EDITORIAL - Stressed out

Residents of Metro Manila will not be surprised that the mega city has been ranked as the third most stressful in the world. German wellbeing company VAAY conducted a study that ranked stress levels in 100 cities based on four categories: governance, city quality, finance and health.

Manila came out near the bottom at 98th place, ahead of only Lagos in Nigeria and Mumbai in India. Other cities in Southeast Asia fared better: city-state Singapore, not surprisingly, got the highest rating in the region and placed 33rd overall; Hanoi, Vietnam placed 70th; Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, 76th; Bangkok in Thailand, 87th, and Indonesian capital Jakarta, 92nd.

Governance includes safety and security, socio-political stability, gender equality and minority equality. It is notable that the Philippines scored a low 29.8 out of 100 in safety and security, a priority of the Duterte administration with its heavy-handed campaign against criminality. Manila also scored a low 38.1 percent in socio-political stability.

Metro Manila residents have long complained about the elements included in the “city quality” category: population density, traffic congestion, weather as well as air and noise pollution. Manila scored poorly particularly in traffic congestion, which has become a problem again with gradual economic reopening.

The COVID pandemic has worsened the situation of Manila residents in terms of the elements included in the “finance” category: the unemployment rate, financial stress and social security. And as VAAY itself has acknowledged, the pandemic has aggravated problems worldwide in the “health” category, although Manila received high scores in terms of mental health and the stress impact of the COVID response.

The city scores tracked results in global livability and happiness studies, with wealthy urban centers ranking the highest. Iceland capital Reykjavic was ranked by VAAY as the least stressful city, garnering a perfect score of 100. It was followed by Bern, Switzerland; Helsinki, Finland; Wellington, New Zealand; Melbourne, Australia; Oslo, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark; Innsbruck, Austria; Hannover, Germany, and Graz, Austria.

Metro Manila is a long way from achieving the quality of life afforded in such advanced economies. But it can strive to be better, aiming to surpass or at least be at par with other cities in Southeast Asia. Until about half a century ago, the Philippines was second only to Japan in terms of economic prosperity and most human development indicators. It shouldn’t be impossible to regain the country’s regional standing.