Rapid Field Appraisal of Decentralization: Davao Region

Transcription

Rapid Field
Appraisal of
Decentralization
Davao
Region 11
This study is made possible by the generous support of the American
people through the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) through Cooperative Agreement Number
AID 492-A-00-09-00031-00. The contents are the responsibility
of The Asia Foundation and do not necessarily reflect the views of
USAID or the United States Government.
More Responsive Local
Governments
Ed. B. Prantilla
Executive Summary
D
ecentralization has made the local governments more responsive to the needs
of their area by passing ordinances to provide development direction, as well as by
promoting investments and managing their resources. Economic activities, however,
are generally centered in cities, and cities showed lesser dependence on internal revenue
allotment compared to provinces and municipalities.
Results of the focused group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs)
also showed that decentralization weakened the connection between the provincial and
municipal governments. A local chief executive (LCE) at the provincial level remarked that
the provincial governor has no administrative control over the municipal government. This
minimal or lack of administrative control over the municipalities made it difficult to have
a unified development direction for the whole province. A retired regional executive of the
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said that this is especially true if the
governor and the municipal mayors belong to different political parties. Decentralization
also made it difficult to attain horizontal consistency among the various municipal
development plans and vertical consistency of municipal and provincial development
plans. This is because a municipal development plan may be formulated independent of
other plans in that local government unit (LGU), even as municipal development plans
may also be formulated independent of the provincial development plans.
Devolution has affected significantly the operations of the agriculture office at all levels
in the region. First, the link between the province and the municipal agriculture
offices has been weakened with the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 7160.
Decentralization has also removed the administrative supervision of the provincial
agriculture office on the municipal agriculture offices. Indeed, one municipal agriculture
official said that under the present set-up they could ignore the provincial agriculture
office. Second, decentralization has caused the fragmentation of agriculture programs
and projects, that is, the municipalities could pursue different programs and projects
based on their own priorities. Third, the research and extension functions of the local
agriculture offices are now practically dependent on the priorities of the LCE. Thus,
in one province, agricultural research has practically ceased while in another it is active.
The same is true with agricultural extension. Because of the logistical support that
agricultural extension requires, the absence of funding support for transportation and
More Responsive Local Governments
3
supplies and materials will practically bring the program to a standby mode. Fourth,
devolution has brought frustrations to the devolved personnel of the Department of
Agriculture (DA), especially those in-low income municipalities. This is not only
because their remuneration has remained stagnant over the years, they also have to
discharge the same functions with less funding support.
Yet, it should be stressed that in spite of such problems, considerable achievements
have been registered by the provincial/city/municipal agricultural offices on local
development. Thus, in Davao del Norte, the research conducted by the Provincial
Agriculture Office (PAGRO) resulted in the establishment of planting seasons for
crops to minimize the incidence of pest and diseases and as a consequence lowered the
use of agricultural chemicals. The support given by PAGRO to farmers also resulted
in two GAWAD SAKA (annual search for outstanding achievement in agriculture)
winners. PAGRO has used the GAWAD SAKA winners as partners in disseminating
modern farming technology to farmers.
At the municipal level, the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAGRO) of Sta. Cruz
spearheaded replanting and rehabilitation of the town’s mangroves in collaboration with
students and civil society organizations (CSOs). In Mati City, the City Agriculture Office
(CAGRO) is the lead organization of the reforestation of the mayor’s upland area project to
combat global warming. In addition, the agricultural production programs at the local level
are invariably implemented to support the nutrition program of the local governments.
It is interesting to note that another devolved agency, such as health, is not encountering
the same problems faced by agriculture.
The available quantitative data could not provide a definite answer to the question of
whether decentralization or RA 7160 has improved the welfare of the people at the local
level. There are evidences, of course, that availability of services has improved. Thus,
the percentage of households with access to safe water has increased considerably, and
solid-waste management has improved. Available data on incidence of poverty at both
the provincial and the municipal/city level, though, showed no significant improvement.
Introduction
4
The study covers three provinces of Davao Region, namely: Davao del Sur, Davao del
Norte, and Davao Oriental; three component cities, and six municipalities. The three
component cities are: Digos City in Davao del Sur, Tagum City in Davao del Norte,
and Mati City in Davao Oriental. The six municipalities are: Sta. Cruz and Don
Mariano in Davao del Sur; Asuncion and Carmen in Davao del Norte, and Caraga
and San Isidro in Davao Oriental. The three component cities are the largest urban
centers and a major location of commerce and industry of the provinces surveyed.
The six municipalities, on the other hand, were selected to provide a range of locally
generated revenues of local government units and may provide an indication on the
Rapid Field Appraisal of Decentralization: Region 11
implementation of RA 7160 under varying levels of local government revenues and
incidence of poverty. Of the six municipalities, Don Marcelino and San Isidro are
categorized as third class municipalities, the rest are first class municipalities.1
The socio-demographic profile of the local government units covered by the study is
presented in Table 1. Among the three provinces, Davao del Norte has the smallest land
area. This is the result of the division of the original Davao del Norte province into two,
namely: the present Davao del Norte and the newly created Compostela Valley Province.
The province with the largest area is Davao Oriental. Among the three component cities,
Mati City has the largest land area with 682 sq. km., followed by Digos City with 318
sq. km. and Tagum City with 196 sq. km. The land area of the six municipalities, on the
other hand, ranged from 187 sq. km. (Asuncion) to 554 sq. km. (Caraga).
In 2007, the most highly populated province is Davao del Norte followed closely by
Davao del Sur and the least populated is Davao Oriental. Among the three component
cities, Tagum City’s population in 2007 was 215,967 followed by Digos City with
145,514 and Mati City with 122,046. Among the municipalities covered by the
study, Sta. Cruz has the highest population with 76,113, while the least populated is
San Isidro with 32,139 (Table 1).
Table 1: Socio-demographic profile of local government units covered by the study
Land
Area
(sq.km)
Province/City/
Municipality
Population
Aug. 1,
2007
Annual
Population
Growth
Rate,
2000-2007
(%)
Poverty
Locally
Internal
InciGenerRevenue
dence,
ated
Allotment
2003
Revenue
(mil.
(% popu- (mil. PhP)
PhP),
lation)
2008
2008
Davao del Sur
3,934
822,406
1.15
28.9
52.31
636.80
Davao del Norte
3,463
847,440
1.86
36.8
111.35
595.27
Davao Oriental
5,164
486,104
1.22
47.9
48.87
569.18
Digos City
318
145,514
2.15
18.2
123.77
286.97
Tagum City
196
215,967
2.64
15.4
283.08
323.02
Mati City
682
122,046
2.03
32.1
83.75
388.13
Sta. Cruz, DS
335
76,113
2.40
28.7
35.25
84.55
Don Marcelino, DS
449
35,166
0.07
80.7
2.03
53.29
Asuncion, DN
187
50,731
- 2.49
44.9
10.475
68.127
Carmen, DN
278
61,656
1.59
32.1
25.72
64.63
Caraga, DO
554
34,278
0.03
57.3
1.48
63.96
San Isidro, DO
205
32,139
0.02
44.6
5.84
44.41
Sources of Data:
1
NSCB, 2004 and 2008 Philippine Statistical Yearbook
NSCB, 2003 Small Area Poverty Incidence Estimates
NSO, 2007 Census of Population
Bureau of Local Government Finance, Davao City
NSCB, 2009 Regional Social and Economic Trends, Davao Region, Davao City.
5
Data on the locally generated revenues of local government units in 2008 showed that
among the three Davao provinces, the locally generated revenues of Davao del Norte
is highest at P111.35 million, while Davao Oriental registered the lowest with P48.87
million. Among the three (3) component cities, Tagum City registered the highest locally
generated revenue with P283.08 million followed by Digos City with P123.77 million
and lowest was exhibited by Mati City with P83.75 million. Among the municipalities
included in the study, Caraga has the lowest locally generated revenue in 2008 with only
P1.48 million followed closely by Don Marcelino with P2.03 million, while the highest
locally generated revenue was registered by Sta. Cruz with P35.25 million.
The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) small areas poverty incidence
estimates of 2003 revealed that Don Marcelino has the highest poverty incidence
with 80.7 percent of its municipal population below the poverty line. The lowest
poverty incidence among the municipalities covered by the study is found in Sta. Cruz,
Davao del Sur with 28.7 percent of its 2003 population below the poverty threshold.
Among the three cities covered by the study, Tagum City has the lowest poverty
incidence with 15.4 percent, the highest is found in Mati City with 32.1 percent, while
among the three provinces, Davao del Sur has the lowest poverty incidence with 28.9
percent, the highest is in Davao Oriental with 47.9 percent (Table 1).
RESULTS OF DECENTRALIZATION
I. Local Governance and Administration
Governance has been variously defined by various organizations. The Asian Development
Bank (ADB) defined governance as “the sound exercise of political, economic and
administrative authority to manage a country’s resources for development. It involves
the institutionalization of a system through which citizens, institutions, organizations,
and groups in a society articulate their interests, exercise their rights, and mediate
their differences in pursuant of a collective good.”2 Similarly, World Bank defined
governance as “the manner by which public officials and institutions acquire and
exercise the authority to shape public policy and provide public goods and services.”3
Local Government Ordinances
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan, the Sangguniang Panlunsod and the Sangguniang Bayan
passed ordinances to manage the province/city/municipality’s resources and regulate
activities within the province/city/municipality. Information collected from the office
of the legislative secretary of provinces, cities, and municipalities covered by the study
6
2 Asian Development Bank (1995), Governance: Sound Development Management, Manila: ADB.
3 World Bank (2007), “Strengthening World Bank Group Engagement on Governance
and Anti-Corruption”, http://www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/comment/governancefeedback/
gacpaper-03212007.pdf, see also: World Bank (1992), “Governance and Development”, Washington,
D.C.: World Bank for an earlier definition of governance by World Bank.
showed that these ordinances vary in scope according to the level of local government.
The number of ordinances passed by the local government unit also appeared to be
related to the income class of local government unit. Thus, the legislative body of
a province or a component city or a 1st class municipality passes more ordinances
compared to a 3rd or 4th class municipality. The subject of these ordinances range from
purely local concerns to the localization of national laws.
Table 2 presents a summary of the ordinances passed by the local governments covered
by the study. It should be noted that the subjects of ordinances listed by province/
city/ municipalities are not exhaustive.
The role of the province could be discerned from the ordinances it approves. Among
others, the Provincial Government reviews the development plans, annual investment
plans, ordinances, and resolutions passed by municipalities and component cities. The
review appears to be limited to determining whether the ordinance or resolution is
within the powers of the Sangguniang Panlungsod or the Sangguniang Bayan4. It
is noted, however, that in the case of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP)
and Zoning and Zoning Ordinance, the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board
(HLURB) is consulted to ensure that the CLUP and the Zoning Ordinance conform
to HLURB requirements.
