PHILIPP I NE INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES Surian sa mga Pag-aaral Pangkaunlaran ng Pilipinas
Vol. XXIV No. 5
DEVEL O PMENT RESEARCH NEWS September - October 2006
Editor's Notes Despite unclear and inconsistent policies on population control of the various administrations (i.e., from Marcos to Arroyo), it is becoming the general sentiment of many that the saying, "the
ISSN 0115-9097
When less (access) leads to more‌
more the merrier," is now a thing of the past. With life in this country getting increasingly difficult, small
On contraceptive use in the Philippines
family size is now the most rational choice. Sadly, however, there is still a large number of the population who have large families. Worse, they are the ones who could barely make ends meet. Statistics show that the poorest income class has an average of 6 children per family. Others have even more. For instance, not too long ago, an investigative program in a local television channel
T
hrough the years, the population of the Philippines has continued to bloat because of large families, a situation most common in poor households. These large families have sunk the poor into deeper poverty. Because they have many children that they could hardly support, they are often blamed for their own misfortune. The parents of these children are also habitually criticized for making irrational and irresponsible choices.
featured a poor family with 20 children living in a shanty in a Manila slum area.
This issue's banner article sheds light on this phenomenon and debunks earlier notions that the poor choose to have more children. Based on a study made by PIDS Senior Research Fellow
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What's Inside 4
Filipino women at work: some positive trends
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Local institutions and LGUs join forces for DPRM 2006
11 DPRM steadily gains momentum
In the study, Poverty, fertility preferences and family planning practices in the Philippines, author Aniceto C. Orbeta Jr. argued, however, that it is not true that the poor prefer large families. According to Orbeta, a senior research fellow at PIDS, poor households have many children because compared to rich households, they have lesser access to family planning methods, notably modern methods. Contraceptives and the Filipino family A comparison of the number of children ever born by women between the poorest and the richest households in the sample shows an average of 5.8 children for the poorest families and an average of only 3.6 children for the richest families, a difference of a little over 2 children (Table 1). Data also show less than half of married women using contraceptives wherein more than 70 percent of them are into modern methods (Table 2). It is noteworthy that the number of women who use contraceptives is also higher in the richer households and lower in the poorer households. Looking at all social classes, the difference lies in the use of modern methods. Between the richest and the poorest households, there is no significant difference when it comes to the use of the traditional methods. However, the number of those coming from the richest households is
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Table 1. Mean number of children ever born (CEB) for women 40-49 years by asset index quantile, 1999-2002 Survey year Poorest 2002 2001 2000 1999
5.8 5.8 6.0 5.9
Lower middle 5.0 5.0 5.1 5.2
Middle 4.5 4.7 4.8 4.9
Upper middle 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9
Richest
Total
3.6 3.3 3.5 3.5
4.6 4.5 4.6 4.6
Poor-Rich Differential 2.2 2.5 2.5 2.3
Sources: Orbeta, A. Major findings from the family planning surveys, 1999-2002. Prepared for the Local Enhancement and Development (LEAD) for Health Project, 2004; basic data from NSO and 1999-2002 Family Planning Surveys.
higher by 8 percentage points in the use of modern contraceptives. One of the reasons cited for the low usage of contraceptives is the lack of support coming from the national government. At present, all contraceptive supplies in public health facilities in the country come from donor agencies for there is no allocation from the national government for contraceptives. Since the implementation of the 1991 Local Government Code, the responsibility of family planning services has been devolved to the local government units. The study also shows public sources (public hospitals and health centers) as the most tapped supply of contraceptives, with 70 percent of women reporting this and only 28 percent getting from private suppliers. That 80 percent of the poorest get their supply from public sources is typical. What
Table 2. Contraceptive method by asset index quintile, 2002 Method Age group Total Poorest Lower middle Middle Upper middle Richest Poorest/Riches ratio
No method 51.2 58.5 50.8 46.2 49.6 49.9 1.7
Any method 48.9 41.5 49.2 53.8 50.4 50.1 0.83
Modern
Traditional
35.1 28.0 35.9 39.0 36.8 36.5
13.8 13.5 13.3 14.8 13.7 13.6
0.77
0.99
Sources: Orbeta, A. Major findings from the family planning surveys, 1999-2002. Prepared for the Local Enhancement and Development (LEAD) for Health Project, 2004; basic data from NSO and 2002 Family Planning Surveys.
