A Vision for Philippine Agriculture

PHILIPPI NE INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES Surian sa mga Pag-aaral Pangkaunlaran ng Pilipinas

Vol. XXVII No.6

DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS November - December 2009

ISSN 0115-9097

Editor's Notes Agriculture remains a primary source of income for our ruralfolks. Farming remains to be a major means of livelihood. However, most of our farmers from the countryside still live in poverty and there has been much concern about threats to food security. This is the reason development of the agriculture sector has always been a priority of local and national plans and programs.

A vision for Philippine agriculture Photo by Valerie Frances L. Belizario

In this issue of the DRN, Philippine Institute for Development Studies senior research fellow Dr. Roehlano M. Briones explains the reason for pushing for productivity growth in agriculture. Using a supply-demand model for the Philippine agricultural sector, Dr. Briones presents a ten-year projection based on patterns and trends rather than on numbers.

Results of Dr. Briones' projection emphasize that input subsidy is not essential; in fact, it is an expensive instrument for promoting agricultural growth. He thus recommends going back to basics: developing and disseminating new technologies, varieties, and planting materials; promoting research and development in agriculture; expanding education and extension programs; among others. He points to the "slow magic" of productivity growth that has helped farmers in developing economies which can also help enrich our own farmers and emancipate them from poverty. D R N

What's Inside 6

Rising above the turning point

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Improving policies on international labor migration in ASEAN

11

Integrating the impaired: PIDS conducts survey of PWDs

“Magtanim ay di biro, maghapong nakayuko. Di naman makatayo, di naman makaupo…”

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his has long been the song of the farmers since the days of our grandfathers. It still is. Much have remained the same in terms of the methods and the picture of the actors in the planting song. Many of the farmers also remain to be among the poorest in Philippine society and depend solely on farming as their only source of income.

Given this picture, there really is a need to improve the country’s agriculture sector to be able to uplift the lives of the millions of farmers whose livelihood and survival are attached to it.

Improving the agricultural sector means increasing its production. How does one do it? One way is to expand the farm area. The Philippines, however, is already approaching its agricultural land limits and thus, area expansion may be out of the question.

Another way to increase production is through intensification wherein resource input per unit of land is increased. But given the country’s limited resources, this manner would not guarantee additional profit because an increase in production will likewise require an increase in cost.

So how would the agricultural sector be improved?

In a Pulong Saliksikan (research seminar) recently held at the Romulo Hall of the NEDA sa Makati Building, Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Senior Research Fellow Dr. Roehlano Briones looked at the various scenarios that could bring about the much-needed improvement in the Philippine agricultural sector.

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November - December 2009

linkages between extension systems under local government units (LGUs), on the one hand, and farmers, fisherfolks, and the private sector, on the other.

Focus on productivity growth calls for a change in mindset and in the traditional thinking of aiming for food (rice) selfsufficiency and protecting the major importcompeting sectors such as rice, corn, sugar, and meat. It instead calls for putting in place policies and institutions that will trigger and boost productivity rate, and sustain growth in agriculture.

Photo:

www.agriculture-ph.com

Productivity growth calls for increased funding of the research and development sector.

Using the Agricultural Multi-Market Model for Policy Evaluation (AMPLE) 1 in the analysis of the future of Philippine agriculture under current and alternative strategies for agricultural growth, Briones’ conclusion found the scenario which accelerates productivity growth as the most ideal to bring about the increased production and improvement of the country’s agricultural sector.

World Bank studies show that in many Asian countries, the productivity growth rate has been 1–2 percent per year since the 1960s.

These countries have invested in science, roads, human capital, and adoption of better policies, making agricultural development possible. As a result of productivity growth, their agricultural growth domestic product (GDP) grew faster than the global population from 1980 to 2004.

While the Philippines includes productivity growth in its development strategy, this is not being prioritized in budgeting and market policies. Most of its rice policies aim for selfsufficiency by 2013, when the country’s rice production would meet the citizen’s rice demands.

But what is productivity growth and what does it entail?