A survey of the ordinances passed by the cities and municipalities revealed that
these local government units are focused on, among others, providing development
direction for their area (e.g. approving comprehensive development plans, land use
plans, and zoning ordinances), consolidating and expanding their capacity to generate
local revenues (e.g. approving tax revenue codes), promoting local investments
(e.g. approving investment incentive codes), and development, conservation, and
management of fisheries and aquatic resources. In addition, the component cities and
municipalities also formulated and passed ordinances that control specific activities
within their jurisdiction, such as regulating the sale of fish and fish products; iron
fortification of rice sold in their area; regulating the sale of certain drugs; curfew
hours for minors, entry of agricultural products, quarantine of infectious diseases and
infected persons, guidelines for the operation of public markets, and regulating the
fares of tricycles.
By and large, it could be concluded that the respondent LGUs are proficient in passing
ordinances to effectively respond to the problems confronting them and to provide
development direction for the local economy.
4
See: Section 56(b) of the Local Government Code of 1991 (RA 7160).
7
Table 2: Summary of major subjects of ordinances passed by provinces, component
cities and municipalities (1992 to 2010)
Local Government
Level
Major Subjects Covered by Ordinances Passed
Provinces
Reviewing City and Municipal Comprehensive Development
Plans (CDP); Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP); Solid
Waste Management (SWM) Plans; Annual Investment Plans
(AIP); Realignment of funds; Environmental Ordinances of
Municipalities; Rules and Regulation on Mining Activities;
Annual Budgets of Municipalities; Supplementary Budgets;
Provincial Investment Code; Project Proposals, and Settlement of
Boundary Disputes among Municipalities. Approval of provincial
development plans, annual budgets and annual investment plans.
Component Cities
Approval of: Comprehensive Development Plan; Comprehensive
Land Use Plan; Solid Wastes Management Plan, Investment
Incentive Code; Tax Revenue Code; City Services Handbook;
Children Welfare Code (Digos City); Dog Welfare Code (Digos
City); Code on Economic Enterprises; Fishing Ordinance; Zoning
Ordinance; Fishery Ordinance (Digos City); Reclassification of
land; Land conversion; Regulation of fares of tricycles; Public
market regulation, Sanitary Regulations; Creation/Establishment
of Offices; Health Ordinance (rabies control, prevention
and control of STI/HIV/AIDS); curfew ordinances; business
regulations; literacy and other education programs (Tagum
City); environmental protection; health and sanitation; traffic and
transport regulations, etc.
Municipalities
Adoption of national laws, e.g. RA 9485 (Anti-Red Tape Act
of 2007), and RA 9178 (Micro Business Enterprises Act of
2002); Adopting RA 7875 as amended by RA 9241 (National
Health Insurance Program, Asuncion); Approving the Municipal
Comprehensive Land Use Plan; Solid Waste Management Plan;
Municipal Revenue Code; Investment Incentive Code; Sanitation
Code (Carmen); Cemetery Code (Carmen); Water Works Code
(Asuncion); Regulation of Fishing (Carmen); Regulation of the
Production of Cavendish Banana (Carmen); Operation of Public
Markets; Creation of Offices/Councils; regulation of quarrying
and mining; curfew for minors and adults (Don Marcelino);
prohibiting sale of firecrackers; regulating fishing in municipal
waters (Carmen); banning the burning of rice straw; food
fortification (Carmen); and land reclassification
Inter-local Government Relation
This study used the term inter-local government relation to describe the relationship
between the province and the municipalities, and among the municipalities with
regards to programs and projects, and the relationship between the provincial level
offices of devolved agencies with their municipal counterparts.
8
Provincial and municipal governments. A close working relationship between LGUs is
necessary because the implementation of certain development programs and projects are
facilitated by teamwork and collaboration among local governments units. Examples
of development programs/projects that require coordination and collaboration among
LGUs include the protection and conservation of vital watersheds covering two or
more municipalities, protection of common aquifer recharge areas or the protection
of recharge area located in another municipality, development of common sanitary
landfill, ensuring food self-sufficiency for the whole province, protection and
conservation of common fishing grounds, road network system that traverse different
municipalities, and many more. Traditionally, the body that coordinates the planning
and implementation of programs and projects is the Provincial Government. Under
RA 7160, the Provincial Government supervision on the municipal governments is
weak. In fact, a respondent provincial governor said that it is difficult to integrate
the development plans of the municipalities under RA 7160 when the provincial
government has no administrative supervisory powers over the municipalities. A
retired regional executive of DILG also said that formulating a unified development
direction for the province will be difficult if the governor and some of the mayors
belong to different political parties.
Coordination of development programs and projects is also facilitated if there is an
overall framework plan from which the city/municipal development plans follow.
In other words, there are common priority areas agreed upon by the provincial and
municipal/city governments. In addition, coordination is stronger if the coordinator
has some control over the budget. Unfortunately, these two factors may not be
present at the local level. For example, municipal governments may have different
priorities which the provincial government has no power to change, and although the
Provincial Legislative Body has the mandate to review the annual investment plans of
municipalities and component cities, it has no power over their budgets.
Relation between devolved agencies at the provincial and municipal level. Although the
effects of decentralization among the devolved agencies vary, the consensus is that the
change brought by decentralization, particularly in agriculture, is not always positive.
A key informant at the provincial level remarked that the most significant change
brought about by RA 7160 in agriculture is that the relationship between the provincial
and municipal agricultural offices has become weak. Under RA 7160, the province has
no supervisory powers on the municipal agriculture offices; the feedback mechanism is
thus anemic and has no continuity with the pre-RA 7160 set-up. This observation was
validated by the municipal agriculture office (MAGRO) informants who said that they
could not be forced to follow the provincial agriculture office (PAGRO). In fact, the
same informants said that the MAGROs could even ignore the PAGRO under certain
condition, for instance, if there is a conflict of priorities between the province and the
municipality, the MAGROs are likely to follow the priorities of the municipality. This
is because the MAGROs are responsible to the LCE and not to the PAGRO.
9
The informants, however, stressed that provincial and municipal agriculture offices still
work together but following certain protocol – that is, the provincial office has to have
the agreement first with the LCE of the municipal agriculture office it has to work with
before it implements a project. This problem may be related to the comment advanced
by the provincial-level informant that before the implementation of RA 7160, there was
a unified program for agriculture in the province, but after the implementation of RA
7160, the province’s agricultural program became fragmented. This could be traced
to the differing priorities of the LCEs for their municipalities vis a vis the provincial
priorities, and to the fact that after the implementation of RA 7160 the reporting system
that was operational before decentralization or devolution was no longer followed.
The problem encountered by agriculture does not seem to be experienced by the other
devolved agencies, such as health and social welfare. An observation by one informant
on the Department of Health (DOH) is that they were well-prepared with regards to
RA 7160. For example, the Magna Carta of Health Workers ensured that those in the
health sector will be assured of receiving the remuneration and other benefits enjoyed by
their non-devolved colleagues5. In addition, medical workers could not really afford to
be working independently. Secondary hospitals are located in the provincial capital and
managed and administered by the provincial health office, while primary health facilities
are located at the municipal level. Because primary health facilities such as clinics are not
equipped with laboratory facilities to conduct diagnostic tests and have limited hospital
beds or rooms to accommodate the sick, those that are beyond the capabilities of the
primary health clinic to treat are referred to the provincial hospitals or to the secondary
health facilities of the province. The connection among the primary and the secondary
health facilities necessitates a strong relationship between the provincial and municipal
health personnel. Indeed, an informant from a Municipal Health Office said that they
have excellent working relationship with their Provincial Health Office in delivering
health services to communities and in controlling outbreaks of diseases.
Transparency
Two out of the three provinces, two out of three cities, and one out of six municipalities
surveyed have official websites. Different kinds of information could be accessed from
these websites. Available information from the Davao del Norte website, for example,
include the socio-economic profile of the province, executive-legislative agenda (ELA),
investment guide, issues and events, and executive reports. From the Tagum City
official website, the development thrust and achievements of the city government are
listed; full copies of the latest approved city ordinances and resolutions could also be
downloaded. From the official website of Mati City, bidding documents and public
offerings, among others, are accessible. San Isidro is the only sample municipality
10
5 It was observed during the RFA that the Magna Carta for Health Workers caused other
devolved workers and other local government workers to be envious. This is because to them it is
unfair for other workers to have higher benefits when all of them have the same workload and are
exposed to the same risks.
with an official website, which includes the vision, mission, goal of the municipality,
investment opportunities, and the town’s tourist sites.
For all LGUs, however, the common mode of information dissemination is through
an annual or a quarterly state of province/city/municipality address given by the LCE.
This state of the province/city/municipality address informs people on the progress of
the development programs undertaken by the local government or simply enables the
LGU to keep in touch with its constituents. In addition to the state of the province/
city/municipality address, the office of the LCE also issues press releases to inform the
people through the media, i.e. print, radio and television. In the case of the province
of Davao del Sur, the press releases issued by the Office of the Governor include the
list of projects approved and implemented; financial assistance given to different
municipalities for their local projects; releases from the Special Education Fund, and
medical mission to certain municipalities of the province.
In all the LGUs surveyed, documents such as ordinances and resolutions passed by
the local governments are open to the public. These documents, however, could
be accessed only if the interested party would personally go to the particular office
where the documents are located. For example, ordinances and resolutions are readily
accessed at the Office of the Secretary of the Sanggunian and development plans are
accessed at the local planning and development office.
Local Government Transactions
Local governments prominently display the Presence of Frontline Services (PFS)
in their provincial capitol/city hall/municipal hall. The display on these services is
presented in tabular form and consists of the following columns: (a) The kind of
service available; (b) What to do, i.e. what the individual who wants that particular
service should do to obtain that service; (c) Time duration expected for each service to
complete; (d) Fees of charges if needed for each service, and, (e) Person to approach.
This display systematizes the procedure in obtaining a particular document or service
from the concerned local government department or unit.
All LGUs surveyed have a manned information desk at the entrance of the government
building. The person manning the information desk is invariably courteous and
readily gives direction and the name of the head of the office one wishes to visit. This
innovation greatly facilitates finding the offices one has business with, especially if it is
one’s first visit to the area.
Peoples’ Participation
Key informants revealed that peoples’ participation among the LGUs covered by the
study consisted of (a) membership of representatives of non-government organizations
(NGOs) in local government committees and special bodies; (b) as an implementing
11
partner of local government in development projects; (c) as participants in LGUorganized consultations on local development planning; and, (d) as participants during
the public hearing of local ordinances.
