CBMS: THE LABO EXPERIENCE POVERTY AND ECONOMIC POLICY (PEP) ANNUAL CONFERENCE DAKAR, SENEGAL & OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO June 16-24, 2004

Transcription

1 (Greetings) CBMS: THE LABO EXPERIENCE POVERTY AND ECONOMIC POLICY (PEP) ANNUAL CONFERENCE DAKAR, SENEGAL & OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO June 16-24, 2004 Presented by: Hon. WINIFREDO B. OCO Municipal Mayor Labo, Camarines Norte Philippines Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. In behalf of the people of Labo, I am grateful and deeply honored to be with you here and speak before you about what we have learned from the implementation of the community-based monitoring system (CBMS) in our beloved municipality. But first of all, let me first tell you about my beloved municipality. (Location and Boundaries/Slide #2) The municipality of Labo is geographically located at the center of the province of Camarines Norte and is approximately 335 kilometers south of Metro Manila (about 6-7 hrs. travel by land) and 15 kilometers away from Daet, capital town of the province. It is bounded on the north by the Municipalities of Paracale, Jose Panganiban and Capalonga, on the south by the Province of Quezon and the adjoining province of Camarines Sur, on the East by the municipalities of Vinzons and San Vicente and on the west by the municipality of Sta. Elena. (Location and Boundaries/Slide #3) The municipality of Labo is the biggest among the twelve (12) municipalities of the Province. Its aggregate land area of 64,448 hectares or sq. kilometers occupies more than 25% of the total provincial land area. (Location and Boundaries/Slide #4) Labo was once a barrio of Indan, now known as Vinzons and was created a municipality on September 8, The name Labo itself did not came from any legal degree or public clamor but just a product of clashing languages that resulted in bumbling misinterpretation. It was said that a native sailing along a flooded river was asked by a Spanish sergeant Que Pueblo eso este? thinking that the stranger was referring to the flooded river, he replied: Labo (murky) po ang tubig. The first word stuck since then. Its 52 barangays represent 18.44% of the total number of barangays of the province. Ten (10) of these barangays are classified as urban barangays and the rest are considered rural barangays. The surface of the municipality is generally rugged, hilly and mountainous with some flat terrain. These characteristics and its vast land area is generally devoted to agriculture where coconut and rice are the major agricultural products. 1

2 (STATISITICAL PROFILE /Slides #5) The municipality of Labo has the following statistical profile before the CBMS was implemented: Population (NSO 2000) - 81,388 Classification of the town - First Class No. of barangays (village) - 52 No. of puroks (sub-village) Land area - 64,884 has. Dominant Land Use - Agriculture Prime Agricultural Products - Copra, Abaca, Rice & Pineapple CBMS Implementation /Slides #7&8) August 8-10, 2002 Mr. Jose Ramon Lagatuz, Economic Researcher from the Municipal Planning and Development Office attended a Seminar-Workshop on Local Government Initiatives for Poverty Reduction wherein one of the topics discussed was the CBMS Palawan experience. August 28, 2002 Letter of request was formally sent to the MIMAP-CBMS Network Coordinating Team citing our interest of LGU-Labo to implement CBMS in our municipality. October 25, 2002 Initial briefing of the LGU-Labo officials conducted at the MIMAP-CBMS office in Manila November 19-20, 2002 Delegates from LGU-Labo attended the CBMS National Conference at Palawan organized by the MIMAP-CBMS Team January 28, 2003 MIMAP-CBMS Team attended a Municipal Development Council Meeting for a CBMS orientation to municipal and barangay officials in Labo. February 1-28, 2003 Preparation of Household and Barangay Profile Questionnaires incorporating other relevant information needed by the municipality March 18, 2003 I issued the Executive Order for the Institutionalization of CBMS in the municipality of Labo March 19, 2003 the Honorable Sangguniang Bayan (Municipal Council) passed a resolution authorizing the Local Chief Executive to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with the MIMAP-CBMS Team. A total budget of P263, was allocated for the CBMS implementation in the municipality. March and 27-29, 2003 First and second batch of enumerators were trained for data collection. There were 302 participants composed of barangay officials, Barangay Health Workers and Nutrition Scholars, Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Council), beneficiaries of the Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) and other volunteers. It was also during this occasion that the Memorandum of Agreement was signed by and between the LGU-Labo and the MIMAP-CBMS Network Coordinating Team April 1-30, 2003 Conduct of Municipal-wide CBMS Survey Operation May 8-9, 2003 Training on Manual and Computerized Data Processing May 12-30, 2004 Manual data processing at the barangay level were completed for all 52 barangays. 2