Productivity growth involves the implementation of policy and governance reforms that increase the responsiveness of the domestic economy to market signals. In turn, these reforms boost the rate of productivity growth and include changes in technology and infrastructure simultaneous with the care of the country’s resource base, the environment.

The country’s current rice policies are biased toward input support and price intervention. One of the reasons for this insulation by the government of domestic agriculture is the sheer unpredictability and volatility of the world market. World markets are perceived to be heavily distorted by protectionist and subsidy-oriented OECD countries. In trade agreements, the liberalization of domestic markets may follow as a given for foreign market access.

It calls for increased funding of the research and development (R&D) sector and tighter

What has been the situation so far?

The Philippines follows a boom-bust, rising-

1 The AMPLE model analyzes possible pictures of the future of Philippine agriculture under current and alternative strategies for agricultural growth. It is a multisector partial equilibrium model with 18 production sectors covering crops, livestock, poultry, and aquatic products. It is capable of generating projections on output, area, consumption, imports, exports, and prices. It is also suitable for understanding the evolution of underlying economic fundamentals rather than actually predicting market movements. The model likewise adopts features from other multimarket models and is solved with the Generalized Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS).

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falling pattern. Agricultural growth during the post-war years was respectable and comparable with fast-developing Asian countries. This growth, however, slowed down in the 1980s, speeded up again in the 1990s, and then went even faster in the 2000s.

These trends parallel that of overall GDP growth (Figure 1).

The Philippines’s agriculture products can be classified into three broad categories: crops, livestock and poultry, and fisheries.

The crops subsector can be further subdivided into the major crops: rice (palay), banana, coconut, corn, and sugarcane. Crops and fisheries have followed the overall trends of the agriculture sector, whereas growth in the livestock and poultry sector slowed down in the 1990s and has been unable to recover since then.

The major crops also followed a similar pattern, albeit in varying degrees. Palay was affected by the 1980s meltdown although the effects were not that drastic and have been moderated. Growth, however, has yet to exceed 5 percent. The 1980s meltdown had a sharper effect on corn and coconut, whose recovery has been very slow.

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Likewise, sugarcane’s recovery has also been slow. On the other hand, banana has exhibited spectacular growth in the early years, and its recovery from the 1980s slump has been strong.

As mentioned before, the Philippines is aiming for self-sufficiency by 2013. By then, agricultural production must meet the demand. The country is approaching selfsufficiency for products like pork, chicken, and corn.

However, this is being derailed by policy choices made by the government using the recent food crisis. On a positive note, agricultural productivity is increasing for crops such as palay and corn. On the other hand, coconut and sugarcane yield trends have been erratic.

Aiming for sustained and increased productivity growth What is in store for Philippine agriculture in the future? Under what conditions can it achieve the much-needed improved and sustained growth that will truly make the country’s agriculture sector a haven for Filipino farmers?

Figure 1: Average annual growth, in percent, of agricultural GDP (constant 1985 prices)

Source: Bureau of Agricultural Statistics

November - December 2009

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As mentioned earlier, using the AMPLE model, Briones provided an analysis and picture of what to expect for the agriculture sector given certain scenarios and assumptions. The following projections are preliminary and represent an initial application of the AMPLE model to Philippine agriculture.

Scenario 1, called “business as usual,” assumes that current trends and policies shall continue. Nor does multilateral trade liberalization materialize from international agreements. So what happens?

Growth in agricultural gross value is projected to slow down. Growth will be led by the crops subsector, followed by livestock and poultry, with aquatic products lagging.

Vegetables and other crops are projected to post strong export performances. For most commodities, imports are predicted to increase, with the possible exception of rice, cassava, and sugar.

The trend of rising consumption of rice is expected to halt and mildly reverse, as retail prices increase. The same goes for most other commodities. Agricultural growth is headed for a slowdown. Demand growth continues, but is met by higher domestic production and imports.

Now, what happens if trade negotiations take place and are successful? At the same time,

Photo:

www.pinoyherald.org

In the first scenario, the trend of rising consumption of rice is expected to halt and mildly reverse, as retail prices increase.