It is observed that only qualified NGOs may have representatives to the local government
committees and special bodies. Qualified NGOs and interest groups are those accredited
by the LGUs. Selection of representatives from the accredited NGOs or interest groups
varies among LGUs. While in most cases choosing the representatives from accredited
NGOs are left to the NGOs themselves, there are times when the LCE may have a direct
hand in the selection process, i.e. the representative is selected after consultation with the
LCE. Or the LCE may handpick the representative from the NGO. For example, in the
case of Tagum City, a key informant said that the LCE actually selects the representative
from the NGO or interest group. This is done to ensure that the representative from the
NGO or interest group will not oppose the LCE’s proposals.
Urban Environmental Management
Municipalities and cities covered by the study manage their environment by passing
ordinances prohibiting the burning of agricultural wastes (e.g. rice straw), proper
disposal of household wastes or garbage, and sanitation. An integrated approach to
waste management is usually contained in the Solid Waste Management plan (SWMP)
of the municipality or city. This is also to meet the requirement of RA 9003 (Ecological
Solid Waste Management Program). Of the three cities covered by the study, however,
only Digos has an approved SWMP, while only two of the six municipalities studied
have a SWM plan. Not surprisingly, these two, Caraga and Don Marcelino, also have
approved Solid Waste Management ordinances. However, even those with approved
SWMP have some difficulty in implementing the plan because of the lack of proper
facility for solid waste disposal. Accordingly, what are prevalent are open dump sites
rather than sanitary landfills. Even then, only 17.3 percent of the total households
in Digos City were served by an open dumpsite in 2005, followed by Sta. Cruz with
about nine percent, and Don Marcelino with only 4.4 percent6. Tagum City appeared
more equipped in dealing with solid waste because since 2007 the city’s garbage trucks
are serving 53.2 percent of the total households, while the municipality of Carmen’s
garbage trucks served only 26 percent of the municipality’s total households and
Asuncion, only three percent7.
Forest and Coastal Resource Management
Safeguarding the marine and coastal resources of cities and municipalities is a major
concern of the LGUs. Thus, mangrove rehabilitation/reforestation project is found in
almost all coastal municipalities and cities. The MAGRO of Sta. Cruz in particular
12
6 PPDO (2005), Socio-economic and Physical Profile of Davao del Sur, 2001-2005. Digos City
7 Government of Davao del Norte (2009), Provincial Development and Physical Framework
Plan, op.cit.
revealed that the municipal government has sustained the funding of the Coastal
Resource Management (CRM) Project, a national project, after it ended. Sta. Cruz
also has a mangrove rehabilitation project, an active Bantay Dagat; Bantay (Fish)
Sanctuary; and its seaside barangays are participants of the FARMC project.
The city government of Mati, meanwhile, has an Integrated Coastal Resource
Management Program to identify and address the problems and issues of the city’s
coastal areas. The city projects under this program include mariculture; inland
fishpond production; brackish water; fish sanctuary; seaweed farming; establishment
of marine park; and, enforcement of local and national fishery laws within the
city waters. The Integrated Coastal Resource Management Project and Integrated
Aquaculture Development Project are also a major undertakings of Davao del Norte.
Safeguarding municipal waters is also done in Don Marcelino, while Caraga has an
active surveillance system for illegal fishing within its municipal waters.
Although the key informants interviewed in the provinces, cities, and municipalities
mentioned some LGU projects that are related to climate change, it is only Mati City
that is implementing what it said is its contribution to alleviating the problem of
climate change. Mati’s project is called “Plant a Tree and Grow With Me ,” the
objective of which it is to rehabilitate and reforest the city’s denuded upland areas, as
well as to reforest and rehabilitate its mangrove areas.
Local Finance
The result of the key informant interviews and an analysis of the data provided by
the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) showed a wide variation on the
amount of tax and non-tax revenues generated by the LGUs. There appears to be a
direct relationship between the amount of locally generated revenue and the level of
economic development of the area. In addition, it is also observed that there is an
inverse relationship between the percentage of population below poverty line and the
amount of locally generated revenue.
Impact on Local Finance
Uneven effects of the Local Government Code (LGC) of 1991 on local government
finance are evident in the sample LGUs covered by the study. Locally generated
revenue is highest among cities. This is obviously the result of a wider taxing and
revenue generation powers and opportunities available to cities compared to provinces
and municipalities, as well as due to the fact that industries and business enterprises are
mostly located in cities. Accordingly, the dependency of LGUs on the internal revenue
allotments (IRA) measured as the percentage of IRA to the total local government
revenue is higher in municipalities and provinces compared to the three component
cities covered by the study (Table 3).
13
The high fiscal dependency of Davao del Sur and Davao Oriental on their IRA appeared
to be related to their relatively higher reliance on their tax revenue as the main source
of their locally generated revenues. This is in contrast to Davao del Norte, which has
about 64 percent of its total locally generated revenue coming from non-tax sources.
Nevertheless, without their IRA, all three provinces covered by the study will not be
able to sustain their operation. Locally generated revenues of the three provinces could
cover only eight percent to nine percent of their total expenditures in the case of Davao
del Sur and Davao Oriental, and about 20 percent of its total expenditure in the case
of Davao del Norte.
The fiscal data of the three provinces for the period 2004 to 2008 showed that, on
the average, all three have surpluses, i.e. with the percentage of total revenue to total
expenditure ranging from a low of 108 percent (Davao Oriental) to a high of 115
percent (Davao del Sur). When these surpluses were verified, however, it was found out
that these were not free surpluses, i.e. there are restrictions attached to these surpluses.
Basically, what appeared as surpluses have minimal cash equivalent. This is because
the amount appearing as surpluses were already programmed to cover the payables,
trust liabilities, and mandatory obligations of the local government. According to
the accounting and the treasury departments of the local governments, all the LGU’s
funds are already programmed. Indeed, because the IRA is remitted regularly to the
LGUs every month, the amount is programmed even before it reaches the LGU.
The three component cities covered by the study registered lower dependency on their
IRAs from 2004 to 2008. The lowest fiscal dependency was registered by Tagum City,
with an average percentage of its IRA to total revenue at 53 percent and a percentage
of locally generated revenue to its IRA of a little over 76 percent. At the other end is
Digos City whose IRA accounted for 73 percent of its total revenue and whose locally
generated revenue was only 37 percent of its IRA (Table 3), while Mati City has about
66 percent of its total revenue accounted for by its IRA and whose locally generated
revenue was a respectable 59 percent of its IRA.
14
Table 3: Selected fiscal indicators of three provinces and three cities, Davao Region
(2004-2008)
Five Years Average, 2004-2008
Indicator
Davao
del Sur
Davao
del
Norte
Davao
Oriental
Digos
City
Tagum
City
Mati City
Percent IRA to Total
Revenue
92.98
82.42
92.16
73.02
53.29
65.59
Percent Locally
Generated Revenue
to IRA
7.55
21.52
8.52
37.09
76.48
59.45
Percent Tax
Revenue to Local
Generated Revenue
54.03
36.80
46.68
43.97
52.58
39.45
Percent Locally
Generated Revenue
to Total Expenditure
8.05
19.55
8.63
28.39
48.51
36.43
Expenditure
106.91
91.68
99.38
76.86
63.64
70.23
Percent Total
Revenue to Total
Expenditure
114.96
111.25
108.02
105.25
112.15
106.66
Source of Basic Data: Bureau of Local Government Finance, Davao City
The relatively better fiscal performance of the three cities could be attributed to the
exercise of their broader taxing powers. Cities, after all, can impose provincial and
municipal taxes.8 It was observed also that Tagum City have levied more taxes and
appeared to have higher efficiency in collecting real estate and other taxes and fees.
The financial data for the period 2004 to 2008 of the six municipalities covered by
the study showed varying dependency on the IRA as their source of local revenue
(Table 4). The highest average percentage of the IRA to total revenue was registered
by Caraga, Davao Oriental with 97 percent, followed closely by Don Marcelino with
96 percent, and not far behind are the municipalities of San Isidro, Davao Oriental,
and Asuncion, Davao del Norte with percent IRA to total revenue of about 88 percent.
Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, and Carmen, Davao del Norte have 72 percent and 75
percent IRA to total revenue respectively, the lowest among the municipalities studied.
These figures imply that the percentage of locally generated revenue to total revenue
in these six municipalities ranged from a low 2.7 percent in the case of Caraga, Davao
Oriental to a high 28.3 percent in the case of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.
It was noted that while local business taxes may be a major source of revenue, there
are not many business establishments located in the municipalities. Unfortunately,
8 See: Rosario G. Manasan, “Fiscal Implications of the Local Government Code of 1991”,
Journal of Philippine Development, No. 34, Vol. XIX, No. 1, First Semester 1992.
15
the number of business establishments in a municipality is closely related to the
town’s location, the state of its infrastructure and utilities, and its natural resource
endowment. In other words, municipalities located far from major urban centers
and which have limited infrastructure and utilities will not attract business investors.
With few business enterprises to tax, the LGUs of municipalities will depend largely
on real estate taxes as the major source of their locally generated revenue. Yet not only
is real estate tax “acknowledged as an expensive and difficult tax to levy,”9 landowners
in poor municipalities hardly pay their real estate tax. It may not be by accident that
Don Marcelino and Caraga, which have the highest poverty incidence among the
municipalities studied, also have the lowest percentage of locally generated revenues
compared to their IRAs (Table 4).
Table 4: Selected fiscal indicators of six municipalities, Davao Region (2004-2008)
Five Years Average, 2004-2008
Indicator
Sta.
Cruz,
DS
Don
San
Carmen, Asuncion, Caraga,
Marcelino,
Isidro,
DN
DN
DO
DS
DO
Revenue
71.70
96.53
75.03
87.57
97.27
87.95
Percent Local
Generated Revenue
to IRA
39.65
3.60
33.39
14.21
2.82
13.72
Percent Tax Revenue
to Local Generated
Revenue
74.94
55.46
68.90
58.36
44.21
38.78
Percent Local
Generated Revenue
to Total Expenditure
30.08
3.89
29.16
11.81
3.92
12.72
Expenditure
75.83
108.25
87.55
83.62
139.01
92.87
105.91
112.14
116.71
95.42
142.93 105.59
Percent Total
Revenue to Total
Expenditure
Revenue Structure of Local Governments
Data from the BGLF showed that during 2004 to 2008, the average locally generated
revenue accounted for seven percent of the total revenue in the case Davao del Sur and
about eight percent in the case of Davao Oriental, but registered 17 percent in the case
of Davao del Norte. The major source of locally generated revenues at the provincial
level is non-tax revenue in Davao del Norte, while in Davao Oriental and Davao del
16
9 See: Milwida M. Guevarra, “The Fiscal Decentralization Process in the Philippines: Lessons
From Experience”, http://www.econ.hit-u.ac.jp/~kokyo/APPPsympo04/Philippine-Guevara.pdf.