2006
is surprising is the finding of the study that even half of the women in the richest households get their contraceptives from public sources. Women education and other social factors Orbeta’s study also supports earlier findings on the relationship between education and number of children. Data from the study show that only the women with college education have significantly fewer children compared to women with less education or no education at all. The impact of community variables also confirms common expectations. Women living in urban areas have significantly less children compared to those in rural areas. However, it negates findings of years ago that cite the lack of electricity as a cause for families to have many children. According to Orbeta, given the reach of electricity now compared to earlier periods, the availability of electricity no longer has pervasive effect as indicated in earlier studies. The paper, however, shows that access to national highways still significantly lowers the number of children thus confirming earlier results. Population and development of a nation Compared with Thailand and Korea, the Philippines performs dismally in attaining replacement fertility or the total fertility rate (TFR) at which women would have only enough children to replace themselves and their partner (http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Fertility_rate). Replacement fertility is roughly 2.1 births per woman. Back in the 1960s, the three countries had about the same population size. Four decades later, the Philippines has about 30 million more people than Korea and 16 million more than Thailand (Figure 1). Both countries have long achieved replacement fertility rate at 2—Korea before the 1990s and Thailand in the mid1990s—while the Philippines’ TFR stands at 3.5 as of 2003.
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Figure 1. Population size of selected Asian countries, 1960-2004
Population growth and family size are linked to the development of a nation. Large family size results in greater poverty because it leads to negative savings rate and lower labor force participation especially for the women who get stuck at home to take care of the children. Investment in education is also hampered as the parents’ earnings are not enough to send their children to school. As such, the next generation of workers that would be assets to the economy is also lessened.
http://www.un.org.kh/undp/gallery/00050.jpg
According to Orbeta, it is not true that poor families choose to have more children. Their large families are a result of lesser access to modern contraceptives.
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What to do Orbeta’s study shows that it is not true that the poor have large families because they want more children. In fact, the study indicates that the demand for additional children is even lower among women from poorer households compared to those from richer households. The disparity lies in the usage of contraceptives, particularly modern methods. Women from richer households use more of the modern methods. Women from poorer households, meanwhile, use less because most of their supplies come from public sources where the supply has already dwindled, and, in addition, even those from richer households get their supplies from public sources. The poor do not also have the means to avail of supplies of modern methods from private sources. To answer this problem, a more vigorous and better targeted advocacy program on the use of modern methods that gives priority to the poor is essential. It is also necessary that the poor have subsidized access to modern contraceptives and for the richest household to be less dependent on public sources. CSM
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2006
Filipino women at work: some positive trends*
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Through the years, the number of women joining the labor force has continued to increase and many of them are concentrated in the wholesale and retail industries.
ith their rising numbers in the labor market, Filipino women have become important participants in economic development. As Table 1 shows, for more than two decades, the labor force participation of Filipino women has been steadily rising, from 40 percent in 1976 to 50 percent in 2004, albeit the fact that many of them cannot go to work because they give birth and have to take care of their children, particularly among the lower socioeconomic classes (see related main story). Beginning 1985, the participation has been quite stable at around 48 percent. As women succeed to find more and better work opportunities, the number of employed women will surely rise. In fact, the number of employed women has increased by 73 percent since the 1980s. This phenomenon indicates the need for greater protection and promotion of women workers’ welfare. In order to sustain their economic potentials, enhancing their
Table 1. Employment status by sex Year
LFPR Both Male Female 1976 60.5 81.4 40.1 1980 61.8 78.9 44.8 1985 63.9 80.3 47.9 1990 64.5 81.8 47.5 1995 65.6 82.1 49.0 2000 64.3 80.3 48.4 2004 66.5 82.9 50.2 Source:Labor LFS various years various years. Source: Force Survey,
Employment Rate Both Male Female 94.8 96.6 91.2 95.2 96.8 92.5 93.9 95.2 91.8 91.9 92.9 90.2 91.6 92.3 90.6 89.9 89.7 90.1 89.1 89.6 88.3
