What does the Philippines’ economic growth sound like?
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has used music to convey its message to the public, connecting the data points of the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) growth through the years in composing the song about the country’s economic progress.
Titled “Tunog ng Progreso,” the three-minute NEDA’s anthem on the Philippines’ growth narrative is making the rounds online. It can be found on Spotify, a popular music-streaming site and is now widely circulated among government’s social media accounts.
Arranged and composed by Allan Feliciano and Top Suzara and performed by Thyro, the song hopes to support and inspire Filipinos in realizing their collective goals of having a “stable, comfortable, and secure” life.
“As economic manager, NEDA’s work tends to be highly technical. Most of the time it’s all about numbers and statistics. But how will we help people understand it?” Nerrisa Esguerra, director of NEDA’s Development Information Staff, said.
Feliciano said they plotted the data points of the country’s GDP in a major scale and used them as notes for the basslines of the song’s verse.
It occurred to the composers that the Philippines’ GDP growth rates fall between between 0 and 8. “It just so happens that in a major scale there’s Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do,” Feliciano said.
“Basically we are connecting the dots to make the music. Contrary to what the general opinion about the economy is, that it is going down, it isn’t. The data shows we’re very progressive,” Suzara said.
“Tunog ng Progreso” is in line with the Philippine Development Plan, the Philippines’ blueprint for development, which is geared towards Ambisyon Natin (Our Vision) 2040, the collective long-term vision of the Filipinos.
You may download it from NEDA’s website or watch its video on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QMjCe-Nsf0 or NEDA Today front page.
DIS-PRD, loc. 103