Accessed: April 12, 2010
Sur the contribution of tax revenue and non-tax revenue to locally generated revenues
are almost equal (Table 5). All three provinces exhibited high dependency on the IRA
as their source of their revenue.
Table 5: Average revenue generation structure of 3 provinces, and 3 component cities
in Davao Region (2004-2008)
Item
Total Revenue
(PhP million)
Davao
del Sur
Davao
del
Norte
Davao
Oriental
Digos
City
Tagum
City
Mati City
558.74
553.43
498.32
356.43
484.40
223.23
Locally Generated
Revenue
7.04
17.29
7.83
27.29
43.43
7.83
Tax Revenue
3.84
6.04
3.62
11.99
22.52
3.62
Non-Tax Revenue
3.19
9.33
4.19
12.70
17.94
4.19
92.96
82.69
92.17
72.71
56.57
92.17
0.01
1.92
0.02
2.61
2.97
0.02
Percent of Total
Internal Revenue
Allotment
Other Revenue
Among the three component cities, Tagum City registered the highest average locally
generated revenue relative to its total revenue. Thus, for Tagum City, the percentage
IRA to total revenue average only 56.57 percent during the 2004 to 2008 period, a
sharp contrast to Mati City whose IRA accounted for 92 percent of its total revenue for
the same period. Digos City’s IRA, by comparison, was 73 percent of its total revenue.
Among the six municipalities included in the study, the lowest locally generated
revenues were registered by Caraga in Davao Oriental and Don Marcelino in Davao del
Sur. Both Caraga and Don Marcelino are located far from Mati City and Digos City,
and both are experiencing a sizeable out-migration10. The highest locally generated
revenue was registered by Sta. Cruz, followed closely by Carmen with 25.33 percent.
A far third are the municipalities of Asuncion and San Isidro whose locally generated
revenues accounted for about 12 percent of their total revenues (Table 6).
10 This is inferred from the very low annual population growth of Caraga which is 0.03% and
Don Marcelino which is 0.07% compared to the Philippines annual population growth of 2.04% all
for the period from 2000 to 2007 (See Table 1, this report).
17
Table 6: Average revenue generation structure of 6 municipalities in Davao Region
(2004-2008)
Don
Marcelino
Carmen
93.27
45.12
69.31
62.90
59.86
44.42
Locally Generated
Revenue
28.54
3.49
25.33
12.48
2.65
11.99
Tax Revenue
21.41
1.96
16.77
7.18
1.19
4.63
6.97
1.17
8.24
5.31
1.46
7.36
71.46
96.51
74.68
87.52
97.35
88.01
0.17
0.00
0.32
0.00
0.00
0.00
Item
Total Revenue
(PhP million)
Sta.
Cruz
Asuncion Caraga
San
Isidro
Percent of Total
Non-Tax Revenue
Internal Revenue
Allotment
Other Revenue
Expenditure Structure of Local Governments
Expenditures of local government units are grouped into nine categories, namely: General
Public Services; Health, Nutrition and Population; Education; Housing and Community
Development; Social Welfare; Economic Services; Debt Service, and Other Expenses.
At the provincial level, the bulk of local government expenditures are accounted for
by General Public Services; Other Expenses; Health, Nutrition and Population, and
Economic Services. These four expenditure categories (General Public Services; Health,
Nutrition and Population; Economic Services, and Other Expenses) account for 92 to
93 percent of the average total annual expenditures of the Provinces of Davao del Sur;
Davao del Norte and Davao Oriental during the period 2004 to 2008.
The same four expenditure categories account for 95 percent of the total average
expenditure of Digos City and 93 percent of the average total expenditure of Mati
City, while about 87 percent of the average total annual expenditure of Tagum City is
accounted for by General Public Services, Economic Services, Debt Service, and Other
Expenses (Table 7).
All three provinces and three component cities included in the study have spent a
minimal amount or nothing on Education, Housing and Community Development,
and Social Welfare. At the same time, all of them spent considerable amount on Other
Expenses category11. Among the three provinces, Davao del Norte is the least indebted,
paying only P13.16 million for debt service on the average annually, while Davao
Oriental is paying P21.02 million and Davao del Sur is paying P20.18 million for
11 Other expenses include among others: calamity fund; interfund transfers; aids to national
government agencies; aids to barangays; inter-local government transfers; aids to non-government
entities; and budgetary reserves (From BLGF SRE Form No.1 (Revised 2007).
18
debt amortization annually. Among the three component cities, Tagum City appears
to be heavily indebted, paying an amount of P34.09 million annual amortization.
By contrast, Digos City pays only an average of P1.02 million, and Mati City P8.17
million amortization annually.
Table 7: Average structure of expenditure of 3 provinces and 3 cities, Davao Region
(2004-2008)
Item
Total Expenditure
(PhP million)
Davao
del Sur
Davao
del
Norte
Davao
Oriental
Digos
City
Tagum
City
Mati City
486.33
502.59
498.32
340.13
432.08
209.55
General Public
Services
24.36
41.77
31.36
25.91
37.02
50.42
Health, Nutrition and
Population
14.69
10.29
15.69
4.97
3.26
4.50
Education
1.84
2.92
2.01
2.00
6.35
2.11
Housing and
Community Dev.
0.00
0.14
0.00
1.41
2.71
0.00
Social Services and
Welfare
2.00
2.37
1.15
1.36
1.02
1.10
Economic Services
11.44
14.89
11.90
15.34
17.16
18.91
Percent of Total
Debt Service
Others
4.15
2.62
4.22
0.30
7.89
3.90
41.52
25.00
33.67
48.71
24.59
19.04
A similar trend of the average total annual expenditure is observed in the six
municipalities covered by the study. General Public Services, Health, Nutrition and
Population, Economic Services, and Other Expenses account for 95 percent of the
average total annual expenditure of San Isidro; in Caraga, 93 percent; Don Marcelino,
92 percent; Asuncion, 89 percent; Carmen, 88 percent; and Sta. Cruz, 86 percent
(Table 8). All six municipalities have either minimal or zero expenditures on Housing
and Community Development, and Education. And except for San Isidro, all the
municipalities surveyed spent nearly five percent to a little over five percent of their
average total annual expenditure on debt service (Table 8).
19
Table 8: Average structure of expenditure of 6 municipalities, Davao Region
(2004-2008)
Don
Marcelino
Carmen
87.90
40.86
59.51
66.49
43.47
42.02
47.17
53.29
40.15
52.71
59.74
48.47
Health, Nutrition and
Population
8.48
13.32
5.39
9.16
6.93
9.83
Education
4.50
0.21
5.05
2.81
0.00
1.21
Housing and
Community Dev.
0.75
0.00
0.64
0.00
0.00
0.00
Social Services and
Welfare
3.75
2.57
1.08
2.23
2.23
4.15
Economic Services
17.41
12.26
6.24
10.45
10.45
16.97
Item
Total Expenditure
(PhP million)
Sta.
Cruz
Asuncion Caraga
San
Isidro
Percent of Total
General Public
Services
Debt Service
Others
5.15
5.49
5.41
4.51
4.51
0.00
12.80
12.85
36.04
16.68
16.14
19.36
II. Social Services
The consensus among key informants is that the devolution of health, education, and
social welfare did not cause undue problems to the personnel devolved. Whatever
problems they are encountering at present are the same problems they faced before the
implementation of RA 7160: inadequate personnel, inadequate facilities, inadequate
budget, etc. As a result, the available indicators on health and education are giving
mixed signals on the status of health and education in the area surveyed.
It should be noted that the ratios given by the key informants and reproduced in
this report basically indicate the availability of the service, and not the accessibility
or the quality of the service. Thus, a doctor-population ratio is an indication of the
availability of a doctor, but not accessibility. The same is true with teacher-student
ratio or classroom-student ratio. Furthermore, it should be noted that accessibility
has two dimensions: physical and financial. Thus, there might be available doctors in
the town proper of Don Marcelino, but their services may not be accessible to a sick
person living in a remote mountainous village of the municipality because of lack of
transport facilities and because the family is poor.
20
Health Services
Local government expenditures on Health, Nutrition, and Population. Local
government expenditures on Health, Nutrition, and Population usually ranked fourth
and is considerably lower compared to the local government expenditures on General
Public Services or of Other Expenses. To gauge the relative importance of health,
nutrition, and population among the LGUs studied, the annual per capita expenditure
of local governments on health, nutrition, and population was calculated for each
province, city, and municipality included in this study.
Except in Tagum City and Carmen, Davao del Norte, all provinces, cities, and
municipalities covered by the study registered increasing per capita expenditure on
Health, Nutrition, and Population during the period 2004 to 2008. In 2004, per
capita expenditure on Health, Nutrition, and Population ranged from a low of P58.23
in Carmen to a high of P139.95 in the province of Davao Oriental. In 2006, the lowest
per capita expenditure on health, nutrition, and population was registered by Tagum
City with P52.78 and the highest was exhibited by the municipality of Don Marcelino
with P154.43. In 2008, the lowest per capita expenditure on health, nutrition, and
population was found in Carmen, with P49.17, while the highest was in the province
of Davao Oriental, with P209.62.
Interestingly, Don Marcelino, which has the highest incidence of poverty among
the municipalities studied, registered a consistently higher per capita expenditure on
Health, Nutrition and Population. The same is also observed in San Isidro. The
province of Davao del Norte, which has a lower poverty incidence compared to
Davao Oriental, exhibited a lower per capita expenditure on Health, Nutrition, and
Population. Similarly, Tagum City, which has the highest income among cities, and
the lowest incidence of poverty among the LGUs studied, registered a lower per capita
expenditure on Health, Nutrition, and Population (Table 9).
An explanation of the lower and declining per capita expenditure on Health, Nutrition,
and Population of Tagum City could only be conjectured. One possible explanation is
that the relatively higher per capita income12 of the city’s residents enabled them to pay
for their health care needs. Accordingly, they made more use of private health services
instead of public hospital and clinics.
12 There are no available per capita income estimates for Tagum City and other cities and
municipalities studied. It is logical to assume, however, that if Tagum City has the lowest poverty
incidence among the LGUs studied, it must have also the highest average per capita income.