November - December 2009 if the world market is opened up to the Philippines?

Under this Scenario 2 or the market access scenario, growth of the agricultural sector is suppressed, particularly aquatic products, although there is a slight acceleration in the growth of crops and meat. For the crops, market access would probably lead to a decline in output. However, output increases are projected for mango, banana, and coconut, as major export crops benefit from market access.

The effect of market access on noncrops will hardly be felt and may even be negative.

Export growth under reform is not necessarily faster than under market access.

Growth in imports under market access is likewise stronger than in the first scenario.

Expanded market access is generally not favorable to domestic producers, and only mildly favorable to consumers.

Briones then presented a third scenario where there are no trade agreements either like in scenario 1. However, policy and governance reforms are implemented, tariffs are reduced to a uniform rate of 10 percent in 10 years, and the expenditure program accompanied by institutional reforms is carried out to accelerate productivity growth.

How would Philippine agriculture fare under these conditions?

Implementing the policy and governance reforms will increase the responsiveness of the domestic economy to market signals.

These reforms will also boost the productivity rate, possibly doubling the rates of these in the first scenario. Rapid productivity growth under an aggressive reform scenario, even when combined with trade liberalization, is generally favorable for farmers, based on improved outlook on production, exports, and food consumption.

What do these imply in terms of the country’s national development strategy?

Renewing the country’s national development focus on accelerating agricultural growth is no doubt a step toward the right direction as shown by the results of the AMPLE model simulations.

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November - December 2009

Productivity growth has been proven to prevent population collapse and assuage hunger. It has worked to a great effect on developed countries. The "magic" of productivity growth has made farmers in these countries independent, content, and free from poverty. Productivity growth can also do the same for the Philippines.

And while the country’s national strategy has delved on this in recent years, the full realization of the potentials has been weighed down by the traditional thinking related to promoting food self-sufficiency and protecting domestic markets.

to give farmers incentives for adopting technological changes in agriculture.

Policymakers should recognize the huge role informal rural organizations play in developing Philippine agriculture.

Growth via improvements in agricultural productivity should be the highest priority.

Productivity growth has contributed greatly to the recovery of the agricultural sector in recent years. It can do more for the country if the needed reforms are in place for a faster and more sustained growth of agriculture.

These reforms, as noted earlier, include changes in technology and infrastructure while at the same time, taking care of the country’s resource base—the environment.

Also very important to agricultural development is the improvement of irrigation and road systems. Possible investments in agricultural infrastructure developments have been channeled to the improvement of rice production. Thus, LGUs lack funds to initiate irrigation improvement projects. Studies show that many irrigation projects are carried out by private corporations and are therefore limited only to private fields. Public irrigation projects are strongly recommended.

Agricultural development in the country rests mostly in the hands of R&D institutions, which have remained underinvested.

However, increased funding is not the only thing needed for the improvement of the R&D sector. Reforms in R&D governance and budget allotment are also called for. A clear delineation of the roles of various R&D institutions should also be made, as several of their functions overlap and conflict with each other.

All these changes, however, will not matter if the environment, the resource base, cannot be sustained. Intensifying and expanding agriculture is eroding away the natural resources. Climate change is making the outlook for agricultural development even bleaker. Therefore, investments aimed toward preserving the country’s natural resources should be made.

Linkages with farmers and fisherfolks, LGUs, and the private sector must also be strengthened. This should be combined with a reorientation of the bureaucracy toward client- and performance-based planning as well as with a refocusing and reprioritization of budget and expenditures. Technological change must also be supported by a strong product services system. Ground-level services and extension must be supported by the government, especially for small-time farmers and fisherfolks. In order to be able to reach out to these farmers and fisherfolks, LGU involvement must be increased.