Unemployment R Both Male 4.8 6.1 8.1 8.4 10.1 10.9
3.2 4.8 7.1 7.7 10.3 10.4
competitive edge in the labor market also remains a crucial challenge. Related to this is the rising unemployment rate of women, which is an issue to consider. Data show that female unemployment rate, which except in 2000 is constantly higher than the male, has increased from 7.5 percent in 1980 to 11.7 percent in 2004. The contrasting patterns of labor force participation rate and unemployment rate by sex suggest that employment opportunities are not equally available to men and women. As a whole, women are generally concentrated in ser vices, particularly wholesale and retail trade, financing and community services, and manufacturing in the industrial cluster. As can be gleaned from Table 2, the bulk of women work in wholesale and retail industries (29%) and agriculture (23.9%). They are also dominant in the following industries: private household with employed persons (5.7 females per male), education (3 females per male), and health and social work (2.6 females per male). In terms of the nature of women’s participation, Table 3 shows that both men and women work as “laborers and unskilled workers,” at roughly 29 percent and 37 percent, respectively. Around 17 percent of women are successful in finding work as government officials and corporate executives as opposed to only 7.5 percent of men. All in all, 54 percent of women are working as unskilled laborers and as government officials and corporate executives. In terms of concentration of the sexes, women are dominant in the following careers: professionals, with 2 females per male; and
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clerks, 1.7 females per male. Evidently, women have a more advantageous position in highly technical occupations. The proportion of women working as “technicians and associate professionals” shows an increasing trend reaching to more than 50 percent by 2004. This is a reflection of the higher proportion of female college graduates. Since the 1980s, women have been underrepresented as “administrative, executive and managerial workers”, “agriculture, animal husbandry and forestry workers” and “production and related workers.” The downward trend in the production and related workers gives an insight on women’s preference for work that reflects their education. An encouraging prospect is the continued rise in the share of women as administrative, executive, and managerial workers. Women are making a headway in high-skilled occupations. However, the fact remains that the greater part of their involvement remains narrow—oftentimes, they are designated to positions with minimal degree of control and supervision. In terms of the productivity of women, the disparity between men's and women’s wages persist. Male workers receive slightly higher basic pay than female workers do.1 A related study quantifies the gender wage gap at 21.5 percent2—males earn 21.5 percent more than females. Other equally important issues refer to female employment in the urban informal sector and the challenge for upward mobility of women across income and employment levels.
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Table 2. Industrial share and gender concentration, 2004 Industry Group Agriculture, hunting and forestry Fishing Mining and quarrying Manufacturing Electricity, gas and water Construction Wholesale and retail Hotel and restaurants Transport, storage and communication Financial intermediation Real estate, renting and business activities Public admin. & defense, compulsory social security Education Health & social work Other community, social and personal service activities Private household with employed persons Extraterritorial organization & bodies Source: National NSO Statistics Office. Source:
Industrial share Male Female 38.2 23.9 6.4 0.7 0.4 0.1 8.5 11.2 0.5 0.2 8.1 0.2 11.7 29.1 1.8 3.7 11.7 1.1 0.7 1.4 2.4 1.9 4.6 4.6 1.2 6.0 0.5 2.2 2.1 3.2 1.1 10.5 0.0 0.0
Gender conce Male F 72.7 93.7 90.6 55.8 79.3 98.4 40.1 45.2 94.8 44.3 68.5 62.6 25.2 27.4 52.3 15.0 100.0
All these give a picture of the treatment of women in the labor market. It appears that women’s actual labor involvement is an extension of their societal roles. Since some industries are traditionally male preserves, Filipino women tend to concentrate in the service sector and this restricts their mobility and offers less opportunity for promotion. Likewise, this results in the rarity of women in top jobs. Noticeably, despite the increasing share of women in highly skilled occupations, inequality in pay remains. Effective plans and programs that address these issues must be put in place to help women utilize their potentials and become effective agents in the economy. DRN
Table 3.Occupational share and gender concentration, 2004 Occupation Group
Occupational share
Gender c
Male
Female
Officials of government and SIG, corporate executives, managers
7.5
17.3
Male 42.1
Professionals
2.2
7.9
32.1
Technicians and associate professionals
2.1
3.8
48.7
Clerks
2.5
7.3
36.4
Service workers and shop and market sales workers
7.3
11.8
50.8
farmers, forestry workers and fishermen
26.7
7.1
86.2
Traders and related workers
10.7
6.1
74.5
Plant machine operators and assemblers
11.5
1.7
91.8
Laborers and unskilled workers
28.8
37.1
56.4
Special occupations
0.6
0.1
88.1
Source: NSO Source: National Statistics Office.