21
Table 9: Annual per capita expenditure of local governments on health, population,
and population in pesos (2004-2008)
Province/City/Municipality
Per Capita Expenditure on Health, Nutrition
and Population in Philippine Peso
2004
2006
2008
Davao Oriental
139.95
147.81
209.62
Davao del Norte
57.25
55.90
72.13
Davao del Sur
78.32
66.90
115.31
Digos City
70.73
138.60
150.50
Mati City
58.64
76.83
100.46
Tagum City
95.10
52.78
64.24
133.74
154.43
189.82
Don Marcelino, Davao del Sur
Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur
79.71
94.96
120.48
Asuncion, Davao del Norte
87.93
112.51
153.64
Carmen, Davao del Norte
58.23
59.22
49.17
Caraga, Davao Oriental
63.84
113.89
91.87
105.58
109.32
159.90
San Isidro, Davao Oriental
NSCB, 2009 Regional Social and Economic Trends
(Davao Region),
Davao City (for census population, 2000 and 2007)
Availability of health services. Public health services perform both curative and
preventive medical services to the population. These health services are carried out
by public and private doctors and other medical personnel. The availability of public
services at the provincial level (2007) is presented in Table 10. The indicators showed
that there is a shortage of public medical personnel at the provincial level. It is only
with midwives that the three provinces have met the national standard ratio. And yet
the Socio-Economic Profile (SEP) of Davao del Sur from 2001 to 2005 placed the
doctor-population ratio of the province in 2005 at 1:15,308 – that is, indicating more
than adequate public doctors in the province. Also, it listed for the same year a doctorpopulation ratio in Don Marcelino of 1:9,379, and Digos City’s doctor-population
ratio of 1:5,312. It is only in Sta. Cruz that a shortage of public doctors is indicated,
the municipality having a doctor-population ratio of 1:77,322.
Table 10: Public health services indicators, by province, Davao Region (2007)
Indicator/Province
Davao del
Sur
Davao del
Norte
Davao
Oriental
National
Standard
Doctors
1:54,287
1:56,496
1:40,509
1:20,000
Nurses
1:23,497
1:26,453
1:25,584
1:20,000
Dentists
1:58,743
1:44,602
1:44,191
1:50,000
Midwives
1:3,973
1:4,556
1:2,810
1:5,000
22
Indicator/Province
Davao del
Sur
Davao del
Norte
Davao
Oriental
National
Standard
Med-Tech
1:82,241
1:32,594
1:90,889
-
Sanitary Inspectors
1:29,372
1:47,080
1:75,741
1:20,000
Source: Davao del Norte, Provincial Planning and Development Office and Provincial
Health Office, Tagum City.
One of the major services performed by health personnel is the immunization of
children and mothers. Table 11 presents the accomplishments of the provinces
covered by the study for the years 2003 to 2008. During this three-year period, the
percentage of fully immunized children in the provinces of Davao Oriental, Davao
del Norte, and Davao del Sur exhibited a decline in the percentage of children fully
immunized. The percentage, however, increased in 2008, such that they were higher
than the percentage of children fully immunized in 2003. As a whole, therefore, the
percentage of fully immunized children has increased from 2003 to 2008.
Table 11: Fully immunized children, by province/city (2003-2008)
Province/City
Percent Covered
2003
2004
2008
Davao Oriental
72.9
67.0
76.4
Davao del Norte
73.3
60.7
75.5
Davao del Sur
70.6
69.9
78.7
Source: NSCB, 2009 Regional Social and Economic Trends, Davao Region. NSCB,
Davao City
Available data on the three provinces’ measles immunization program for one-year old and
below infants showed that the percentage of fully immunized infants rose during the period
2003 to 2008, with the highest percentage increase registered by Davao del Sur, whose
percent fully immunized below one-year old infants against measles jumped from 71.5
percent in 2003 to 78.4 percent in 2008 (Table 12). Davao del Sur is also the only province
among the three covered by the study that did not register a decline in the percentage of
fully immunized below one-year old infants in 2004. This contrasted with Davao del
Norte whose percentage of fully immunized below one-year-old infants dropped from 75.1
percent in 2003 to 59.4 percent in 2004, before increasing to 75.6 percent in 2008.
Table 12: Fully immunized below one-year old infant against measles, by province/
city (2003-2008)
Province/City
Percent Covered
2003
2004
2008
Davao Oriental
74.0
73.6
76.4
Davao del Norte
75.1
59.4
75.6
Davao del Sur
71.5
72.5
78.4
Source: NSCB, 2009 Regional Social and Economic Trends, Davao Region. NSCB, Davao City
23
Available data from 2005 to 2008 showed a declining percentage of pre-school age
children found to have below normal, low (BNL), and below normal, very low (BNVL)
weights. In Davao Oriental the percentage of pre-school age population in the BNL
and BNVL category dropped from about 18 percent in 2005 to 15 percent in 2008.
In Davao del Norte the drop was from 14 percent in 2005 to 10 percent in 2008, and
in Davao del Sur, from about 17 percent in 2005 to 15 percent in 2008. The same
downward trend was also observed in Tagum City where the percentage of pre-school
age population belonging to BNL and BNVL categories dropped from 11 percent in
2005 to a little over eight percent in 2008, and in Digos City from about 15 percent
on 2005 to 11 percent in 2008 (Table 13). One explanation for the relatively good
performance of the LGUs in nutrition is that their agricultural production programs
are closely connected with their nutrition program. Thus, the promotion of vegetable
production is not only to supplement the income of households but also for families
to eat more vegetables.
Table 13: Nutritional status of pre-schoolers, by province/city, (2005 and 2008)
2005
Province/City
2008
Percent
Percent
of BNL
of BNL
Total
Total
Children
and BNVL Children
and BNVL
BNL and
BNL and
Weighed
of Total
Weighed
of Total
BNVL
BNVL
Children
Children
Weighed
Weighed
Davao Oriental
64,148
11,501
17.93
70,039
10,626
15.17
Davao del Norte
46,582
6,565
14.09
49,940
5,045
10.10
Davao del Sur
94,399
15,813
16.75
102,981
15736
15.28
Tagum City
23,598
2,602
11.03
27,078
2,282
8.43
Digos City
17,780
2,596
14.60
19,901
2,264
11.38
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
Mati City
Source: NSCB, 2009 Regional Social and Economic Trends, Davao Region. NSCB,
Davao City
Note: BNL = below normal, low; BNVL = below normal, very low
Safe Water Supply
Available data show that access to safe water in municipalities and cities included in
the study has increased considerably in recent years. In Don Marcelino, the percentage
of households with access to safe water increased from 24.3 percent in 2001 to 66.1
percent in 2005, while in Sta. Cruz, the percentage of households with access to safe
water increased from 58.8 percent in 2001 to 79.4 percent in 2005. Similarly in
Digos City the percentage of households with access to safe water increased from 84.8
percent in 2001 to 91.7 percent in 2005.13 The percentage of households with access
24
13 PPDO (2005), Socio-economic and Physical Profile of Davao del Sur, 2001-2005. Digos
City, 2005
to safe or potable water in Tagum City was reported at 100 percent, while Asuncion’s
comparative figure was 94 percent, and in Carmen 68 percent, all in 200714. In Mati
City, the percentage of households with access to safe water was 88 percent in 200715
and for the whole province of Davao Oriental, 86 percent16. It is noted that the most
effective way to control water borne diseases is to ensure that households have access
to safe water supply.
All local governments included in the survey indicated that they considered it high priority
to provide safe water to households in their area. Funding for water supply projects is
not only sourced from local funds, but also from national government agencies. Thus, in
Sta. Cruz, the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) reported that the water systems of
the town’s three barangays were funded through the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Recently, the water system of one of the barangays in Mati City was constructed and
completed with funding from the Mindanao Rural Development Project (MRDP).
Sanitary Toilets
Data on the percentage of households with sanitary toilets in the covered cities and
municipalities are not of the same years, hence making comparisons difficult. In any
case, the trend was observed to be uneven in some areas. In Digos City, the percentage
of households with sanitary toilets declined from 94.9 percent in 2002 to 72.6 percent in
2005. A similar trend was noted in Sta. Cruz, where the percentage of households with
sanitary toilets dropped from 76.5 percent in 2001 to 49.1 percent in 2005. In contrast,
Don Marcelino, which had only 62.9 percent of its total households with sanitary toilets
in 2001, reported that 90.2 percent of its total households had sanitary toilets by 200517.
A higher percentage of total households with sanitary toilets were reported by sample
local governments units included in the survey in Davao del Norte. Tagum City
reported that 99 percent of its households had sanitary toilets in 2007; followed by
Carmen with 96 percent, and Asuncion with 89 percent. The province of Davao del
Norte, as a whole, reported that 85.65 percent of its total households have sanitary
toilets in 200718. Mati City, meanwhile, reported that 80 percent of its total households
had sanitary toilets in 200719. For the whole province of Davao Oriental, 75.4 percent
of the total households had sanitary toilets by 200720.
Plan, Davao del Norte, 2008-2013.
15 This data was provided by the City Planning and Development Office of Mati City
16 Government of Davao Oriental (2010), Provincial Development and Physical Framework
Plan of Davao Oriental. 2010-2020.
17 PPDO (2005), Socio-economic and Physical Profile of Davao del Sur, 2001-2005. Digos City
Plan, Davao del Norte, 2008-2013
19 City Planning and Development Office, Mati City
20 Government of Davao Oriental (2010), Provincial Development and Physical Framework
Plan of Davao Oriental, 2010-2020.
25
Education
Annual per capita expenditures of LGUs on education vary widely during the years
2004, 2006, and 2008. For the three provinces, per capita expenditure on education
range from a low of P8.36 (Davao del Sur) in 2004 to a high of P28.11 (Davao
Oriental) in 2006. In contrast, the lowest per capita expenditure on education in the
three cities was exhibited by Tagum City in 2004, with P17.34 and the highest per
capita expenditure was registered by Mati City in 2008, with P143.32. Among the six
municipalities, Caraga did not register any expenditure on education during the period
2004 to 2008, while the highest per capita expenditure on education was registered by
Carmen, with P57.24 in 2006 (Table 14).
Per capita expenditure of local governments on education expresses more the priority
of the local governments rather than the operational state of the education sector at
the local level. This is because salaries and operating expenses of public schools at
the local level are provided by the national government, i.e. by the Department of
Education (DepEd). Similarly, school buildings, textbooks, and other school facilities
are generally the responsibility of the national government.
