Conclusion
ONE man is shrugging off the superb performance of the Philippine economy: Antonio S. Yap.
The founder of the Benita & Catalino Yap Foundation (BCYF) believes determining if social-development schemes benefit desired stakeholders go beyond the GDP.
Government economists on Tuesday said the “performance of the Philippine economy remains on target, hitting a solid 6.6-percent growth rate in the last quarter of 2017.”
“This stable performance brings our full-year growth in 2017 to 6.7 percent—a strong finish that keeps our position as one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia, after China’s 6.9 and Vietnam’s 6.8 percent,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said in a news briefing.
However, for Yap, relying on the tool to measure the economy has shown the GDP rate is not adequate as a barometer of growth and social progress.
Although using GDP remains useful, it is commonly known that economic growth is just one element of development, he said. Nowadays, “happiness” and “well-being” are also used as metrics in measuring development.
Todaro’s view
YAP’S views mirror that of economist Michael Todaro’s. According to Todaro, economic development is a “broad term that does not have a single, unique definition.”
Todaro specified three objectives of development, namely, life-sustaining goods and services; higher incomes and freedom to make social and economic choices.
Life-sustaining goods and services refer to expanding the availability and giving wider access to the distribution of basic life-sustaining goods, such as food, shelter, health and protection.
Higher incomes seek to raise the standards of living, including higher incomes, employment, quality education and bigger emphasis on cultural and human values, all aiming not only to boost material well-being but also to create greater individual and national self-esteem.
Freedom to make economic and social choices aims to broaden the range of economic and social choices available to individuals and nations by extricating them from the shackles of servitude and dependence from people and nation-states but also against ignorance and human misery.
Yap’s plans
ACCORDING to Yap, supporting the government in its role to make the GDP meatier are groups like the BCYF.
And the man has big plans.
For one, he said, the BCYF will provide assistance to depressed areas to uplift their economic status through a “social development area” or SDA-building strategy. This refers to the BCYF concept of a geographical area where a “social development intervention”—social enterprise, social business, policy work, etc.—will result in a significant impact to the area’s economy within the next 10 years.
Yap added the BCYF is not concentrating on economic gains, but on the holistic picture. This is in line with the group’s objective of being people-centered and focused on enhancing human dignity.
He noted that academe can be a vital partner in developing a pool of dedicated agents of social change. To achieve this goal, the sector must be pushed to craft a so-called corporate social responsibility (CSR) ecosystem. This ecosystem, he said, is where the personal transformation of a young individual from regular volunteer to a purpose-driven individual is going to be molded.
Joy of volunteerism
THE Merriam-Webster dictionary refers to volunteerism as the “act or practice of doing volunteer work in community service.”
Volunteering is also defined as a giving of time and energy for the benefit of society and the community, the environment or individuals outside one’s immediate family. More important, volunteerism is done freely and by choice, with the individual not expecting any monetary gain.
As far as the BCYF is concerned, Yap said, volunteerism aims to make changes for the common good through the collective efforts of people working with the same vision and objective.
Yap emphasized that more than volunteers, the Philippines needs “change-makers” to help society achieve relevant and significant change. Change-makers are people who contribute to the field of making a positive difference in society, he explained. More often than not, their desire is triggered by an experience with volunteerism.
The BCYF Volunteer Development Program (VDP) is run by the Volunteer Matching Exchange. The VDP is aimed at forming what BCYF calls as “Volunteers with a Purpose.”
Yap believes that a volunteer doesn’t only require an individual “to do good.” This should be complemented by serving with a purpose that should be also effective and sustainable, he said. For BCYF, Yap added they ensure the volunteers should strive to be practitioners of CSR 2.0, which he describes as “transformative social responsibility.” These are actions that serve the common good, Yap explained.
But, more important, as individuals, Yap said volunteers pursue a lifestyle of CSR 3.0
Social enterprise
FOR Yap, BCYF’s Social Development Model identifies social enterprises as the agents of development in society.
“Social enterprises can be effective multipliers of social progress,” Yap explained. “They are businesses that have integrated a social objective in their operations.”
An enterprise must have an a priori commitment to a particular social objective, he added.
In order for an individual to absorb the essence and lifestyle of CSR, Yap said, the individual must be exposed to an environment that supports such a lifestyle.
“Doing so gives way to the development of the CSR ecosystem,” he added.
For BCYF, this ecosystem is composed of the group’s programs to provide a holistic experience of CSR 3.0 (citizenship, sustainability and social responsibility).
Yap said schools, colleges and universities will have a special role in enhancing the CSR ecosystem because they are in the top position to mold an individual in his or her formative years.
As he or she matures, Yap said, the person is equipped with the tools and foundation to help pursue the common good.
He added that through research, the BCYF can “strengthen the effectiveness of initiatives as opposed to simply relying on anecdotal evidence.”
“We believe that individuals can progress through volunteerism with a purpose,” the BCYF said. “Once done sustainably, this can lead to [CSR 3.0-based] social enterprises, which can multiply progress in society.”
Image credits: Nonie Reyes