*
Prepared by Ms. Iris Acejo, PIDS Research Analyst. Wage and Salary Workers. NSO Special Release. September 2005. 2 Alba, M. 2004. Exploring the existence and measuring the components of the gender wage differential in the Philippines using design-based estimates. 1
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Local institutions and LGUs join forces for DPRM 2006
A
resounding success! This was how many perceived the 2006 Development Policy Research Month (DPRM) celebration that carried the theme, Pananaliksik sa Pagpapaunlad ng Pamamahalang Lokal. Indeed, it was a delight to see many local government officials from different parts of the country participating in this year’s activities that highlighted the wisdom of giving local governments the opportunity to use their own expertise and judgment in crafting their own development policies. Gradually, the DPRM and its goal of promoting the concept of policy research and its importance to decision- and policymaking in government is gaining ground especially in the realm of public awareness. This has been the objective of PIDS since the DPRM was conceptualized by the management in 2002.
Time to go local This year’s choice of theme was a welcome change as the Institute would normally focus on issues at the national level. But after a careful reflection, the Institute felt that issues at the local level, particularly those concerning the local government units (LGUs), should thorougly be studied and pursued. The steering committee of the 4th DPRM also decided to have the theme be in Filipino in order to have an immediate appeal to more people. For this year, the steering committee was composed of representatives from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), National Statistics Office (NSO), Civil Service Commission (CSC), Local Government Academy (LGA), Philippine Information Agency (PIA), League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), Philippine Councilors League (PCL), and Galing Pook Foundation. A number of LGUs and government agencies at the national and local levels conducted activities in support of the DPRM theme. An example is the discussion forum on participatory rural appraisal/participatory needs assessment for research problem diagnosis and prioritization conducted by the Provincial Government of Camiguin. Another is the training and installation of a citizen's feedback mechanism by the City Government of Butuan. [For more activities, see related article.]
From left to right: Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Rodolfo Agbayani,NEDA DDG Antonio Santos, PIDS President Josef Yap, Malalag (Davao del Sur) Mayor Givel Mamaril, and PIDS Visiting Research Fellow Alejandro Herrin.
To increase public awareness on the importance of policy research as well as this year’s DPRM activities, representatives from the Leagues of Municipalities and Provinces, Local Government Academy, and Galing
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
Pook joined PIDS officials in a series of guestings in select radio and TV news and public affairs shows. The forum On 26 September at the Grand Boulevard Hotel along Roxas Boulevard in Manila, the main event of the DPRM was held—a forum on sustainable upland development at the local level. The steering committee decided on this topic as it is one of the biggest challenges facing many LGUs especially those that are located outside of the country’s metropolises. Upon the request of the steering committee to the DILG, the invitation letter to the forum was sent to all LGUs, DILG field offices, and other government agencies through a Memorandum Circular. The Leagues of Cities, Municipalities and Provinces and the Councilors League also sent the invitation to selected members. The steering committee also thought that it will be useful to come up with a comprehensive audiovisual documentary on the forum containing highlights of the presentations and how the templates or frameworks could be applied to the problems and challenges facing the LGUs in the regions. It was planned that the documentary will be sent to the various Leagues for distribution to their members, especially those that were not able to send participants to the forum. The PIA agreed to assist the staff in producing the documentary. At the forum, Dr. Gilberto Llanto, PIDS Senior Research Fellow and chairman of the DPRM steering committee, welcomed the speakers and participants numbering about 130 from Metro Manila and far-away provinces. This was followed by the keynote address of NEDA Deputy Director General (DDG) Augusto Santos. DDG Santos cited the choice for this year’s theme given its contribution to the NEDA’s effort of making LGUs into more efficient public service institutions. He also thanked the LGUs and their officials for their support to the country’s goals, particularly the MediumTerm Development Plan. DDG Santos said