Table 14: Annual per capita expenditure of local governments on education in pesos
(2004-2008)
Per Capita Expenditure on Education in
Philippine Pesos
2004
2006
2008
Davao Oriental
14.28
28.11
27.76
Davao del Norte
16.59
20.03
20.95
8.36
9.36
12.87
Digos City
39.40
41.14
56.65
Mati City
89.84
142.25
143.32
Tagum City
17.34
27.03
70.11
2.39
2.38
3.13
37.70
38.14
91.61
20.52
32.37
47.30
44.95
57.24
49.33
0.00
0.00
0.00
14.81
7.25
24.58
Davao del Sur
Source of Basic Data:Bureau of Local Government Finance, Davao City
NSCB, 2009 Regional Social and Economic Trends Davao Region,
Davao City (for census population, 2000 and 2007).
26
On average, the teacher-pupils ratio and the classroom-pupils ratio in public elementary
schools in the three provinces covered by the study meet the standard set by the DepEd
(Table 15). Tagum City’s teacher-pupils ratio and classroom-pupils ratio are slightly
over the standard ratio of 1:40. In some public elementary schools, however, the teacherpupils ratio may be higher or lower than the provincial average. These ratios, by and
large, indicate the availability of the service or facilities and not the quality of education.
Table 15: Adequacy of teachers and classrooms in public elementary schools, by
province/city, Davao Region (2002-2003 and 2008-2009)
2002-2003
2008-2009
Province/City
Teacher-Pupil
Ratio
Classroom-Pupil
Ratio
Teacher-Pupil
Ratio
Classroom-Pupil
Ratio
Davao Oriental
1:34
1:35
1:33
1:36
Davao del Norte
1:38
1:41
1:37
1:38
Davao del Sur
1:34
1:35
1:32
1:34
Digos City
1:34
1:43
1:33
1:34
Tagum City
1:41
1:49
1:41
1:47
Source: Department of Education, Region 11
NSCB, 2009 Regional Social and Economic Trends, Davao Region.
NSCB, Davao City
Performance indicators in both public elementary and secondary schools at the
provincial level showed a relatively high gross participation rate, retention rate and
graduation rate in all three provinces and two cities where data are available. There
was also a considerable drop in the drop-out rate, in the case of Davao Oriental from
16.3 percent in SY 2002-03 to 0.8 percent in SY2008-09, and in the case of Davao del
Sur from 13.2 percent in SY 2002-03 to 0.3 percent in SY 2008-09 (Table 16). The
same phenomenon is observed in Davao del Norte, as well as in the cities of Digos and
Tagum. What is disturbing, however, is that in spite of the high retention rate and
low drop-out rate, all three provinces registered a survival rate that ranged only from
51 percent to 63 percent in SY 2008-09. Tagum City exhibited the highest survival
rate of 71 percent in SY 2008-09.
Table 16: Performance indicators in public elementary schools, by province/city
(2002-2003 and 2008-2009)
Province/City/
Indicator
Year
2002-03 2008-09
Davao Oriental
Province/City/
Indicator
Year
2002-03 2008-09
Davao del Norte
Graduation Rate
91.4
96.5 Graduation Rate
97.8
97.1
Retention Rate
86.9
87.7 Retention Rate
93.0
90.1
Drop-out Rate
16.3
0.8 Drop-out Rate
8.1
1.3
Transition Rate
92.9
96.9 Transition Rate
98.0
95.0
Gross Participation
Rate
97.3
88.1
89.0
Survival Rate
50.3
66.8
53.4
100.9
Gross Participation
Rate
50.5 Survival Rate
27
Province/City/
Indicator
Year
2002-03 2008-09
Davao del Sur
Province/City/
Indicator
Year
2002-03 2008-09
Digos City
Graduation Rate
99.3
98.8
99.1
Retention Rate
86.9
91.7 Retention Rate
93.2
93.3
Drop-out Rate
13.2
0.3 Drop-out Rate
7.1
0.3
Transition Rate
92.8
94.8 Transition Rate
98.3
97.6
Gross Participation
Rate
87.2
86.4
89.6
82.1
Survival Rate
51.0
62.9 Survival Rate
66.9
56.3
Tagum City
2003-04
Graduation Rate
99.6
99.7
Retention Rate
94.7
98.0
Drop-out Rate
6.1
0.1
Transition Rate
99.7
101.4
Gross Participation
Rate
84.0
85.2
Survival Rate
80.6
70.7
Gross Participation
Rate
Source: Department of Education,
Region 11
NSCB, 2009 Regional Social and
Economic Trends, Davao Region.
NSCB, Davao City
The performance indicators in public secondary schools also revealed a high
graduation rate, and a declining drop-out rate, except for Digos City. The gross
participation rate of the public secondary schools, however, is declining slightly in
Davao Oriental and Davao del Norte, while alarmingly so in Davao del Sur. In SY
2008-09, only 35.2 percent of the school-age population for secondary level were
in school there, compared to 60.1 percent in Davao Oriental and 52.6 percent in
Davao del Norte (Table 17).
Table 17: Performance indicators in public secondary schools, by province/city, Davao
Region (2002-2003 and 2008-2009)
Province/City/
Indicator
Year
2002-03 2008-09
Davao Oriental
Province/City/
Indicator
Year
2002-03 2008-09
Davao del Norte
Graduation Rate
94.4
88.3
91.0
Retention Rate
86.4
86.7 Retention Rate
90.5
85.0
Drop-out Rate
16.3
5.2 Drop-out Rate
Gross Participation
Rate
Survival Rate
28
10.8
5.2
64.8
Gross Participation
56.3
Rate
68.3
52.6
63.0
60.1 Survival Rate
70.6
53.1
Province/City/
Indicator
Year
Province/City/
Indicator
2002-03 2008-09
Davao del Sur
Year
2002-03 2008-09
Digos City
Graduation Rate
94.2
80.1
83.5
Retention Rate
85.4
83.1 Retention Rate
94.6
80.4
Drop-out Rate
16.7
7.4 Drop-out Rate
Gross Participation
Rate
Survival Rate
7.1
12.1
60.1
Gross Participation
35.2
Rate
58.0
78.9
65.9
50.9 Survival Rate
81.4
30.5
Source: Department of Education, Region 11.
NSCB, 2009 Regional Social and Economic Trends, Davao Region.
NSCB, Davao City
The academic performance of students for SY 2007-2008 revealed that the region faces
a serious problem on the quality of education at the basic education level. The average
scores of students in all three provinces in Mathematics are all below 50 percent with
Davao del Norte having the lowest average score of 33.85 percent and Davao del Sur
the highest at 46.38 percent. The performance of Davao del Norte students in Science
is also lowest among the provinces. Even in Filipino, the average scores of students in
the three provinces are below 50 percent. It is only in Araling Panlipunan where the
average scores of students in the three provinces are above 50 percent, with students
from Davao del Sur registering the highest average score of 59.68 percent. These
low average scores of students in the National Achievement Test (NAT) may be a
reflection of the seemingly low priority, i.e. based on their budgetary allocation, given
by the local government units on education.
Table 18: Average NAT scores of students in Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur and
Davao Oriental (SY 2007-2008)
Item
NAT Score
Davao del Norte
Number of Students
Davao del Sur
Davao Oriental
4,879
5,946
6.776
•
Mathematics
33.85
46.38
41.26
•
English
48.87
55.76
52.21
•
Science
39.61
51.67
47.29
•
Filipino
40.09
46.50
46.49
•
Aralin Panlipunan
51.88
59.68
54.64
•
Total MPS
42.86
52.00
48.38
Source: Department of Education, Region 11.
III.Local Economic Development
Public and private investments are necessary for local economic growth and the trend of
investments at the local level could provide an indication of the intensity of economic
29
activities in a province, city or municipality. Data on private investments at the local
level, however, were not available for this study, and so data on local government
expenditures on economic services were used21. Table 19 shows the per capita local
government expenditures for the years 2004, 2006, and 2008 of 12 LGUs surveyed.
The data show that the component cities have the highest per capita expenditure
on economic services, followed by municipalities with good location and access to
markets. The provinces did not exhibit high per capita expenditure on economic
services, partly because the population base is the whole province, which includes cities
and municipalities. Nevertheless, the increasing per capita expenditures on economic
services in the three cities and the relatively high per capita expenditures on economic
services exhibited by the municipalities surveyed showed the commitment of the LGUs
to launch their local economies to a higher growth path.
Table 19: Annual per capita expenditure of local governments on economic services in
pesos (2004-2008)
Per Capita Expenditure on Economic
Services in Philippine Pesos
2004
2006
2008
Davao Oriental
163.91
91.76
134.42
Davao del Norte
78.07
98.59
90.56
Davao del Sur
68.89
47.53
85.23
274.86
365.02
413.48
74.15
550.80
450.04
Tagum City
235.73
345.10
508.33
138.22
136.54
154.02
186.58
163.77
218.76
143.98
163.18
195.68
69.29
75.39
37.04
100.53
177.10
128.91
168.29
282.90
212.47
Digos City
Mati City
NSCB, 2009 Regional Social and Economic Trends Davao Region,
Davao City (for census population, 2000 and 2007).
Business and Industry
A major objective of the LGUs is to develop their manufacturing sectors. To achieve
this, key informants from the three cities and six municipalities surveyed reported that
promotion of business and industries was done through their investment incentive
30
21 Expenditures on economic services include: the operation of agriculture office, extension
services, demonstration /farm nurseries, operation of farm equipment pool, irrigation system, quality
control of agricultural products, operation of tourism office, and operation of economic enterprises
(public markets, slaughterhouse, water system, hospitals, agricultural development projects, tourism
projects, industrial development projects, etc.)
codes and zoning ordinances, as well as by providing assistance to prospective investors
to their area. What appears to be a most crucial factor in attracting investments,
besides providing assistance to prospective investors, is the presence of adequate
infrastructure and utilities. Thus, an investment code that provides incentives will
not attract investors if there are no roads, power supply, and water supply in the area.
Location is also important. For example, Sta. Cruz is adjacent to Davao City and is
at present attracting investors because the price of land in the municipality is relatively
lower, and the local government is actively enticing industries to move to Sta. Cruz.
Partnerships between the LGUs and private investors and entrepreneurs are critical
to the development of local industries. At the city level, this partnership is expressed
by regular consultations between the local government and the local chamber of
commerce and industries. But at the municipal level, where there are few business
establishments, this partnership between the industry and the LGUs may take a more
active form. For example, in Caraga, the LGU is actively promoting the development
of the abaca industry by supporting the town’s indigenous abaca cloth weavers.
