The Uyugan Times

In an AER (Action for Economic Reforms) Quality of Life Index report, Batanes has consistently topped the list in the 1990s with a rating of 0.908 in 1999. The QLI is an alternative measure of poverty and human capability developed by AER as alternative to the HDI that ranked Batanes in 5th place in 2000. Action for Economic Reforms is an independent policy analysis and advocacy organization focusing macroeconomic and governance issues.
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One of the most difficult challenges in the fight against poverty is the task of locating the poor. This challenge is felt nationally and is even more apparent at the level of provinces and municipalities across the country. In reality, there is very little information about the poverty situation at the subnational level. Such information gaps can result to poor targeting and defective planning.

To respond to this challenge, Action for Economic Reforms (AER) has developed an alternative measure of poverty and human capability. This measure, referred to as the Quality of Life Index, or QLI, is a composite index that uses a capability-based approach in measuring accomplishment in human development. The measure focuses on the outcome of the development process rather than on the means to achieve such outcome. It excludes income and other means variables in the computation of the composite index.

The Quality of Life Index captures three basic dimensions of human capability: the capability to be well nourished; the capability for healthy and safe reproduction; and the capability to be educated and be knowledgeable. The index is computed based on the following indicators: under-five nutrition; births attended by trained health personnel; and cohort survival rate in elementary school. These component indicators serve as proxy measures of basic human capabilities.

The comparative advantage of using the Quality of Life Index lies in the convenience of generating the index and its applicability even at the local level. The index is a cost-effective indicator. It can be generated without resorting to household surveys that are often too costly and well beyond the capacity of local government units to undertake on a regular basis. Time eries analysis can easily be presented using the index to facilitate a longer term monitoring of the poverty situation. Statistical tests found the index to be strongly correlated with other poverty measures, thus making it a good alternative where no other indicator is available.

In its recently launched book, The 2001 Report , Social Watch Philippines presented the latest (1999) Quality of Life Indices for Philippine provinces. The presentation shows very interesting results and provides important leads in tracking poverty across the country.

The difficult life experienced by Filipinos during the past decade is well reflected in the aggregate QLI figures for the Philippines. Nationally, the QLI increased only marginally from .671 to .689 for the period 1991 to 1999. The index actually slid back in 1994 before experiencing a modest increase in 1997. The index was virtually stagnant from 1997 to 1999. Over time, attended births showed a gradual steady improvement while elementary cohort survival rate was virtually stagnant. The improvement in attended births, however, had been partially offset by the consistent deterioration of the nutrition status of under-five children.

Batanes topped the list in nearly all categories

Across provinces, the QLI scores for 1999 range from a low of .479 to a high of .908. As to be expected, Luzon dominated the list of high-performing provinces. Surprisingly, relatively remote Batanes topped the list, while two other island provinces (Siquijor and Camiguin) joined the list of top performers, surpassing most of the income-rich provinces of Luzon. Batanes topped the list in nearly all categories and has been consistently in the number-one slot since 1991. On the other hand, the income-poor provinces of Mindanao, along with the poor provinces of Eastern and Western Visayas and Southern Luzon, registered the lowest QLI scores.

Immediately, one concludes that income determines quality of life. The statistics, however, noted that income alone does not guarantee improvement in the quality of life. For example, there are middle- and even poor-income provinces such as Siquijor, Camiguin, Misamis Oriental, Bohol, Nueva Vizcaya and Mountain Province that scored relatively high in QLI. The implication of this is that even poor households can have better quality of life by improving access to critical services such as health, education, livelihood support, and transportation.

Provinces such as Davao Oriental, North Samar, Maguindanao, Masbate, and Sulu can be classified as the poorest in terms of income and capabilities and, therefore, need immediate attention. Critical intervention is needed particularly on services that were found to be significant determinants of well-being, as measured by the QLI. These services and infrastructures are roads, transportation, farm access, electricity, housing, water, sanitary facilities, schools with adequate books and teachers and health facilities with adequate health personnel.

The Quality of Life Index is not a replacement of the existing income and poverty measures, but a complementary statistics that can be particularly useful in tracking poverty at the local level. The index can prove effective in identifying priority areas for development work and human capital investment. It can fill in critical information gaps, and thus help in poverty analysis, policy formulation and programming. The QLI also serves as an effective advocacy tool as it underscores the importance of human development and makes it a priority concern in development work. Source: Action for Economic Reforms, an independent policy analysis and advocacy organization focusing macroeconomic and governance issues, October 2002.