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This year’s activities highlighted the wisdom of giving local governments the opportunity to use their own expertise and judgment in crafting their own development policies and programs. that sustainable upland development is a significant part of the government’s fight against poverty and the LGUs’ participation in this endeavor is critical. More than providing basic services, LGUs are vital to the economic development of their respective locales with their ability and initiative to facilitate and pave the way for progress. DDG Santos also informed the participants that NEDA has installed a technical assistance project for provinces to help them in planning and expenditure management. With the project, he believes that NEDA is helping more local executives to be better development managers. Model cases The presentations of selected best practices on sustainable upland development came next. Earlier on during the planning stage, the steering committee members from the Galing Pook Foundation, DILG, and the Leagues suggested the experiences of Malalag in Davao del Sur, Negros Oriental, and Nueva Vizcaya under the leadership of Mayor Givel Mamaril, Governor George Arnaiz, and Congressman Rodolfo Agbayani, then governor of Nueva Vizcaya, respectively, as perfect examples of local governments that were able to rise above poverty and shine with their sustainable upland development strategies. All three have been recipients of the Gawad Galing Pook awards for their exemplary performance as local chief executives. However, Governor Arnaiz had to beg off because of a previous commitment. As an introduction to her presentation, Mayor Mamaril showed a stylishly produced, 10-minute video presentation of Malalag, Davao del Sur. It depicted the beauty of the place, the industry of its people, and the
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
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http://www.fao.org/docrep/q5240E/q5240e00.jpg
DA should train LGUs and farmers in agricultural techniques and latest technologies, identify lands for farm use or for preservation as forest lands, and support LGUs through the establishment of Regional Extension Training Networks. For its part, the DENR should help prepare LGUs participate in programs like the Land-Use Based Barangay Development Planning in determining specific usage of lands and help build the capability of municipal environmental officers in forest protection tasks.
A sustainable upland development program is crucial not only to preserve upland forest lands but also to uplift the lives of the people living in these areas.
various challenges that they and their local officials faced with regard to upland development. It was indeed a timely topic for the multi-awarded mayor whose programs have been cited by a number of government and international donor institutions. In her presentation, Mayor Mamaril revealed that Malalag’s uplands were being degraded and its top soil being eroded, which posed threats to its watersheds and future water supply. The farmers were also very poor, their farming skills and technologies equally poor and inadequate, which led to the decline in productivity. Thus, her local government formulated a model that would seek to transform the farmers into better skilled, knowledgeable, economically sufficient, and enterprising workers. At the same time, Malalag also moved to restore and rehabilitate its uplands through internal interventions from its local government to external interventions by means of community organizing, partnerships with national government agencies and NGOs, capacity building programs for farmers, women and indigenous peoples, and resource mobilization. After all that she has experienced and learned, Mayor Mamaril’s policy recommendations center on calling the attention of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to act as main agencies in building the capacity of LGUs. The
The experience of Nueva Vizcaya followed. In his presentation, Representative Rodolfo Agbayani of the Lone District of Nueva Vizcaya said that it is provided in the 1991 Local Government Code that LGUs must share with the national government the responsibility of pursuing environmentally sound activities and programs in their locality. He went on to cite the provisions in the Code stating the specific duties of an LGU from barangay to province toward this end. However, the Congressman said that there are problems and issues confronting LGUs in fulfilling this responsibility. Among them are the lack of technical capacity of LGUs, lack of manpower and resources, the nontransfer of communal forests to LGUs, the illegal occupation of vast tracts of cultivated land including watersheds, and the conflicting national policies on the issue. For Nueva Vizcaya, the degradation of forest resources, erosion of soils, the conversion of forests to agricultural lands, flash floods in the lowlands, and drying of springs and creeks continue to pose a threat to forest management. Thus, the local government formulated a program whose vision statement focused on the importance of watersheds to the economic, political, cultural, and spiritual empowerment of Novo Vizcayanos. Rep. Agbayani then enumerated several case studies of specific municipalities and barangays in the province and the initiatives that were done to pursue forest management and protect their watersheds. He noted that some of the common outcomes from the initiatives were reduced incident of squatting in the forests and watersheds, revival of mountain springs, reduced migration and the selling of “rights” to the forest lands, self-reliant communities