Agriculture and Fisheries at the Provincial Level
By and large, the economies of the LGUs surveyed are agriculture-based. The
development of agriculture and fisheries sector should be considered as a major objective
of the LGUs. RA 7160, however, has an uneven effect at the local level, both on the
administrative side and on the program aspect of agriculture and fisheries sector. On
the organizational side, the key informants at the provincial level reported that the
implementation of RA 7160 or the LGC caused intergovernmental coordination to
become weak. While before devolution the province has administrative control on
the agricultural office of municipalities, after devolution, that administrative control
was no longer present. This lack of administrative control by the province on the
municipal programs makes it difficult to implement a coordinated agriculture and
fisheries program for the province. It was reported also that after decentralization, the
feedback mechanism became weak and has no continuity with the old set-up22.
The effect of RA 7160 on the agriculture and fisheries programs varies according to
the priority of the LCE. In the two provinces where the LCE has given agriculture
top priority, the performance of the provincial agriculture office (PAGRO) may
be considered exemplary. Thus, in Davao del Norte, the extension program of the
province was not affected by devolution because agriculture is given top priority by
the LCE of the province. Similarly, the high priority given by the Davao Oriental
governor on agriculture and fisheries has made the PAGRO more dynamic. The same
however could not be said for Davao del Sur.
22 This observation was validated by the MAGROs. The MAGROs said they could not be
forced to follow the PAGRO. In fact, they could even ignore the PAGRO in certain instances. This
may occur if there is a conflict of priorities between the province and the municipalities.
31
In provinces where agriculture is one of the LCE’s top priorities, there is an active
research program at the provincial agriculture office. In Davao del Norte where the
two major thrusts of the province are food security and environmental protection in
the upland areas, two research outputs of the PAGRO resulted in the establishment
of planting season for crops to minimize the infestation of pest and diseases. This in
turn minimized the use of pesticides and related agri-chemicals. The PAGRO has
also conducted research on the application of fertilizer on rice plants to minimize the
incidence of blight.
By comparison, key informants in Davao del Sur, where the LCE’s priority is not on
agriculture, said that there was a significant downgrading of PAGRO research and
extension programs. Agricultural researchers of the provincial agriculture office are
working on different programs, and their expertise is not optimally used. Nevertheless,
the provincial agriculture office is usually utilized by the DA to assist it in its research
projects. Currently, the provincial agriculture office is assisting the DA conduct an
ACIAR-funded research project on integrated pest management (IPM) on mango.
Insufficient funds for extension programs reduced significantly the mobility of
extension workers and the supplies and materials they need. In addition, the change
in the LCE priorities away from agricultural extension also shifts both manpower and
limited financial resources of the provincial agriculture office to other programs of the
local government. The problem was aggravated by the broken line connecting the
provincial and the municipal agriculture offices. Accordingly, the provincial agriculture
office could not communicate directly to its municipal counterparts. Activities of the
provincial agriculture office at the municipal level have to pass the LCE’s approval.
This may not create a problem if the priorities of the province and the municipality are
convergent, and financial resources at the local level are not a constraint. However,
the province and the municipalities usually differ in terms of priorities and financial
resources, thus creating a bottleneck on the implementation of agricultural extension
programs.
Agriculture and Fisheries at the Component City Level
Devolution has no significant effect on the remuneration and benefits of the devolved
personnel of the component cities since they have adequate revenues. In fact, a key
informant in Mati City said that the devolved personnel received more benefits now
than before devolution.
Key informants, however, said that the working relationship between the provincial
and the city agriculture offices has also changed. Before, there was a regular monthly
meeting between the provincial and the city agriculture office; now the meeting is
irregular. The PAGRO and CAGRO still work and collaborate on programs, but it is
based more on previous personal relationship between the two offices.
32
In addition, planning is now not based on the provincial plan, but on city needs and
resources. The province now has to fit in the activities of the city and municipalities.
There has been less coordination between the province and the city and municipalities
after the implementation of RA 7160.
Agriculture and Fisheries at the Municipal Level
There is unanimity among the key informants interviewed at the municipal level that
their relationship with the PAGRO has changed with decentralization or with the
implementation of RA 7160. They said that under RA 7160, MAGRO is no longer
under PAGRO. MAGRO, however, still provides the province with their reports, but
it is not anymore compulsory.
The MAGROs also reported that the programs/projects of agriculture and fisheries
sector before the implementation of LGC were continued after the implementation of
the LGC. They said, though, that local funding for agriculture and fisheries activities
became limited. In fact, it was reported that in some cases only about 50 percent of
the projects proposed by the MAGROs were funded, and those that were funded
essentially followed the LCE’s priorities. What the MAGROs usually did therefore
is to inquire first how much the allocation for agriculture and fisheries would be, and
then base their project proposals on this amount.
The common complaint of the MAGROs is their remuneration. MAGROs in lower
class municipalities said that they have not received increases in remuneration enjoyed
by their non-devolved colleagues in the DA. They also said that in some cases the salaries
and benefits of devolved personnel in those municipalities were made to stay at the same
level so that the salaries and benefits of non-devolved personnel could catch up.
Decentralization and Incidence of Poverty
The goal level impact of development policies or programs is generally measured by the
effects of the said policies or programs on the incidence of poverty in a given area. The
LGC is one of the policies of the government that specifically declares that “territorial
and political subdivisions of the State shall enjoy genuine and meaningful autonomy to
enable them to attain their fullest development as self-reliant communities and make
them more effective partners in the attainment of national goals” (LGC 1991, Section
2). The LGC’s scope provides the LGUs with enormous potential to develop their
area of responsibility. Basically, this is because with the LGC, the LGUs could harness
local and non-local resources to implement their development programs and projects.
In other words, the LGC, among others, enables the LGUs to plan, implement, and
coordinate all development activities in their area. Because of this broad coverage of
the LGC, this study used the incidence of poverty and related indicators to measure
the overall impact of decentralization at the local level.
33
Estimates on incidence of poverty at the sub-national level are available only at the
regional level before and after 1991. The estimates of poverty incidence at the provincial
level are available for 2003 and 2006 and for the municipal level only for 2003.
Incidence of Poverty at the Provincial and Municipal Level
Estimates on poverty incidence at the provincial level for the years 2003 and 2006
showed that incidence of poverty among families and among population have increased
considerably in Davao del Norte, with poverty incidence among families increasing
from 30.3 percent in 2003 to 37.7 percent in 2006, while poverty incidence among
population increased from 36.8 percent in 2003 to 44.8 percent in 2006. In contrast,
the incidence of poverty among families has declined slightly in Davao del Sur, from
24.2 percent in 2003 to 23 percent in 2006, and on poverty among population from
28.9 percent in 2003 to 27.4 percent in 2006 (Table 20). Note, however, that Davao
City was included in Davao del Sur in the computation for incidence of poverty;
hence, it is possible that the decline of poverty incidence in Davao del Sur could be due
to the influence of Davao City.
Poverty incidence among families in Davao Oriental also registered a slight increase,
from 37.2 percent in 2003 to 40.8 percent in 2006, and on incidence of poverty among
population from 47.9 percent in 2003 to 48.8 percent in 2006. Poverty incidence in
Davao Oriental is highest among the three provinces studied. The lowest poverty
incidence figure was posted by Davao del Sur.
Table 20: Incidence of poverty at the provincial level, Davao Region (2003 and 2006)
Region/Province
Poverty Incidence Among
Families (%)
2003
2006
Poverty Incidence Among
Population (%)
2003
2006
Davao Region
28.5
30.6
34.7
36.6
Davao del Norte
30.3
37.7
36.8
44.8
Davao del Sur
24.2
23.0
28.9
27.4
Davao Oriental
37.2
40.8
47.9
48.8
Compostela Valley
34.4
39.8
41.9
47.1
Source: NSCB, Philippine Statistical Yearbook 2008
At present, the only available estimate of the incidence of poverty at the municipal
level is for 2003. Table 21 presents the poverty incidence among population, poverty
gap, and the severity of poverty23 in the municipalities and component cities covered
34
23 Poverty among population is a head-count index that simply measures the proportion of the
population that is counted as poor. Poverty gap is the extent to which individuals on the average fall below
the poverty line and expresses it as a percentage of the poverty line. Severity of poverty is simply a weighted
sum of poverty gaps (as a proportion of the poverty line), where the weights are the proportionate poverty
gaps themselves. This is in contrast with the poverty gap index where they are weighted equally. See: World
Bank Institute (2005), Introduction to Poverty Analysis. World Bank, Washington, D.C.
by the study. The data show Don Marcelino as having the highest poverty incidence
among population, with 80.75 percent in 2003, which translates to about 81 out of
100 people there having an income below the poverty threshold.24 Next is Caraga, with
57.31 percent, followed by Asuncion (44.94 percent) and San Isidro (44.57 percent).
The lowest poverty incidence is found in Tagum City, with 15.4 percent, followed
by Digos City with 18.22 percent. Incidentally, Don Marcelino has also the highest
poverty gap index and severity of poverty index among the municipalities and cities
covered by the study.
A key informant interviewed in Don Marcelino said that segments of the town’s
population whose incomes are below poverty level are those living inland – that is,
those living in the mountainous areas of the municipality and are mainly composed of
indigenous people. Interestingly, the paved road to Don Marcelino ends a short distance
from the poblacion of the town of Malita. From Malita to Don Marcelino it is all
rough road. Don Marcelino is about 95 kilometers from Digos City. Coincidentally,
Caraga, which has the second highest poverty incidence among the municipalities and
cities studied, is also mountainous and about 70 kilometers from Mati City, the capital
of Davao Oriental. The road from Mati City to Caraga is all paved. The major crop of
Don Marcelino and Caraga is coconut. They are also shoreline municipalities, hence
fishing is an alternative livelihood of most families.
Table 21: Incidence of poverty at the municipal level, Davao Region (2003)
Municipality
Poverty Incidence
Among Population (%)
Poverty
Gap (%)
Severity of
Poverty (%)
Digos City, Davao del Sur
18.22
4.53
1.64
80.75
34.10
17.47
28.69
7.97
3.17
Tagum City, Davao del Norte
15.40
3.60
1.25
32.07
8.29
3.06
44.94
13.08
5.22
Mati City, Davao Oriental
32.14
9.07
3.62
44.57
14.10
6.06
57.31
18.95
8.25
Source: NSCB, Small Area Poverty Estimates, 2003
Among the municipalities that registered a relatively high poverty incidence, only
Asuncion is located inland. It is also located adjacent to Tagum City. The major crops
of Asuncion are bananas and rice. Key informants from MAGRO said that there has
been some conversion of rice farms to bananas recently.
24 The 2003 poverty threshold for the Province of Davao del Sur is P11,470; for Davao del
Norte, P11,833; and for Davao Oriental P10,580. See: NSCB, 2008 Philippine Statistical Yearbook.
