National Conference on CBMS

Session 2 CBMS and Local Governance

Proportion of households with CBMS: The access to sanitary toilet facilities Experience By Hon. Edward Hagedorn City Mayor, Puerto Princesa City,

September 23-24, 2004 Dusit Hotel Nikko Makati City,

This conference is organized by the CBMS Network Coordinating Team of the Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies with the aid of a grant from International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada. PUERTO PRINCESA CITY CBMS EXPERIENCE

Puerto Princesa City is the main gateway to Palawan, it being the capital city and centrally located in the Province. It is 306 nautical miles southwest of . It has a total land area of 253,982 hectares. It has 66 barangays: 35 urban and 31 rural.

The city is known for its bountiful natural resources and pristine environment.

But our urban center is relatively very small. It comprises only about 6% of the city’s total land area and 75% of the population reside in the urban and urbanizing areas.

The population of the city grew from 60,234 in 1980 to 161,912 in 2000 or from a population density of 24 persons per square kilometer to 64 in 2000.

The city is the seat of the provincial government. The capitol and all other branches of national agencies are in the city.

Further, the city serves as the main air and sea ports of the province. Most goods and people enter and leave Palawan through this city. It is also the financial and commercial life of the province, the telecommunication hub. It is the center for tertiary education. Thus, the City serves not only its constituents but the greater Palawan citizenry.

The vision of Puerto Princesa is “Towards a model city in sustainable development”.

We want to demonstrate in this part of the world that there is healthful balance between development and environment.

As a local government, Puerto princesa has been striving to provide the services it can do to its people…but because of technical and financial constraints, the response to the need of its residents is considered not adequate.

The responsibilities of LGUs as stipulated in the 1991 Local government Code is enormous. But Puerto Princesa is preparing to face greater challenges in the future. Among the challenges the city has to hurdle include: • Financing development programs and services • Improving quality of infrastructure projects • Satisfying massive need for infrastructure facilities • Sustained poverty alleviation livelihood programs • Conserving the natural resources and environment

• Partnership in Development: The Community Based Monitoring System Program is a collaborative effort of two agencies: the City Government of Puerto Princesa and MIMAP. It is a partnership that works. The city should look forward to have more of such relationships with non-governmental agencies to enhance further its capability to meet present and future challenges. The MIMAP introduced a system for welfare monitoring.With the technical assistance from MIMAP, the city government benefited from the implementation of CBMS.

• Due to our exposure to the program, the Office of the City Planning & Development Coordinator is now in a better position to support the City Government in its public investment initiatives.

During the course of the CBMS survey, the office generated so much information on the socio-economic condition of the people in the barangays. Socio-Economic Profiles were also generated.

With CBMS, the city has now greatly strengthened its capability to analyze the impact that development programs and projects have on the people. After all, it is our goal to improve the quality of life of the people.

• Due to fund constraints, CBMS implementation in the City was done in phases. Twelve barangays were surveyed in 2001; seventeen in 2003; and four this year with a total of 33 barangays out of 66.

For the purpose of presentation, 15 electronically processed CBMS results are presented here focusing on selected indicators.\

• The average rate of 18% in malnutrition prevalence in the rural barangays is double the national average of 9.2%. Validation showed that a number of Indigenous peoples reside areas where malnutrition incident is high. Preoccupation of parents on farm works is another factor in the rise of malnutrition.

• The city at present has seven satellite hospitals each strategically located in clusters of barangays. The City Health Office identified three more satellite health centers in areas validated by CBMS data that lack access to health services and intensified health programs. Funded by KALAHI, these centers will be constructed this year.

• Survey results showed that majority of rural barangays have very limited access to safe water supply. On the average, only 58% have access to safe water as against the national average of 78.1%.

• In our 2005 Annual Investment Plan, the city government will allocate an amount of 30M as guarantee fund for the Bulk Water Supply Project of the local water district. This 240M project aims to provide safe water supply in every household.

• The CBMS result also showed that out of the 14 rural barangays presented, only 27% have access to electricity. Continuous power supply in Puerto princesa is only limited to the urban and urbanizing areas. Some rural barangays have private or communal gensets that provide limited power supply for 3-4 hours. Lack of power greatly hampers the productivity of the people in the countryside.

• Under the Rural Electrification Program implemented this year, power distribution to 7 barangays in the north was completed in June 2004. mid next year, shall By mid next year, the rest of the rural barangays will be energized. The city is also investing on alternative power source: 1 MW Solar Power. An initial investment of 50M shall be allocated in the 2005 Annual Investment Plan.

• CBMS data on an urban informal coastal settlement was greatly appreciated. It helped the LGU in the identification of strategies for relocation.

• In summary, among the 14 rural barangays presented, we identified 3 barangays that are least provided with basic services and determined their locational priorities.

In general, however, these barangays have better access to housing: 97.8% of the households live in non-makeshift housing and 90.56% are formal settlers.

• Lessons Learned: Full commitment of policy makers in the LGU Integration of other information systems with CBMS data Sustained advocacy Reference for quick decision making