creation and higher personal and family incomes. That's why we have that 6.6 percent growth rate. (To be continued…)