NSCB, Makati City, Philippines.
35
Conclusion
Although the prevailing opinion among policy makers at the local level is that RA 7160
or decentralization has a positive effect at the local level development, the result of this
study showed that the effects of decentralization has been mixed and uneven. On the
positive side, local autonomy has developed leaders at the local level to become more
innovative in exploring the advantages of devolution. Accordingly, local legislators
and officials are generally open to learn from their colleagues, i.e. from other provinces/
cities/ municipalities about successful projects or of new technologies their colleagues
have successfully applied to find out whether those new innovations could be replicated
in their area25.
It is noted, however, that the resource endowment of provinces/cities/municipalities
was not equal to begin with, that is, some are rich in resources and some have the
advantages of location or designation (i.e. city) or class (i.e. first class, second class or
third class municipality). Unfortunately, what came out from the study is that the rich
province/city/municipality has a greater opportunity to become richer, while the poor
province/city/municipality may remain poor or become poorer. The major reason
for this appears to be the present formula for the sharing of the IRA. The present
formula for the IRA does not take into consideration the varying capacity of the local
government units to generate local revenues. For example, Don Marcelino has very
little potential to generate local revenues because there are very few businesses there.
This in turn is because of its location and the state of its infrastructure and utilities.
By comparison, Tagum City could generate more local revenues because its strategic
location and the presence of adequate infrastructure and utilities attract businesses.
At the same time, because employment and the amenities of urban centers attract
migrants, the population growth differentials of cities and municipalities indicate
that the poor municipalities are experiencing rapid out-migration and the cities are
absorbing these migrants. This will tend to further increase the IRA of cities, while
lessening those for poor municipalities.
A close examination of the structure of local government expenditures revealed that,
in general, a large portion of the LGU budgets were spent on systems maintenance.
It is also apparent that based only on per capita expenditure, the LGUs placed lower
priority on education, housing, and community development. The low priority on
education may be related to the low performance of students in the NAT. Because
quality education is critical to the development of the region’s human capital, the longterm effects of the neglect of education may take some time to reverse.
25 To facilitate and promote the transfer of these best practices, the DILG published Kaban
Galing: The Philippine Case Bank on Innovation and Exemplary Practices in Local Governance
and encourage the study visits of local executives to cities and municipalities which implemented those
programs.
36
Although RA 7160 could have a positive impact on LGU management capacity, it
poses difficulties in the management of inter-local government bodies specifically when
the desire is to have horizontal and vertical consistency of development policies. This is
because local governments may have different or divergent priorities. One LCE even
said that it is now difficult to have a unified development direction for the province.
In fact, the situation may be even more difficult when the governor and the mayors
belong to different political parties.
A similar problem surfaced in one of the devolved national agencies. Decentralization
has made the municipal agriculture offices practically autonomous from the provincial
agriculture office. As a result, the agriculture programs of a province have become
fragmented. Basically, this is because the LCEs of municipalities may have different
priorities from that of the province or even the region and therefore will have different
resource allocations compared to what is desired by, say, those at the provincial level.
The lack of convergence on common priorities like food security, watershed protection
and conservation, marine resources management, among others, may have an untoward
effects on the over all welfare of a province or region.
It is obvious that decentralization, in spite of its promise, is never a panacea for
development problems at the local level. Yet it is never too late to make some
adjustments so that it could accomplish what it aims to attain.
37
Good Practices
Mangrove Forest Replanting and
Coastal Clean-up through Multi-sectoral Collaboration
The mangrove forest replanting and coastal clean-up was initiated by the
municipality of Sta. Cruz in 2005 to reverse the destruction of the town’s
mangrove areas, which was compromising the sustainability of its fish and
marine resources. In consultation with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources (BFAR) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR), the local government formulated a project to replant the mangrove
area and solicited the participation of students, business enterprises, national
government agencies, and the barangays to implement the project.
The stakeholders that actively participated in the project were the barangay
local governments of Barangay Zone 2, Barangay Zone 3, and Barangay
Bato; the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO); Sta.
Cruz National High School; and, San Miguel Corporation. Both the Municipal
Agriculture Office (MAGRO) and the MENRO provided technical assistance
and planting materials while San Miguel Corporation contributed food during
the planting of mangrove seedlings and coastal clean-up. All organizations
contributed manpower.
The total annual budget of MAGRO for the implementation of the project is
P15,000. The project’s annual cost, however, may increase considerably if the
man-days or man-hours contributed by students, the employees of San Miguel
Corporation, and the community members who participate in the regular coastal
clean-up and the planting of mangrove seedling are added up. Because the
MAGRO is the lead agency, it is the one that organizes the coastal clean-up and
planting activities.
The project is a success. Its most important output was the mobilization of
stakeholders to address a problem that is affecting one of the main livelihoods of
a number of households in the community. It also mobilized the community to
confront the problem of pollution of the municipal beaches. At present, an estimated
five hectares of mangrove areas have been replanted. But it was observed that
some of the mangrove seedlings died. The major causes why the seedlings did not
thrive are: (a) there are households near the shore line that dispose their garbage
on the newly planted mangrove area, and (b) some fishermen land their boats on
portions of the newly planted mangrove areas, thereby killing some of the mangrove
seedlings. The MAGRO, however, is optimistic that these could be controlled by
educating and informing the fisherfolk and the families living on the shore line on the
role of the mangrove forest in increasing the fish population, preventing soil erosion,
and acting as a barrier to tidal surges.
38
A number of lessons could be derived from the project. First, it is possible to
mobilize the community and private business enterprises to participate actively
in projects that have no direct monetary benefits to most of the stakeholders.
Second, the participation of students is highly significant, since this will ensure a
long term ownership of the project. Third, the incidence of households disposing
their garbage on the newly planted mangrove areas underlined the importance
of massive community information drives on the importance and the role of the
project on the food supply of the community.
Good Practice
Community Blood Letting Project
The incidence of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) in the Davao region increases
during the rainy season. Asuncion, which has a large lowland area, provides an
excellent breeding ground for mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus. Medical
literature notes that the cure for dengue is essentially symptomatic, i.e. medicines
to relieve pain and fever are usually the ones administered. DHF, however,
could become fatal especially among children. In most cases, patients need
blood transfusion to overcome the virus. Usually, though, it is very difficult to
obtain blood. The municipality of Asuncion resolved to build up a safe blood
supply, encouraging municipal officials and employees to donate blood for the
project. The donated blood is stored in a blood bank.
The project did not cost the local government any money. In fact there is no budget
for the project, which has since been credited for having helped save a number
of patients, especially those who got sick with dengue hemorrhagic fever. The
municipality has received a national award for its Community Blood Letting Project.
For municipalities, even those which have no incidence of dengue hemorrhagic
fever, a community blood-letting project is an attractive and highly beneficial
project to replicate. It entails minimal cost to implement while providing an
assurance that if someone in the community needs blood transfusion, there is a
ready supply to depend on.
Good Practice
Davao del Norte
Establishment of Planting Season for
Crops to Minimize Infestation of Pest and Diseases
Application of agrichemicals to control crop pest and diseases not only
reduces the profit of farmers by increasing their cost of production, it is also
considered dangerous to health because of chemical residues on farm produce.
39
Research conducted by the PAGRO of Davao del Norte showed that the use of
agrichemicals on crops could be minimized by establishing planting seasons for
a particular crop.
The province is now advising rice farmers on the proper planting season to follow
to minimize the use of pesticides and related agrichemicals. PAGRO has also
advised farmers on the proper application of fertilizers to rice plants to minimize
the incidence of blight.
Local governments in the region should take note of the lead of the Davao del
Norte PAGRO on establishing planting seasons for crops to minimize the use
of agrichemicals. This will not only reduce the cost of production of crops, it will
also make safer the food that people consume.
It needs verification, however, if the planting seasons established by PAGRO
in Davao del Norte apply to other provinces in the region. It may be necessary
therefore to pilot the planting seasons in a municipality of another province to
verify its applicability.
The establishment of planting seasons for agricultural crops in a province
underlines the importance of research to solve production problems. It also
highlights the importance of translating the results of research into programs that
will benefit the community.
40
References:
Asian Development Bank. 1995. Governance: Sound Development Management,
Manila: ADB.
Department of Interior and Local Government. 2002. Kaban Galing: The
Philippine Case Bank on Innovation and Exemplary Practices in Local
Governance, (2001 Edition), Manila.
Government of Davao del Norte. 2009. Provincial Development and Physical
Framework Plan 2008-2013. Tagum City.
Government of Davao Oriental. 2010. Provincial Development and Physical
Framework Plan of Davao Oriental 2010-2020. Mati City.
Milwida M. Guevarra, “The Fiscal Decentralization Process in the Philippines:
Lessons from Experience.” Accessed: April 12, 2010. http://www.econ.hit-u.
ac.jp/~kokyo/APPPsympo04/Philippine-Guevara.pdf
National Statistical Coordination Board, 2009 Regional Social and Economic
Trends, Davao Region, Davao City.
National Statistical Coordination Board, 2004 Philippine Statistical Yearbook.
National Statistical Coordination Board, 2008 Philippine Statistical Yearbook.
National Statistical Coordination Board. 2003. Small Area Poverty Incidence
Estimates (soft copy).
National Statistics Office, 2007 Census of Population.
Provincial Planning and Development Office. 2005. Socio-economic and Physical
Profile of Davao del Sur, 2001-2005. Digos City
Rosario G. Manasan, “Fiscal Implications of the Local Government Code of 1991,”
Journal of Philippine Development, No. 34, Vol. XIX, No. 1, First Semester
1992.
World Bank Institute. 2005. Introduction to Poverty Analysis. World Bank,
Washington, D.C.
World Bank. 2007. “Strengthening World Bank Group Engagement on
Governance and Anti-Corruption.” http://www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/
comment/governancefeedback/gacpaper-03212007.pdf
41
42
About the Writer
Dr. Edmund B. Prantilla is an economist by education and profession.
He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Iowa State University, USA,
and Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University
of the Philippines in Los Baños. He has broad experience working with
local and international organizations in the areas of policy and planning
for agriculture, rural development, local development and regional
development. He held the position of Regional Executive Director of the
National Economic and Development Authority for Southern Mindanao
Region from 1974 to 1979. With his vast knowledge, he led many
foreign-funded studies in Mindanao including an impact assessment study
of the Transparent Accountable Governance program in 2007. Currently,
he devotes his time teaching as a Professorial Lecturer at the University
of Southeastern Philippines in Davao City, where he also served as the
University President from 1993 to 2001.

Rapid Field Appraisal of Decentralization: Davao Region

Transcription

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