UN sustainable goals vs. GDP growth (Part II)

This past week, one of the principal economic news centered on the budget hearings in the Senate. The economic managers again emphasized that the economy was doing well and one sign of this was that the Philippine Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was one of the highest in Asia.

One major headline also in the past week was that the net worth of the ten richest families in the Philippines increased by 11 percent to $80 billion from $72 billion last year.

There were also smaller headlines that the retail price of rice, the staple food for the disadvantaged, might surpass the 1998 prices which were considered at a crisis level. There has not been much progress in reducing poverty levels and even hunger levels. While prices continue to go up, the struggle to increase minimum wage has still not been resolved.

In my last column on Thursday, I maintained that the state of the economy should not be measured by GDP growth but in terms of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. I wrote about the first eight goals from the perspective of a Philippine framework. Here are my reflections on the remaining nine goals.

Goal #9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. There is an accepted consensus that one of the major obstacles to investment in this country is the lack of adequate infrastructure. Even the major infrastructure being built are subject to questions about their benefit and sustainability. For example, these questions include the 22 projects for the reclamation of Manila Bay which have been questioned by environmentalists and interested parties that question the involvement of Chinese contracting firms. A review of the projects of the major Philippine conglomerates show that their major areas of investments are in real estate, food retail and service industries and not in the area of sustainable industrialization.

Goal #10: Reduce inequality within countries.  Certainly, the gap between the rich and the poor became very obvious when the news came out that the net worth of the ten richest families in the Philippines is now at $80 billion. The income inequality in the country is evident even by a quick trip around Metro Manila where the upper class areas like BGC are only a wall away from the poverty-stricken areas.

Goal #11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. A tour of any urban area will show the stark reality of the lack of parks and other green spaces. I dare say that the hectarage devoted to golf courses is even bigger than the ones devoted to public spaces lush with trees. The lack of housing for the poor and lower middle class has become a really serious problem. It is acknowledged that many areas do not have a safe environment.

Goal #12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. This is not even a goal that we are striving for since our immediate goal is to ensure that no family will go hungry.

Goal #13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. There is a lot of discussion on climate change but little action is being undertaken to address this crisis.  Deforestation continues without any major reforestation program.  Another example is that coal is still a major source of power and the rivers continue to be full of silt and waste.

Goal #14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. There are areas where there is a conscious effort to protect coral reefs and marine life. At the same time, there are other projects that will destroy marine biodiversity, like the project to reclaim a major portion of Manila Bay. At the same time, we are unable to protect our marine resources from massive exploitation by Chinese fishermen, such as around the reefs of the West Philippine Sea.

Goal #15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably managed forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. I am not aware of any significant government programs to address this goal.

Goal #16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective and accountable institutions at all levels. It is a fact that has been accepted by even local government officials and other personalities that corruption is still rampant in this country. There is also no doubt that the legal institutions favor the rich and work against the poor who have no money.

Goal #17: Strengthen the means for implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development. Before any talk of implementation, we must first formulate the nation’s goal in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

I want to reiterate that the first eight major goals enumerated in my last column are no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, and reduction of inequalities.

These 17 SDGs are the true objectives of a society that desires to achieve a life of human dignity for all its citizens.

*      *      *

Email: [email protected]