3 June 9-August 30, 2003 Validation of CBMS Results at the barangay level September 1, 2003 to the Present Preparation of Barangay and Municipal Socioeconomic Profile utilizing the validated CBMS results. (COMMUNITY-BASED MONITORING SYSTEM IN LABO /Slides #9) When CBMS was established in our municipality, we have gathered the following information from the 52 barangays: Total Population = 81,586 (as per CBMS Survey Results) o Male Population = 41,952 o Female Population = 39,634 Number of Households = 15,875 Average Household Size =5.14 Average Sex Ratio = 106 males per 100 females CBMS Results in the Municipality of Labo /Slides #10 & 11) Health 0.16% - Proportion of Child Deaths (children ages 0-5 yrs. old) Nutrition 10.1% - Prevalence of malnutrition among children ages 0-6 yrs old Housing 94.1% - Proportion of households living in non-makeshift housing 96.4% - Proportion of households who are formal setters Water and Sanitation 65.2% - Proportion of households with access to safe water supply 64.2% - Proportion of households with access to sanitary toilet facilities Basic Education 79.0% - Elementary school participation rate 66.0% - Secondary school participation rate 98.7% - Literacy rate Household Income 96.8% - Proportion of households who eats at least 3 meals a day 32.1% - Proportion of households with income above poverty threshold 47.8% - Proportion of households with income above food threshold Employment 91.8% - Employment rate Peace and Order 0.63% - Proportion of persons who were victims of crimes This information only give figures about the condition of our community. A more innovative tool, shared to us by the CBMS Team, is the use of maps which is useful not only to policy and decision makers 3

4 like me, but also to program partners and stakeholders in planning the appropriate interventions in order to respond to the needs of our constituents. The following slides show us the geographical situation of our municipality. Access to sanitary toilet facilities (slides 12-15) - One of the major problems of Labo is the low access to sanitation facilities. Only 64.23% or 10,195 of the households in Labo have access to sanitary toilet facilities in Results of the survey shows that households that do not have access to sanitary toilet facilities use close pit (15.3% = 2,430 households) and open pit (6.3%=1,005 households) while 12.0% or 1,906 households have no toilet facility at all. - An ongoing program of the Municipal Health Office addresses this problem through the distribution of toilet bowls to needy households in the barangays. The CBMS data was used in targeting of beneficiaries of the program. A total of 900 toilet bowl units were purchased for this program. 295 and 403 households benefited from the program in 2003 and 2004 respectively. There are still 202 toilet bowl units left to be distributed to needy households this year. - The program is carried-out in partnership with the barangay government units whose counterpart is to provide cement and hallow blocks needed for the construction of the toilet facilities in the households. - The following maps show the proportion of households who have access to sanitary toilet facilities before and after distribution of the toilet bowls. Slide 12 shows the proportion of household with access to sanitary toilet facilities as results of the CBMS survey conducted in April 2003 (before intervention). Slide 13 shows the proportion of household with access to sanitary toilet facilities after toilet bowls have been distributed to households (after intervention). Slide 14 shows the purok and household-level data on access to sanitary toilet facilities of one of the barangays in Labo, Brgy. Sta. Cruz as results of the CBMS survey (26 household beneficiaries; before and after distribution of toilet bowls). Access to safe water supply (slide 15) - Another problem in the municipality that needs to be addressed is the low access to safe water supply (65.2%). Most of the 5,530 households reported to have no access to safe water in the CBMS survey get their potable water from dug wells. - To address this problem, I have allocated the amount of P1,750, ($31,250) for the improvement of several barangay water system. There is also a proposed IRAP-INFRES project to be implemented in priority barangays. The IRAP-INFRES Project is a national program wherein program beneficiaries will be given financial support for water system improvement. Secondary school participation rate (slide 16) - Slide 16 shows the secondary school participation rate (number of children ages attending elementary school over total population of children ages 13-16). Also shown in the map is the location of 10 high schools in the municipality. Results of the validation exercises revealed that proximity to school facility is one reason for the low participation rate. Moreover, some of these children are 4