Briones likewise recommends the swift implementation of the land reform program

If agricultural innovation can be called “slow magic,” so can productivity growth be in general. And while its effects are slow and easily overlooked, a disadvantage since many policymakers are looking for tangible results and quick fixes, the potential of productivity growth is great. It has been proven to prevent population collapse and assuage hunger. It has worked to a great effect on developed countries. The “magic” of productivity growth has made farmers in these countries independent, content, and free from poverty. Productivity growth can also do the same for the Philippines. It can make the country prosper once again. It can work its magic as long as the right policies and institutions are in place to unleash it. NPI

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November - December 2009

Rising above the turning point

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n the same vein as Niccolo Machiavelli’s “Never waste the opportunities offered by a good crisis,” the 2008 global financial and economic crisis can be used as a platform to address structural problems in Philippine economy.

These and more were some of the points raised during the national forum and dialogue on the “Impact of the Global Financial and Economic Crisis on the Philippines” held on October 29, 2009 at the Asian Institute of Management Conference Center in Makati City.

Philippine Institute for Development Studies President Dr. Josef T. Yap, in his macro perspective presentation during the forum, reported that the main outcome of the crisis is that there has been an economic slowdown after the 7.1 percent growth, which was the highest in 31 years, in 2007. The growth slowed down to 3.2 percent in 2008 and slid in 2009. This slowdown after 2007, however, is not largely due to the crisis. While the crisis had indeed contributed to this, the main cause of the slowdown in 2008, though, was the rise in average inflation.

But, at the same time, unemployment rate has been fairly stable. Remittances in peso terms have also actually been increasing.

Despite the initial worry of having negative effects on unemployment as well as on remittances, the crisis had not seemed to have had a major impact on these and the unemployment rate has remained relatively stable.

Another cause of the slowdown, according to Dr. Yap, is the wearing off of the impact of election spending and the public reconstruction program in 2007. Over the long term, too, medium- to long-term structural factors, structural problems of the Philippine economy, low investments, poor infrastructure, and weak institutions impede the Philippines’ economic growth.

Photo by Maria Gizelle G. Manuel

"Crossroads to the development are often marked by turning points manifested through crisis. How a country handles its crisis will spell the difference for its future. After all, during crisis often comes the best of minds and action.

Let us take on then this challenge for recovery and hopefully the Philippines will overcome and rise above this turning point and eventually meet the MDGs by 2015." ~Dr. Jacqueline Badcock, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative

Based on the above, Dr. Yap’s first main message for the forum is that the impact of the global crisis on the Philippines was not as adverse as compared with other East Asian economies. And ironically, the structural problems such as the dichotomy between domestic manufacturing and exports (where our exports have very little value-added and

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The 2008 crisis did not affect the poor that much, but there is still a need to implement programs in order to uplift the poor’s situation and these are related to the MDGs. so despite the 30 percent decline in nominal exports in dollar terms in the past three quarters, the unemployment rate has not really been affected) actually helped shield the economy from the harsher effects of the crisis. His analogy for this is that “if you don’t fly high, you don’t land hard.”

Nonetheless, even as these structural problems shielded the Philippine economy, as reflected in the country’s dual economy, and thereupon did not really impact the Philippines at heart, Dr. Yap’s second message noted that the government can still use the crisis as the platform to address these structural problems, in particular in terms of coming up with social protection programs and policies that will be able to integrate the marginalized sector—the chronic poor who remain poor despite any change or movement of the economy—into the mainstream economy.

On this note, Dr. Yap discussed the domestic policy responses to the crisis, which in fact, did not really address the structural problems. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas loosened monetary policy following the signal from other economies. Also, the government announced a fiscal stimulus package which included an increase in budget allocation from 4.5 percent in 2007 to 5.7 percent in 2008 and 26.1 percent in 2009.

This provided the context for Dr. Yap’s third message which focused on the fiscal problems that emerged even after fiscal stimulus packages such as the Economic Resiliency Plan (ERP) and the Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP)had achieved modest success.

Dr. Yap also emphasized concerns about the country’s declining tax efforts because it would affect the country’s chances of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). As mentioned above, the 2008 crisis did not affect the poor that much, but

there is still a need to implement programs in order to uplift the poor’s situation and these are related to the MDGs. Dr. Yap emphasized the importance of policy measures in the form of fiscal reforms to increase the Philippines’ chances of achieving the MDGs, as well as to address the infrastructure needs of the country. He also talked about social protection where coverage, funding and targeting of social protection should be looked at with emphasis on social inclusion. He further discussed regional and local rebalancing which will pave the way for increased investments and opportunities from the region where Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will be part of new production networks.

