Having trouble reading this email? View it in your browser. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe Instantly. |
||||
 |
||||
Thursday
/ 6 NOVEMBER 2014 |
||||
Two decades since the Code was implemented, there have been real gains from decentralization. The first volume of “Managing Urbanization under a Decentralized Governance Framework” edited by Dr. Rosario Masanan, senior research fellow at PIDS, shows the groundbreaking ways by which some city local governments have addressed social, economic, and environmental issues and problems, and other diseconomies associated with urbanization. This volume published by PIDS and the Demographic Research and Development Foundation highlights best practices in service delivery that demonstrate how the efficiency of public service provision at the local level can be improved by upgrading of LGU planning and fiscal management capacity, greater emphasis on participatory process, more effective coordination with other government agencies including other local governments, catalyzing the private sector and nongovernment organizations, use of appropriate low-cost technologies, and eliminating corruption. A common element in most of the cases is the critical role of a leadership that has a vision, popular support, clout, and managerial acumen—qualities that were seen in the local leaders of Puerto Princesa’s Oplan Linis and Bantay Puerto, Baguio City’s Clean and Green Program, General Santos City’s environmental program that is also linked to trade promotion, and Marikina City’s river rehabilitation program. Partnership between the local leaders and the stakeholders is important to effectively carry out programs. In the policy note, "Mainstreaming disaster risk management in local government", Dr. Gilberto Llanto, PIDS president, described an innovative approach to disaster risk reduction developed by a provincial government. Frequented by typhoons and threatened by the eruption of an active volcano in the vicinity, local officials of Albay province set up a permanent facility to address risk management. Working closely with village leaders, they have identified risk-prone areas and relocated people to safer sites during calamities. Regular education programs on disaster preparedness, including quarterly drills, are also conducted. To help other provinces confronted by the same situation, the local government has implemented peer-to-peer replication by helping to capacitate these areas using local approaches that they developed. In spite of marked improvements in local governance shown in these examples, it is clear there is still much to be hoped for. An area that has lagged behind is the health sector as manifested by serious underfunding of local health services and understaffing of local health facilities. A PIDS study from the Health Systems Research Management Project commissioned by the Department of Health also reveals the uneven and wide disparities in universal health coverage of the poor across regions and provinces under the sponsored program of the national health insurance scheme. Local governments play an important role in the program—both as provider of health services and financier of the health premiums and health services rendered. The increasing economic and social inequalities between regions reflect the need for stronger local governance institutions. Despite some improvements over the period 1991-2012, regional disparities have widened, with Luzon remaining to be better off than Visayas and Mindanao, and poverty incidence increasing consistently in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. In “Sustainable Development Framework for Local Governance”, Dr. Josef Yap and Michael Cabalfin, former PIDS president and research associate, respectively, attributed the widening disparities between regions to the persistent concentration of infrastructure and investments in better-off areas. They highlighted the interrelatedness of the different aspects of development: from investments and infrastructure, to health and education services, institutions, and good governance, among others. The presence or lack of these factors, and their convergence, determine the development trajectory of a region. Local governments, aided by the national government, have a big responsibility in facilitating local development. They should also ensure the effective and efficient delivery of basic services to their constituents, exercising prudence in the utilization of resources and improving equity of access to socioeconomic opportunities of the poor and marginalized through mechanisms such as demand-side financing.
To know more about PIDS research on local governance, visit the SocioEconomic Research Portal for the Philippines. Simply type “governance”, “local governance”, “local government”, “decentralization”, “health decentralization”, “local health care”, “institutional development”, “basic education”, and related terms in the Search box.
|
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) maps on health indicators such as under-five mortality rate, infant mortality rate, prevalence of underweight children 0 to 5 years old, and facility-based delivery are now updated and uploaded in the GIS-based Philippine Socio-Economic Profile section of the PIDS website. The GIS-based Philippine Socio-Economic Profile is an initiative from PIDS in its effort to establish an automated, internet-based, and user-friendly database system. The GIS provides a unique way of viewing and analyzing spatial data by presenting it in a geographical format. Full color maps reveal patterns and relationships that will allow users of data to view information in a new perspective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30 OCTOBER 2014 28 OCTOBER 2014 28 OCTOBER 2014 22 OCTOBER 2014
|
|||
POLICY NOTES
|
||||
|
||||
CHILD POVERTY IN PH ON THE RISE - STUDY The number of children living in poverty in the Philippines continues to climb despite the country's recent economic gains. According to a study titled "Child Poverty in the Philippines" by state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), there were already about 13.4 million Filipino children living in poverty in 2009. |
||||
|
||||
Philippine Stock Exchange Index
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) ended at 7,283.07 for the month of September. This is higher compared to last August's 7,050.89. Source: Philippine Stock Exchange VIEW TABLE for time-series data on Philippine Stock Exchange Index. |
||||
Gross International Reserves
Based on preliminary data, the gross international reserves (GIR) stood at US$80.43 billion as of end of September 2014, lower by US$0.44 billion from the end of August of US$80.87 billion. Nonetheless, the GIR level remains ample as it can cover 10.9 months worth of imports of goods and payments of services and income Source: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
|
||||
Exchange Rate
The average peso-dollar exchange rate continued to rise in September. From Php 43.77 in August, it inched up to Php44.08. This is higher compared to Php 43.838 in the same period last year. Nonetheless, the highest monthly average rate for 2014 remains to be that in January at Php 44.93. Source: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas VIEW TABLE for time-series data on monthly average peso-dollar exchange rate |
||||
Inflation Rate
The country's year-on-year headline inflation went down to 4.4 percent in September, from 4.9 percent in August. The downtrend was mainly due to slower annual growth in the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index. To compare, the rate was only 2.7 percent in September 2013. Meanwhile, the core inflation rate remained at 3.4 percent, same as that of last month and 2.3 percent higher than that for the same period last year.
|
||||
Need Help? Have Feedback? Feel free to Contact Us. © 2014 Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
|
||||