5 expected to be economically productive to help their families. Most of them help in agricultural work. Related to this, some households are not able to send their children to school because they do not have enough money to pay the tuition and more so, provide for the day-to-day expenses of the children. - To address this problem, the Sangguniang Bayan passed a resolution granting educational aid in the form of financial assistance and school supplies to deserving students as identified in the CBMS Survey results. The students belonging to the top 10 percent of their class will be prioritized as beneficiaries. They also have to belong to low-income and large-size households. An initial fund of 50,000 pesos was allotted for this program. Target beneficiaries will receive P500.00, of which is financial assistance while is allotted for school supplies for the school year. Proportion of households with income greater than poverty threshold (slides 17 and 18) - Slides 17 and 18 shows the proportion of households with income greater than poverty and food thresholds. (Poverty threshold is P12,437.00/capita for rural areas and P15,850.00/capita for urban areas, while food threshold in the rural areas is P8,488.00/capita and in the urban areas is P10,024.00/capita) Labo registered low rates at 32.1 and 47.8 respectively. Results of the validation exercises revealed that low income is due to lack of gainful employment opportunities in the municipality. Another reason is that farmers are not able to transport their produce (mostly, copra, palay, pineapple, fruit trees, cassava and saging na saba) to markets because of high transportation costs (renting carabaos to transport goods) and insufficient farm-to-market roads in the area. - To address this problem, I allocated an amount of P7,380, ($131,785.7 at P56=$1) for the construction, improvement of our farm-to-market roads. Such project will improve the accessibility of our farmers to our market centers to sell their produce. Not only that, with the arrival of our newly purchased bulldozer, I also set aside an amount of P400, ($7,142.86) for the purchase of its fuel and lubricant that will be used for the road opening for the most inaccessible barangays in our municipality. Utilization of CBMS Data At the barangay level (slide 20): CBMS data has been utilized in the preparation of the barangay annual investment and development plans. It provided a basis in the identification of appropriate programs and projects to address the immediate basic needs of the respective barangays. It was used in determination of priority needs of the barangay. After the CBMS data and information has been validated at the barangay level, I encouraged all the Barangay leaders to prioritize their programs and projects based on the outcome of the CBMS survey. As a result, all of the 52 barangays have complied with and to mention a few: Because of high malnutrition rate, Brgy Tulay na Lupa allocated an amount of P20, for their supplemental feeding program. They also allocated P4, for educational assistance program. Brgy Matanlang allocated P10, for the purchase of 15 toilet bowls for the 15 households without access to sanitary toilets 5

6 Brgy San Antonio allocated P23, for literacy program for adults, out-of-schoolyouth and school drop-outs Brgy. San Antonio allocated P21, for the installation of 6 units Jetmatic pumps to improve the water supply system of the barangay. CBMS Data has been utilized for the preparation of the Barangay Socio-Economic Profiles The CBMS Database has been utilized for the preparation of barangay poverty maps showing thereof the most depressed areas in the barangays in terms of the different dimensions of poverty It was used in monitoring and evaluation of existing development programs. For instance, Brgy. Tulay na Lupa used the results of the CBMS survey in the analysis of welfare status of children. As a result, they won the coveted award of the province-wide search for the Child-Friendliest Barangay. At the municipal level (slides 21&22) CBMS data has been utilized in the preparation of the municipal annual investment and development plans CBMS Data has been utilized for the preparation of the Municipal Socio-Economic Profile The Office of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development also utilized the CBMS Data to identify the poorest households in the barangays in terms of income. The MSWDO also used CBMS as basis for selecting Philhealth beneficiaries. Philhealth is a program of the national government that provides health cards to indigent households. It was used in determination of priority needs of the municipality. As I have previously mentioned, since education is one of the top priority needs of the municipality, a program of educational assistance is to be implemented in the municipality. Information from CBMS served as inputs to the socio-economic database and geographic information system (GIS) of the Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator. The CBMS data were used as basis for targeting beneficiaries of a municipal health project, i.e. distribution of toilet bowls in the different barangays identified to have the most critical sanitary situation; CBMS survey results were also used as additional data in the preparation of the municipal land use plan. CBMS Results were utilized as basis for the water supply and road network development program. To explain further, The CBMS results were utilized in identifying the barangays with low access to safe water supply. With the maps already in placed, the office of the MPDC easily identified what barangay is in dire need of the water facilities. The CBMS Results will be utilized for the formulation of the Executive and the Legislative Agenda for the next three (3) years Lessons learned and challenges encountered (slide 23) The Initiative for the CBMS implementation in our locality requires strong political commitment by the LCEs in the Provincial, Municipal and Barangay Levels 6

7 The conduct of surveys in the household levels, the processing of survey results at the purok and barangay levels and the attainment of accurate results were the most challenging parts. Actual cost of CBMS implementation (slide 24) Total Expenses Incurred during the first round of CBMS implementation: P431, or P27.18 per household. Details of actual expenses: Municipal counterpart Training on Data Collection and Processing 155, Validation exercises 2, Reproduction of forms (questionnaire and manuals) 61, Traveling Expenses 1, Barangay counterpart Allowance for enumerators P10/HH 158, Training on drafting socioeconomic profiles P1,000/brgy 52, Total 431, Estimated cost of subsequent implementation is P225, or approximately P14.14 per household excluding training costs assuming the same enumerators will be tapped for the next round of survey. COMMITMENT (slide 25) CBMS data will be the basis of future development initiatives of the municipality specifically in poverty reduction-related programs, projects and activities Support New CBMS initiatives in the future with an expected new round of survey activities on the year 2005 to evaluate the effects of the development program in the municipality Promote the awareness and use of CBMS as a tool for poverty monitoring and local governance Institutionalized the CBMS activities in the development programs of the municipality, (slide 26) With the Institutionalization of the CBMS, the Municipality of Labo, Camarines Norte will have a Well Balanced Outlook for Opportunities and Change Onwards! (slide 27) Maraming Salamat po! 7