80% of Filipinos prefer simple, comfortable life — NEDA survey

Most Filipinos aspire to have a simple and comfortable life with a stable job, own a car and a house, the data released by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Wednesday revealed.

According to NEDA’s “Ambisyon Natin 2040” Report, 79.2 percent of Filipinos want to live a “simple and comfortable life.”

The report is a result of public consultations, a national survey, and technical studies that were conducted to produce evidence-based examinations of what and how the goals can be achieved as a nation for the next 25 years.

The vision will serve as the anchor for development planning across administrations.

The survey was conducted with 10,000 respondents and with margin of error of 0.98 percent.

The factors of a "simple and comfortable life" include a college education for all children; to earn enough money to purchase day-to-day needs; own a car and a medium-sized home; own a business; have time to relax with family and friends; and be able to take occasional trips around the country.

The rest of Filipinos or 16.9 percent aspire for an “affluent life” while 3.9 percent want to live to a “life of the rich.”

Type of work

Securing a decent job means receiving a "good salary" or enough wages that are paid regularly, having a business with good revenue with benefits and incentives like insurance and retirement.

Another factor is job stability and security.

On the type of occupation preferred, based on the study, 47 percent opt to be an employer in their own family-operated farm or business, 22 percent want to be self-employed without any paid employee while 20 percent prefer to work for a private establishment and another 20 percent opt to work for government or government-owned corporation.

Only 18 percent work with pay in their own family-operated farm or business and 13 percent work for a private household.

Work location

In the same report, NEDA said that 79 percent of Filipinos want to live within the same city that they work in. Some 14 percent prefer to work in a “big city” but still live outside the city, while 7 percent want to work and live outside the city.

Living conditions

“Most respondents choose to live in houses with large lots yet majority prefer to live in cities,” NEDA said.

The bulk or 73 percent of NEDA’s respondents wanted a small house with a big lot, while 14 percent chose to live in a big house with a small lot.

In terms of the preferred community, 30 percent comprise those who choose to live in a big city like Manila, while 30 percent are those who chose to live in the town center in the province. Those who prefer to live in a small city in the province accounted for 29 percent.

Education

On education, among those who have not finished college, 16.5 percent wanted to take up education, Science and teacher training.

This was followed by business administration and related fields (12.7 percent); Information Technology (IT) and related courses (11.6 percent); tourism and hospitality (10.5 percent); engineering and technology (10 percent); law and jurisprudence (10 percent); medical and allied Sciences (6.9 percent); trade, craft, and industrial course (6.7 percent); and maritime courses (4.8 percent).

Finances

The finances of a family is anchored on having enough funds to purchase daily needs, according to 61 percent of respondents.

But few seem to be forward-looking as only 28 percent aspire to have savings for unexpected expenses such as sudden illness, natural hazards, and man-made calamities. Savings may also be used to buy a car, build a house, and support retirement, NEDA noted.

Transport

The NEDA survey said Filipinos want to be mobile with majority or 77 percent of the respondents prefer to have their own vehicle, and only 23 percent opt to rely on good public transportation.

“Ordinary people’s measure of their own success is the degree to which they are able to afford travel for themselves and their families,” NEDA noted, as travelling locally and abroad was the most-frequently cited leisure activity.

2040 outlook

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Emmanuel Esguerra said this vision of the Filipinos to have a stable and comfortable lifestyle by 2040 can be achieved through the implementation of the right policies and programs.

"Empirical studies indicate that, with the right policies, improvements in productivity and efficiency can triple our (gross national) per capita income to about $11,000 in 25 years, allowing majority of our people to enjoy nearly high-income country standards of living," he added.

The government should invest in health and education, promote peace and security and should be clean, efficient and service-oriented.

Esguerra also said the vision is not achievable immediately and requires the support and commitment from the next four administrations. — BAP/APG, GMA News