EDITORIAL
Provincial Rankings

So in the last 2002 Philippine Human Development Report, Romblon happened to be along with along with Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and six other provinces, among the poorest in the country's 78 provinces.

I guess for many Romblomanons, this is a source of concern.

But then someone could probably ask, what's the big deal?

It is not as if the disparity of socio-economic conditions between provinces in this country is so big. The whole country is poor by international standards. So what is the richest, Manila? Is life in Manila for the majority of the population so different from those in Romblon or Tawi-tawi?

Perhaps slightly and only materially-speaking, yes. If you include access to services and facilities that comes with modern living like 24-hour electricity, running (but not always safe or potable) water, communication, transportation, super malls, etc., definitely you could say some provinces are indeed at a disadvantage. But comparing health, food consumption, general welfare and so on for the avearage Filipino (not the richest residents), I would think most provinces would come out just the same.

Having a good, comfortable life is not always seen by the buildings or flyovers or super malls one sees in the cities. One should also consider the less obvious but as important factors that affect our way of life. How about having clean air, relatively unspoilt environment, fast moving traffic, less crime on the streets, better socio-cultural conditons, and so on? I don't think many of our cities can boast of their environmental conditions or the peace and security situation in their communities. In fact, the pollution, traffic, crowds and security concerns in many of our big cities leave a lot to be desired. On the other hand, we cannot help envying the quiet, relaxing and uncluttered life in some remote (or less developed) provinces we visit. If someone could put a fair costing on these factors as they have put value on having good infrastructures, facilities and services in the "wealthier provinces", I think Romblon and the other rural provinces would not fare too badly. In conversation with many foreigners and visitors who have been to Romblon, many gushed at the cleanliness, simplicity and peaceful life in that part of the country. "Like a rough diamond, waiting to be polished", as one said. Romblon is probably one of the few provinces which has no insurgency problem. These things add to the "livability" of the place so shouldn't those factors be considered in the ranking too?

This is not to put down the study. I am sure it has its own purpose.

But to dwell on it and use it as an excuse to feel bad or good about your particular province just because it is supposed to rank high or low is I think not a very good way to spend your time. As mentioned earlier, there is hardly any difference between intra-province situations anyway. It is not as if you step out of a local airport or ship or bus station and instantly you see a great change in the conditions of life in the next province. For instance, do government agencies work efficiently in the high-ranking provinces than the lower ones? Are the Filipino people in province A more disciplined than in Province B? Are the goods and services in Province C much better in quality than in Province D? I think if there is a difference, it is very negligible. (Although in rare occasions, it could happen that when in Subic (Olongapo) people all of a sudden start following traffic rules but forget about it when they are elsewhere in the country). I think the Philippines is the same all over. Definitely, you will not have culture shock traveling around the country.

I think the proper attitude when dealing with results to studies like these is to use it as a guide rather than taking it hook, line and sinker. It is probably good to acknowledge the results with certain conditions by which the researcher used to measure factors or rank the subjects to arrive to his conclusions but other than that, it is also okay not to take it too seriously. But if you are so bent in being so influenced by it, then those provinces that ranked low can probably use it as a challenge to work better so that in the next study, it ranks a little higher than the rest.

Personally though, I would rather see each and every province trying to improve itself. Because come to think of it, even the highest-ranking province needs a lot of improvements herself!