Meanwhile, looking at the impact on households, PIDS Senior Research Fellow Dr. Celia M. Reyes’ presentation focused on overseas employment and remittances and then on local employment. Using data gathered through the Community-Based Monitoring System, Dr. Reyes reported that some Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) were retrenched or suffered wage cuts in affected countries. A large portion of the retrenched workers used to work in Saudi Arabia and most of them used to work as professionals (e.g., nurse, medical technician, architect, computer programmer, and engineer). But total overseas employment and remittances increased.

Locally, there was no widespread unemployment but there were some sectors that were affected, particularly the exportbased sectors. Most of the individuals who lost jobs used to work as service workers and shop/market sales workers. Those who lost jobs reported that the major reason for the job loss is that the firm where they used to work was incurring losses. For some working as plant and machine operators and assemblers, they were not retrenched but they were affected through reduced wages, working hours, and benefits.

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reflects resource constraints as well as institutional and logistical constraints.

Photo by Maria Gizelle G. Manuel

During the panel discussion, former Party Representative Etta Rosales talked about an alterntive way of formulating an economic stimulus package while PIDS Senior Research Fellow Dr. Rosario G. Manasan pointed to real concerns about the revenue-to-tax ratio.

Life, however, goes on for those affected; and these households coped by seeking additional sources of income such as doing additional work or looking for work abroad. They also tapped various fund sources such as borrowing money, using up savings, and selling or pawning assets to smooth consumption. Another way was to shift children from private to public school while for some, children were totally withdrawn from school.

During the panel discussion chaired by Professor Solita Monsod of the UP School of Economics, one of the panelists, Prof. Gary B. Olivar, also Presidential Economic Spokesperson, suggested to have more research about the rate elasticity of different types of taxes (income, VAT) across different taxpayer groups (corporate, individuals).

The classic tradeoff in terms of time preference can be discerned in this area too: lower marginal tax rates now that will lead to higher total tax collections tomorrow as taxpayers prosper and the economy grows due to low-tax environment.

Former Party Representative Etta Rosales, on the other hand, commented that the ERP of the government is a failure because it is inadequate, debt-inducing and transient.

She noted that a big portion of the P330 billion package is not actually direct stimulus.

She then focused on an alternative way of formulating an economic stimulus package which would be based on a rechanelling of debt service in a debt moratorium scenario or at least via selective repudiation of illegitimate debts.

To mitigate the impacts of the crisis, various government programs were initiated. These are: CLEEP; Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps); emergency loan for Social Security System members; Pag-ibig special short-term loan for displaced workers; 6month pay package for laid off electronic workers; and National Food Authority (NFA) rice access program.

Meanwhile, Dr. Rosario G. Manasan, PIDS Senior Research Fellow, pointed to real concerns about the revenue-to-tax ratio that has gone down. She said that however good the GDP-to-debt ratio looks at present, it can easily change depending on the deficit. The deficit increase is essentially a good indicator of the stimulus; however, it is not because the deficit was incurred by an increase in expenditures but because of a decrease in revenues.

The coverage of the abovementioned programs, however, was limited and not all households in the lowest income quintile were able to access the programs. Moreover, there were some rich households who benefitted from the programs. This brings to the fore the issue of targeting when it comes to implementing social protection programs of the government. The lack of readiness to quickly put in place mitigation programs also

Overall, the panelists agreed that the Philippines needs to improve on its national targeting system to avoid problems on mistargeting and misrepresentation in reaching out to the intended recipients of government programs.

It is important to offer the chronic poor efficient and quality programs that will help alleviate them from poverty rather than to create programs that become hubs of redundancy and inefficiency. MAG

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November - December 2009

Improving policies on international labor migration in ASEAN

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nternational labor migration has been the focus of many studies worldwide. In fact, it is increasingly becoming an important component of development. In the Philippines, 10 percent of gross domestic product is attributed to remittances from its overseas workers.