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
acting as forest guards, and the emergence of livelihood opportunities for former squatters as suppliers of materials for the furniture industry. In his conclusion, Rep. Agbayani stated that among the lessons that the local government learned are that the partnership of LGUs in the delivery of basic services and the DENR’s technical expertise help a lot. He also said that ensuring there is food security in one’s province can be compatible with ecological security and that poverty is aggravated by the lack of capacity. Therefore, enhancing capacity should be pursued constantly at the individual and organizational levels. Upgrading technical capacity Then, Dr. Alejandro Herrin, PIDS Visiting Research Fellow, presented his team’s study on a framework for strengthening the planning and policymaking capacities of local executives through the use of data from national and local information systems. These include censuses, surveys, field statistics, budgets and expenditure accounts, and private sector monitoring and evaluation. The framework provides a formula or a template on how LGUs and other stakeholders such as NGOs, civil society, community organizations and the like may use these data to formulate evidencebased policies and programs and local ordinances. Dr. Herrin and his co-authors said that since the implementation of the Local Government Code in 1991, there is a need to match increased autonomy and accountability of LGUs with improved capacity for local planning, policymaking and implementation of laws. The project framework’s instruments include data analysis, decisionmaking tools, technical assistance capacity, institutional strengthening and stakeholders’ participation. According to Dr. Herrin, technical capacity appears to be one of the major weaknesses of most LGUs and so technical assistance may be given to LGUs through orientation seminars, technical workshops, shortterm training programs, mentoring, and information-sharing through the Internet. The Leagues can also be a forum for technical exchange. A system for monitoring In the afternoon, PIDS Senior Research Fellow Celia T. Reyes discussed the Com-
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munity-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) as one of the allied programs in the national poverty monitoring system. Data collected are an important resource for LGUs, national agencies, nongovernment organizations, and civil society in development planning and monitoring, especially poverty reduction. Dr. Reyes related that before the implementation of the 1991 Local Government Code, official statistics were not very reliable since they did not reflect very accurate situations especially at the lowest levels. Only the regional and provincial levels offered reliable data. Moreover, the surveys were far and between and since the processing of data took more time, the usefulness of the program diminished rapidly. The effect was that the targeting efficiency of government programs was a lot less effective because of the limited data. Thus, CBMS was initiated to address these statistical problems. Dr. Reyes defined CBMS as “an organized way of collecting information at the local level for the use of LGUs, NGAs, NGOs and civil society for planning, program implementation and monitoring.” It is “intended to achieve better governance, greater transparency and accountability in resource allocation.” The LGUs themselves collect the data that include all the households in their locality. It then makes databases for all the collected data that are then
PIDS Senior Research Fellow Celia T. Reyes explains the use of the CommunityBased Monitoring System (CBMS)as an information resource for monitoring and developing investment plans for municipalities and communities.
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submitted to the next higher geopolitical level to be analyzed and used for annual planning and investment plans. The data involved have to do with health, nutrition, shelter, water and sanitation, basic education, income, employment and peace and order. The CBMS is indeed useful for building development planning and monitoring, enhancing existing databases, diagnosing poverty, formulating appropriate interventions, allocating resources, identifying eligible beneficiaries, and impact monitoring. Dr. Reyes also informed the audience that the CBMS has been adapted as data collection module for benchmarking local progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These MDGs are to eradicate extreme poverty, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop global partnership for development. So far, 19 provinces, 161 municipalities, 13 cities and 4,438 barangays all over the country are now using the CBMS. Dr. Reyes hoped for a 100 percent LGU coverage by 2010 but expressed disappointment that with less than four years to go, the country has not reached half the target. Hopefully, the institutionalization of the CBMS will be accelerated.
Every year, participants of the annual DPRM forum continue to grow in number as more government agencies, academic institutions, and other organizations realize the relevance of policy research in development.
