The movement in the Philippines’ social progress ranking should not be considered a drop because of the changes in the index’s metrics, Malacañang said on Saturday.
The Philippines ranked 64th out of 133 countries and was included among nations of “lower middle social progress” with a score of 65.46 in the Social Progress Index 2015. Among countries in the East Asia and Pacific, the Philippines ranked fifth, after Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand. In 2014, it had the rank of 56 (out of 132 countries) with a score of 65.86 and in 2013 it ranked 26th (out of 50 countries) with a score of 49.41.
“A country’s progress on the 2015 report should not be compared to its progress in 2014 and in 2013 for the simple fact that the metrics are not the same,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said over state-run radio Radyo ng Bayan.
Valte explained that the group behind the index, the Social Progress Imperative, have already said that it is refining the data gathered every year. She said it was because the index was relatively new and started only in 2013.
In its executive summary, the group said the “high-level structure of the 2015 Social Progress Index remains unchanged from 2014. However, due to changes in data availability, a few modifications were made to the composition of several components.”
Valte said the index had a lot of potential because it identifies particular markers such as “depth of food deficit,” “maternal mortality cycle,” and “child mortality rate.”
“We can focus on these areas and to see how our programs can help push the rankings up in terms of these indicators themselves,” she said.
However, she said it was also important to wait for the Aquino administration’s programs to “take root.”
The 2015 Social Progress Index looks into the “national social and environmental performance” of 133 countries, covering 94 percent of the world’s population. It is described as a “comprehensive framework for measuring social progress that is independent of GDP (gross domestic product), and complementary to it.” RC
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