Backgrounder on Public Access to Information in the Philippines Unless otherwise noted, material is sourced from TASCHA’s Public Access Landscape Report.
General Governmental/administrative hierarchy: national, regional, provincial, district, city, municipality, barangay Library Landscape General Information National Library supervises 1266 libraries as of March 2012. TASCHA 2008: 1,156 public libraries, all in urban areas (as defined by the National Statistics Coordination Board of the Philippines). o According to Senator Koko Pimentel, only 33% of Filipino Municipalities have their own libraries. o Only 7% offer ICT services. Most users are below 25 years old, in low (~55%) or middle (~37%) economic classes. Income disparity highly affects info access; TASCHA study picked varied access points to account for this. o Economic climate worsened by corruption and inefficiency in government: USAID estimates the cost of government corruption in the Philippines at $47 million a year. Most users of public libraries are college graduates. Gender is not a defining factor in info access; males and females use points of access equally. Provinces that are vulnerable to conflict situations (Lanao del Norte in Region 10, Davao Norte in Region 11, and North Cotabato Region 12) have hampered access to info due to safety and security issues, although local government support technology development efforts. Most users are both literate and ICT literate. Most information is accessed in English. A majority of users access libraries or other ICT venues either more than once a week or daily. Info access at public libraries is limited to educational topics only. Bookmobile programs hosted by individual libraries o 12 provinces host these programs, but they only cover 11 regions of the country E-Lib Catalog Program o 81 Libraries have e-Lib Programs o Fees are charged to remotely access the e-Lib Perceptions Most public library users are students, professionals, researchers, or those who require information for their job. Mobile phones, radio, and television are generally preferred sources of information. 1
Public libraries are not generally used for ICT purposes; people are more likely to go to CeCs and cyber cafes (see below). Cyber Cafes are perceived as cool, especially to teenage boys, who play online games at the cafes. (Playing online games is not allowed at CeCs or libraries.) Often described as “collections” or “repositories,” not active or vibrant sources of information or community gathering places (via Senator Pimentel.)
National Library Main supporter of public libraries as outlined below. Housed under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. o NCCA hasn’t provided any recent grants relating to libraries/the NLP. Provides training and workshops to librarians. Total budget for 2012: P137,825,000 (via Dept of Budget and Management) Hosting a partnership development workshop for March 2012 – “Legislative Agenda towards a National Development Plan for Public Libraries” o Hopes to strengthen partnerships between LGUs and libraries. 200 staff, 45% professional librarians (via NLP in Library ICT Presentation) Oversees Philippine Library Information Network (PHILIN) , an integrated library management and information system that makes up the National National Library Library s’s information system information system. (via NLP Presentation) o Consists of National Library Information Network (NLIN), and Public Library Information Network (PUBLIN) “Public Libraries Division (PLD) performs the public library function of the National Library of the Philippines. It technically supervises 1,266 public libraries located in the different provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays of the country” (PLD’s Facebook Page) Legal and Budgetary Status of Public Libraries Local Government Units (LGUs) are mandated to fund and support public libraries and other points of info access, though it is not generally considered a priority. o Public support varies geographically depending on each specific LGU’s priorities. Department of Education does not prioritize the creation or maintenance of public libraries. National Library coordinates with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) “for the maintenance and improvement of local libraries.” o National Lib Budgets P1 million for each congressional district library, P500,000 for city library, P300,000 for municipal library, and P200,000 for a barangay reading center. (Statistic confirmed via the National Library) o Also allocates books to libraries. Republic Act 7743 “Act Providing for the Establishment of Congressional, City, Municipal, and Barangay Reading Centers throughout the Philippines,” 1994 o Mandates that National Library set up each library together w/ LGU, supported by DILG and Philippine Information Agency (PIA). 2
o Maintenance is up to LGU, National Library provides support and technical assistance to library. o Each library has a local library board, composed of local elected public official at head, and the patrons of the library as members, as well as the Chief Librarian as Secretary. o If the law had been followed, there would have been 43,874 libraries in country by 2008. o Senator Serbisyon Koko Pimentel lamented the state of public libraries in November 2011, stating: “while the number of public libraries has increased since the passage of Republic Act 7743 in 1994, the quality of public repositories still leaves much room for improvement, as compared to the ones in the United States and Europe.” National Library describes the issues facing public libraries in the Philippines: “quality over quantity, addressing the lack of space and inadequate funding as well as the level of support available, questions on jurisdiction and supervision, and exploring possible means of income generation such as the collection fees.”