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A web resource for local governance Even with the lack of Internet connection at the hotel, Mr. Mario C. Feranil, Officerin-Charge of the PIDS Office of the Vice President, proceeded to give an informative walk-through of the PIDS website and its numerous subwebs and links. In particular, he focused on the newest inclusion in the website, the Resources for Local Governance subweb. The PIDS management thought it necessary to have a one-stop shop for all the data that one needs on a particular province, city, or municipality in the country. While not yet totally finished in terms of content and design, the Resources for Local Governance is already accessible and can already yield various data such as local government officials, population, poverty incidence, per capita income, major products, relevant laws and bills involving a particular area, all the studies that PIDS has on that area and the like. The PIDS continues to update the site and add any data that may be relevant. One only has to go to the PIDS website at www.pids.gov.ph in order to gain access to all the links and subwebs featured there. A portal to assist legislators Afterwards, Mr. Rodolfo Vicerra, DirectorGeneral of the Congressional Planning and Budget Department (CPBD), made a video presentation on the E-Oversight Web Portal of the CPBD. It aims to gather information, ideas, and inputs to legislators that could help in the conduct of their legislative oversight functions. The CPBD chief argued that there should be more ways for the citizenry to participate in the oversight legislative programs of the government apart from participating in surveys and giving information through the CBMS. Thus, a web portal such as what was developed by the CPBD that can accept direct inputs such as letters, white papers, complaints, and text messages from the general public would be of great value and is a significant step toward achieving a more responsive Congress. LGUs and regional clusters PIDS President Dr. Josef T. Yap gave the final presentation, which was on the “Role of local governments in strengthening re-
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
gional clusters,” a study he prepared with Ms. Ma. Teresa Dueñas, PIDS Research Associate. Taking off from the possible reasons of the growing inequality among countries in East Asia despite regional convergence, he said that a solution that can be explored is investing in regions that are lagging behind. Investments would include physical and social infrastructure to improve the climate for investment in smaller cities in order that there will be growth and employment opportunities for those in the rural areas. The current programs to address this are the Philippine Export Development Plan for 2004-2010 and the One Town, One Product (OTOP) Strategic Plan 2006-2010 whose common element is the regional/ industry clustering. Dr. Yap defined clustering as “several formally independent firms and organizations located together that do similar things or contribute to the production of similar products.” Prominent examples of these clusters are the ICT cluster of Silicon Valley, California, the financial service cluster of Makati City, and the furniture cluster in Pampanga. OTOP’s ultimate goal is to alleviate poverty through the promotion of entrepreneurship and the creation of jobs in the provinces that would benefit from clustering through enhancing the particular product that a particular province or region is known for. According to Dr. Yap, the LGUs are expected to play a major role in the program since they are the ones responsible for identifying the specific product or service in their locality. Specifically, they can help production companies in facilitating the importation of capital goods, training local manpower, dissemination of standards, and documentation processes. They can also help in facilitating financing schemes and giving out incentives to lure more investors. Furthermore, LGUs can help develop information databases and forge partnership initiatives among local and foreign firms. As to what PIDS can contribute to this endeavor, Dr. Yap said it will continue to reinforce the merits of industry clustering in regional development, emphasizing technological capability building, and identifying relevant topics for research that will help LGUs in their decisionmaking processes. BFG
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September - October
2006
DPRM steadily gains momentum Some of the government and academic institutions and NGOS that PIDS invited to participate in this year's DPRM celebration opted to do just the “minimum requirement”—display a banner announcing that they are joining the nation’s 4th DRPM celebration. But there were those that went all out and organized elaborate activities that were in line with the theme that focuses on developing better local government units (LGUs). This year, more than 60 institutions conducted activities for the entire month of September. The activities ranged from setting up a DPRM exhibit/corner (National Statistics Office and Congressional Planning and Budget Department), discussions on local food security (National Food Authority regional offices), campaign on better service to citizens (city government of Bayawan, Negros Oriental), presentation of the Medium-Term Development Goals (NEDA regional offices) to a conference on DPRM and its theme (city government of Santiago, Isabela). Along this line, three institutions are worth mentioning