There are, however, some problems relating to international migration in the Asia Pacific region, as cited by Dr. Aniceto Orbeta, senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and director of the Migration in ASEAN Project.

In his presentation during the meeting titled Different streams, different needs and impacts: managing international labor migration in ASEAN, Dr. Orbeta shared that at a personal level, exploitation and reports of abuses diminish or offset the benefits of labor export. At the aggregate level, overdependence on international migration and remittance flows may become a threat to long-term development.

Dr. Orbeta emphasized that international migration is no longer just a national or bilateral issue as it has become both a multilateral and a local issue. Countries in the region are experiencing a wide range of problems in managing labor migration flows.

These problems require different management procedures as these would have different impacts on households.

For instance, in Cambodia, Mr. Lun Pide of the Cambodia Development Resource Institute pointed to the huge inflow of Cambodian irregular migrants to Thailand

Photo:

www.manila-photos.blogspot.com

International migration is no longer just a national or bilateral issue as it has become both a multilateral and a local issue.

(90% in 2006) in particular. Citing weaknesses in policy and regulations as well as in enforcement, Mr. Pide reported that this irregular migration results in exploitation by employers, trafficking, and organized crimes, among other problems.

Indonesia, on the other hand, is among the fastest growing countries in terms of migrant workers. Ms. Palmira Bachtiar, researcher at the SMERU Research Institute, reported that migrant workers’ major destinations are Arab countries and Malaysia. The migrants are mostly low-skilled workers and come from the informal sectors. She pointed to the relevance of decentralization in her country as there is diversity of needs and cost of delivering government services to its workers.

The other presenters of their respective country cases were Dr. Vijayakumari Kanapathy of Malaysia, an independent

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Country-specific issues focus on the need for an integrated approach and long-term development planning on migrant labor (Malaysia); protecting international labor migrants (Philippines); managing unskilled and semi-skilled worker inflows (Singapore); and regional cooperation initiatives and bilateral agreements in managing international migration (Thailand). consultant; Prof. Chia Siow Yue, Senior Research Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs; and Dr. Yongyuth Calamwong, Research Director of the Labor Development and Human Resources and Social Development Program of the Thailand Development Research Institute.

Country-specific issues focus on the need for an integrated approach and long-term development planning on migrant labor (Malaysia); protecting international labor migrants (Philippines); managing unskilled and semi-skilled worker inflows (Singapore); and regional cooperation initiatives and bilateral agreements in managing international migration (Thailand).

Based on the above, the migration project shall initiate a study that would improve

Photo by Maria Gizelle G. Manuel

Dr. Aniceto C. Orbeta, Senior Research Fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and director of the Migration in ASEAN Project discusses the project overview starting with the problems related to international labor migration in ASEAN. Dr. Orbeta likewise presented different migration flows and migration policies of sending and receiving countries in Southeast Asia.

policy and institutional arrangements among ASEAN member states. Its overall objective is to build knowledge and understanding on the policy and institutional arrangements in managing international migration and remittance flows in the ASEAN region as well as on their development impacts in order to inform public policy.

Specifically, the study aims to: a) analyze the impact of policy and institutional arrangements on migration and remittance flows within ASEAN; b) assess measures toward managing unskilled labor migration and their protection; c) review cooperation initiatives in the region in managing migration flows; and d) engage policymakers and other stakeholders in the project and actively contribute to policy debates and institutional reform for improving the protection of migrant workers in ASEAN. The meeting was organized by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) in cooperation with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). It was held at the Romulo Hall of the NEDA sa Makati Building. Also in attendance were the discussants consisting of Dr. Donald Tambunan, Head of the Social Welfare, Women, Labour and Migrant Workers Division and ASEAN Secretariat; Dr. Guntur Sugiyarto, Economist at the Asian Development Bank; Dr. Michael Alba, a Visiting Research Fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies; Ms. Aiko Kikkawa, Head of the Labor Migration Unit of the International Organization for Migration – Philippines; Dr. Edita Tan, Professor Emeritus at the School of Economics, University of the Philippines; Dr. Fernando Aldaba, Associate Professor, Economics Department at the Ateneo de Manila University; and Mr. Mario C. Feranil, OIC Vice President of the PIDS, who served as moderator of the open forum. VFLB

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November - December 2009

Integrating the impaired: PIDS conducts survey of PWDs

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s the deadline to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) looms, the need to understand the link between disability and poverty grows.