Librarian Training and Development Lack of licensed librarians, but those working in libraries often take library science courses Libraries with Chief (licensed) librarians attend a yearly training given by the National Library Some libraries have IT staff to help with e-Lib programs. All librarians are automatically members of the Philippine Library Association, Inc. (PLAI). Passing rate for Librarians’ Licensure Examination in 2011 was 28% in 2011 (from Filipino Librarian Blog). Other Library Projects Philippine Mini Library Project o Sets up small community libraries and eventually transitions them to state ownership. o Began in 2008, but unclear if it still in existence- all references online are from ~2010. Lions Club International: Philippines Library o Lions Clubs of Philippines and Japan received LCIF grant to build a library in the Philippines, with the goal of combating illiteracy Info Access Landscape Population’s information needs mostly include social services and livelihood (health, employment, education, etc). Cellular phones most accessible; Internet penetration rated as low to medium. Internet access usually comes in the form of: o community e-centers (CeCs,n government funded) – 741, all in urban areas Despite lowered cost of Internet usage at CeCs, users generally still prefer to access the Internet through cell phones. o cyber cafes (privately owned) – 6473, all in urban areas. Has a government web portal, and 92% of government agencies have websites 3
Government encourages agencies to provide SMS feedback and interaction services with citizens, since most access the internet via their cell phones. Half of Filipino agencies have implemented an SMS policy, increasing political participation. National Computer Center (NCC) sets policies and coordinates the ICT sector of the country.
Government ICT Policies/Organs In general government has fostered a strong ICT environment, particularly in telecommunications. o Has created a lot of policy dealing with implementing telecommunications infrastructure and governing the ICT sector. o Very enabling environment for ICT policy. Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) – sets policy and develops framework for telecom industry National Computer Center (NCC) (established 1971)- “lends its full support to the administration’s ICT thrust by forging strategic alliances with the private sector, coordinating ICT activities, developing human capital, promoting ICT utilization in all sectors of the society, and advocating Philippine ICT services worldwide.” o Partnered with the e-Gov Center of Excellence, though it is unclear their exact function. Committee on ICT (CICT) was created through Executive Order 269 in 2004 as the "primary policy, planning, coordinating, implementing, regulating, and administrative entity of the executive branch of Government that will promote, develop, and regulate integrated and strategic ICT systems and reliable and cost-efficient communication facilities and services.” Administers the following agencies/projects: o National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) – regulates telecom industry o Administers CeCs, e services for LGUs, Universities, government, as well as the programs “One Million ICT Jobs” and “Philippine Cyberservices Corridor” o eGovernment Development Committee is committed to implementing ICT plans to facilitate better, more efficient, more transparent government service. Human Capital Development Group (HCDG) provides training and sets standards for all those involved with ICT- teachers, civil servants, etc., as well as general ICT workers. Information Infrastructure Management Group: responsible for the creation of a nationwide communications and information infrastructure. One of the first ASEAN member countries to have an e-Commerce law.
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Government Programs Development Plan 2011-2016 Intends to pursue inclusive growth policy, ensuring development initiatives are spread to marginalized populations Includes “A Social Contract with the Filipino People” which discusses the need for government to provide for its citizens, avoid corruption, while
Open Government Partnership Implementation began January 2012 after three month preparatory phase in late 2011. Initiative stems from President Aquino, who promised to fight corruption during his term o Reforms of Aquino’s administration focus on “People Power: a paradigm for achieving the nation’s progress by ensuring the active and meaningful participation of citizens in public policy and programs.” o Goals: “improve public services, increase public integrity and more effectively manage public resources” o Focuses on improving government transparency on all levels and encouraging citizen participation in legislative/budgetary processes Encourages LGUs to post information in various public sources; As of August 26, 2011, 70 provinces, 130 cities and 1,305 municipalities have complied with this policy. ICT Programs CeCs o About 755 spread around the country, funded and managed by LGUs o Users still frequent privately owned cyber cafes o Generally very poorly managed o Budgets are irregular and unavailable, as each varies by local government allocation. CyberServices Corridor o ICT Channel that runs 600 miles across the country from Baguio City in the North and Zamboanga south of the archipelago o Supported by a $10 billion high bandwith fiber backbone o Houses numerous cyberservice providers Farmers Information and Technology Services Center (FITS Centers)- hosted by Dept. of Agriculture, Dept. of Land Reform, and LGUs. o Provide IT services and info access to farmers. o About 200 in the country. o 3 staff, 1 farmer “scientist” at each Center.