for mounting very informative activities: these are the Center for Local Governance of Ateneo de Naga University, the Central Philippines University (CPU) in Iloilo City, and the Institute of Strategic Planning and Policy Studies (ISPPS), College of Public Affairs (CPAf), UP Los Baños, Laguna. In a forum originally scheduled on 28 September 2006 but was postponed to 2 October due to Typhoon Milenyo, the Center for Local Governance presented the 2005 Galing Pook Foundation awardee program “Goa (Camarines Sur) ID System: An Identification for an Improved and Efficient Delivery of Basic Services.” The ID system enabled the municipal government of Goa to get accurate data on all the households within its constituency. The local government then gave all the households IDs, which will serve as their pass in availing basic services. The ID is also to be used when transacting business at the local government offices, post office, police, banks, and other institutions within the municipality. The efficient database impressed multi-awarded housing NGO, Gawad Kalinga, that it decided to construct 500 homes in Goa instead of the original plan of only 100 for needy families. The Center for Local Governance also displayed posters and a banner to promote the 4th DPRM celebration. Meanwhile, the CPU in Iloilo City mounted a seminar-workshop on “PIDS Infrastructure for Research and Networking: Mechanism to Facilitate Research” on 28 September at its Educational Media Center. Ms. Marilen Macasaquit, PIDS Supervising Research Specialist, and Mr. Ramil Vasco, Information Technology Officer, served as resource persons to the seminarworkshop. Ms. Macasaquit expounded on topics ranging from the definition and elements of policy research and the work of PIDS to the link between research and policymaking. Mr. Vasco gave details on the facilities of PIDS for research and networking. Even as Typhoon Milenyo battered Metro +12
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DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS
STAFF BOX
DEVELOPMENT
September - October
2006
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS is a bimonthly publication
RESEARCH
of the PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT
NEWS
STUDIES (PIDS). It highlights the findings and recommendations
Editorial Board: Dr. Josef T. Yap,
Vol. XXIV No. 5
President; Mr. Mario C. Feranil, OIC
September - October 2006
Vice-President and Director for Project
ISSN 0115 - 9097
of PIDS research projects and important policy issues discussed during PIDS seminars. PIDS is a nonstock, nonprofit government research institution engaged in long-term, policy-oriented research. This
Services and Development; Ms. Jenni-
publication is part of the Institute's program to disseminate information
fer P.T. Liguton, Director for Research
to promote the use of research findings. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors and
Information; Ms. Andrea S. Agcaoili,
do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute. Inquiries regarding any of the studies contained in this publication,
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Editor's Notes...from page 1 ○
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DPRM steadily gains momentum... from page 11 ○
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Aniceto C. Orbeta, it provides a research-based explanation on their large family size.
In addition, this issue tackles the
Manila and Northern Luzon that day and power lines were down that disabled Internet connection to the PIDS website, the two PIDS staff were able to make a good presentation. Ms. Macasaquit reported afterwards that many participants were keen to tie up with PIDS and do research and thus they were encouraged to submit their credentials for their possible inclusion into the PIDS pool of researchers.
activities of the 4th Development Policy Research Month (DPRM) celebration. Local concerns take centerstage this year, a departure from the DPRM's previous themes that are more focused on national issues. With more than 60 institutions participating, the biggest so far since the DPRM started in 2002, this high turnout indicates that the importance of policy research is progressively getting
into
consciousness.
the DRN
public
Lastly, the ISPPS in UPLB organized a series of seminars in consonance with this year’s theme on local government units. The aim of the ISSPS seminar series was to “focus on local government initiatives as a strategic thrust for a decentralized and bottoms-up approach to national development in the Philippines.” Four seminars were conducted for four consecutive weeks with different paper presenters and topics. On 7 September, Dr. Agnes Rola, Professor and Director of the ISPPS, presented a paper on “Decentralization and upland resource management.” A week later, on 14 September, the paper on “Governance challenges in community-driven natural resource management” was presented by Dr. Linda Peñalba also of CPAf. On 21 September, it was the turn of Dr. Aser Javier, also of the CPAf, to present his study on “Organizational assistance to local financial planning and management.” Finally, on 28 September, Dr. Virginia Cardenas presented her study on “Strengthening governance of devolved extension system through the CBPEM (Community-Based Participatory Extension Management) approach.” All the discussions in the seminar identified policy issues and recommendations geared toward enhancing local governance in the country. BFG with inputs from CA Foronda of ISPPS-UPLB.