Disability and poverty are related, as growing evidence suggests.

These evidences were presented in May 2008 at the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities where, among others, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) reported that persons with disabilities (PWDs) often belong to the poorest sectors of society. Studies conducted by the World Bank also showed that roughly 20 percent of the world’s poorest people are disabled and are considered in their own communities as the most disadvantaged.

International organizations believe that accurate surveys and comprehensive disability-related information collection are necessary for the formulation of laws and programs aimed at improving the status of PWDs. While the UN-ESCAP and World Bank were trying to streamline PWD statistics in developing countries, the Philippine government conducted a survey on PWDs in the country. The National Statistics Office (NSO) conducted a survey on PWDs in 2000 as part of its Census of the Population and Housing survey. However, the survey focused on the incidence of disability in the country, not on living standards of PWDs. It was only in 2008 when, through the collaboration between the Institute of

Developing Economies (IDE), a Japan-based organization working for international cooperation with developing nations, and the Philippine Institute for Developing Studies (PIDS), a project was launched to survey the living standards of PWDs. This study highlighted the livelihood of PWDs as well as the various programs and policies aimed for their betterment.

Four hundred three (403) PWDs from Makati, Pasay, Valenzuela, and Quezon City took part in the survey which was conducted in partnership with each city’s Social Welfare Office and various PWD organizations.

The results of the survey showed poor educational attainments for PWDs. Only a quarter had college education. In fact, one-third (129 out of 403) did not even reach high school. Eight percent did not complete any grade level. The survey also showed that people with mobility impairment has the highest average number of schooling years, at 9.1 years, while those who are deaf have the lowest (7.5). On the average, male PWDs spend more schooling years than females. A third of the respondents received special education which comprises of three-fourths of the deaf, a third of the blind, and only 1 percent of the mobility impaired.

About half of the PWDs have jobs. Employment rate was higher among the men (57%) than women (40%). The blind have the highest employment rate at 72 percent, followed by the mobility impaired at 44 percent, and the deaf at 32 percent. The blind also earn

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November - December 2009

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Integrating the impaired...from p. 11

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the highest, at an average of P76,270 per year.

However, 69 percent of the mobility-impaired PWDs earn more than the poverty threshold, while only 65 percent and 44 percent of the blind and deaf, respectively, earned the same. This study likewise revealed that only 29 percent of the PWDs with jobs earned equal to or more than the minimum wage.

The census survey conducted in 2000 already has outdated information which just demonstrates how important it is for local government units (LGUs) to profile PWDs within their jurisdiction. To make it easier for PWDs to access discounts on services, the joint study recommends that they should be given special IDs. It also recommends that the city social welfare office coordinate with village health workers, who keep a more updated list of PWDs in their areas. This would speed up the identification and profiling of PWDs. Since the situation of PWDs in relation to poverty is beginning to be understood only now, it is important that more information

about PWDs be disseminated not only to them but also to the public in general. The media has a big role to play in this, and so do LGUs, who are the ones closer to PWDs. LGUs can keep the PWDs and the organizations that support them informed about current policies and services.

The PIDS study stresses the need to enforce anti-discriminatory and equal opportunity laws for the PWD sector. This would enable PWDs to lead more self-sufficient lives. PIDS also recommends the promotion of a PWD and non-PWD conducive environment which entails the removal of certain barriers or the addition of PWD-friendly facilities.

Placing entrance ramps along the front steps to an office and adding elevators to a previously all-stairs building are examples of this.

This is necessary so that PWDs will be able to participate with the rest in day-to-day activities and become integrated in the society. If these necessary changes are not accepted and put into place, then the PWDs will most likely remain where they are now: in poverty. NPI