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Library Programs Philippines e-Library project (via NLP in Library ICT Presentation). o One of the first eGovernment Funded Projects through the Information Technology and E-Commerce Council (ITECC), now Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT). o Collaborative project of five government agencies: Commission on Higher Education Department of Agriculture Department Department of Science and Technology of Science and Technology National Library University of the Philippines o Objectives: Provide info access to citizens, encourage lifelong learning Gather and preserve local content for global access Optimize network of libraries for access in local communities and abroad Provide library and information services to the government Establish a mechanism for income generation for the eLib program o Includes a library network, web portal, digitization, collections development, training. o Program has membership fees associated with individual memberships. Scholars and government officials can join for free. Public Access Partners According to TASCHA, there are no specific partnerships with libraries, but several nongovernmental organizations and private individuals donate their books. Gearing up Internet Literacy and Access for Students (GILAS)- 2005-2011- multi-sectoral initiative composed of 25 corporations and concerned non-profit institutions. Invested in bridging the digital divide among the nation's public high school students. o Provided equipment (10-20 computers), connections, technical assistance, as well as teacher, principal and student training to schools in need. Over 13,000 teachers trained by the program o Out of 7154 high schools, GILAS connected 3306 schools and 4.4 million students to the Internet. o 16 provinces and 50 cities have achieved full school connectivity with the help of GILAS. o When project began, there were 5443 schools in the country, only 40 percent of which had computers and only six percent had access to the Internet. o Established partnerships internationally (particularly between Filipinos living abroad and GILAS/their hometowns), nationally (between private sector and government), and locally (between GILAS and local LGU, DepEd, members of business sector, and local colleges and universities). 6
o Cited as a “Best Practice Program” in the Philippines in the country’s 2010 MDG progress report. o In November 2010 it was announced that GILAS would be mainstreamed into DepEd programming. Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM)'s Computer Literacy and Internet Connection (CLIC) Program o GEM programs have been ongoing since 1995. Current projects (under GEM 3) extend until end of 2012. o CLIC provides internet-connected computers to additional high schools in conflictaffected areas. Last Mile Initiative (USAID)- aimed to set up at least 10 community eCenters nationwide. Chevron Works with The Global Fund to “improve the well-being of communities in the Philippines,” including a “My Library” project “to enhance the resources and capacity of the public library in Tiwi, Albay and the school library of San Antonio Elementary School in San Pascual, Batangas.”
Key Library/ICT/Civil Society Innovators “Filipino Librarian” blogger Von Totanes- mostly blogs about issues regarding the training of librarians in the Philippines, as well as legislation affecting Filipino Libraries. o PhD U Toronto in Library Information Science, has presented at US Lib of Congress. GILAS Questions for further research Who are the key innovators in civil society, open governance? Is there an e-Gov office or are e-Gov efforts combined between CICT and NCC?
Sources: Gearing up Internet Literacy and Access for Students Website: http://gilas.org GILAS Final Report, 2011: http://www.gilas.org/attachments/GILAS_Final_Report.pdf GEM/CLIC program: http://philippines.usaid.gov/programs/economic-growth/growth-equity-mindanao CICT Website: http://www.cict.gov.ph/content/view/113/131/index.html Executive Order creating CICT: http://www.cict.gov.ph/images/files/eo269.pdf NCC Website: http://www.ncc.gov.ph/default.php National Library: http://web.nlp.gov.ph/nlp/ National Library’s Development Plan Discussion Series: http://web.nlp.gov.ph/nlp/?q=node/2798 National Library, Public Library Division’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Public-Libraries-DivisionNational-Library-of-the-Philippines/112730272083221?sk=info Filipino Librarian Blog: http://filipinolibrarian.blogspot.com/
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Senator Pimentel’s Blog: http://www.kokopimentel.org/2011/11/25/pimentel-urges-more-government-funds-for-public-libraries/ Wiki of Libraries in Philippines: http://paarl.wikispaces.com/Libraries Presentation on NLP’s Role in Library ICT: http://www.ndl.go.jp/en/cdnlao/meetings/pdf/Open_Seminar_(Philippines).pdf Philippine Mini Library Project Facebook page (no website): https://www.facebook.com/philippine.mini.library.project?sk=wall Lions Club Philippine Library Page: http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/our-impact/lions-in-action/philippines-library.php Chevron: http://www.caltex.com/global/news-community/community-partnerships/philippines/
These backgrounders was prepared as a part of the Beyond Access Initiative and attempt to provide an accurate picture of the state of access to libraries, ICT venues, and other sources of information in the states they profile. After establishing the historical background of these venues, special attention is paid to innovative library and ICT programs and partnerships that seek to break down the unique barriers to access faced by each country. The backgrounders used the most recent information available, encompassing academic and government reports, news articles, and commentary from bloggers and other online resources.
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