Environmental and Social Monitoring Report Final Report July 2020- March 2021 May 2021 Philippines: Senior High School Support Program Prepared by Department of Education for the Asian Development Bank. This environmental and social monitoring report is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL SUPPORT PROGRAM (SHSSP) Safeguards Monitoring Report Project number 45089-002 Country Philippines Modality of assistance Results-based lending (RBL) financed by the Asian Development Bank Safeguards category Indigenous peoples B Environment B Involuntary resettlement B Reporting period July-December, 2020 Report prepared by DepEd – Project Management Service Prepared by: Jun Rusell C. Aquino, PDO III Recommended by: Erwin R. Yumping, PDO V Approved by: Director Milagros T. Talinio ABBREVIATIONS ADB = Asian Development Bank AH = affected household AP = affected person CAB-IPEd = Consultative and Advisory Bodies on IPEd (DepEd) DENR = Department of Environment and Natural Resources DepEd = Department of Education DOLE = Department of Labor and Employment DP = displaced person EFD = Education Facilities Division (EFD) EMA = external monitoring agency EMP = environmental management plan FPIC = free, prior, and informed consent GRM = grievance redress mechanism IEE = initial environmental examination IP = indigenous peoples, Indigenous Peoples Education (IPEd) IPAP = indigenous peoples action plan IPP = indigenous peoples plan IPRA = Indigenous Peoples Rights Act IPSEO = Indigenous Peoples Education Office (DepEd) IR = involuntary resettlement LAR = land acquisition and resettlement MOA = memorandum of agreement MSS = minimum service standard NCIP = National Commission on Indigenous Peoples RP = resettlement plan SHS = Senior High School SPS = safeguard policy statement STO = Sites Titling Office (DepEd) I. SUMMARY The Senior High School Support Program (SHSSP) is nearing completion with 19 of 21 disbursement-linked indicators already achieved. Proposed actions in the SHSSP Detailed Safeguards Program Action Plan (PAP) on Indigenous Peoples (IP) have all been complied with. For Environment and Involuntary Resettlement (IR), it has been clarified that DepEd school/classroom construction projects are not required to secure Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) since these fall under Category D per the DENR-EMB Philippine Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) system guidelines (Certificate of Non-coverage [CNC] are instead issued). The DepEd Guidelines on the Acquisition of School Sites in Accordance with Republic Act No. 10964 is also reported. The said guidelines provide for the modes of acquisition and related processes. The DepEd continues to focus on the implementation of its Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP) and complies with and adopts strategies aligned with guidance and safety protocols that the Philippine government’s Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases promulgates. II. PROJECT OVERVIEW The Senior High School Support Program (SHSSP) supports the nationwide establishment and implementation of senior high school (SHS). The program is aligned with the Philippine Development Plan, 2011–2016 and the government’s basic education sector reform agenda. The addition of 2 years of high school to the basic education system is part of an overall Kindergarten to Grade12 (K to 12) reform by the Department of Education (DepEd). Among other things, the introduction of SHS aims to (i) provide basic education graduates with the skills necessary for entrepreneurship or formal sector employment, (ii) better prepare graduates who undertake further education or training, and (iii) spread the basic education curriculum content over 12 years rather than the previous 10 years. Introducing grades 11 and 12 will involve developing the SHS program (curriculum, instructional materials, and assessment tools); engaging and training SHS teachers; delivering schools and other educational infrastructure; and establishing an SHS voucher program that will help finance the tuition of students who attend private SHSs. The infrastructure for some DepEd SHSs (i.e., the country’s public SHSs) may be delivered through a public–private partnership (PPP) modality. The SHSSP supports a subset of the SHS program, with a focus on mathematics, science, and technical-vocational-livelihood (TVL) education; school infrastructure; the SHS voucher program; and systems strengthening. It builds on the government’s recent efforts and the pioneering engagement of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in secondary education in the Philippines. Financing under the ADB loan will be disbursed, subject to the achievement and verification of the agreed annual DLIs. The SHSSP will not directly fund cost items related to the DLIs – it will only disburse to government once targets are achieved. For example, in the case of DLI 3 (Minimum service standard [MSS] for student–classroom ratio in DepEd SHSs achieved), the program will not directly fund the construction of SHS classrooms, but will only disburse to government once the agreed student-classroom ratio is achieved (so government should have already funded and constructed the required classrooms first before they can access loan proceeds). Funds are released to an account in the Bureau of Treasury and not to DepEd. A summary of the disbursement-linked indicators is provided in the table below. SHSSP: Disbursement-linked Indicators Indicator Disbursement Share of Total ADB Allocation Financing ($ million) (%) DLI 1 80.00 26.67 Learning outcomes in DepEd SHS mathematics and science subjects improved DLI 2 40.00 13.33 Learning outcomes in DepEd SHS TVL subjects improved DLI 3 46.20 15.42 Minimum service standard (MSS) for student–classroom ratio in DepEd SHSs achieved DLI 4 10.00 3.33 Use of PPP modality considered for a portion of SHS infrastructure delivery DLI 5 113.80 37.92 DepEd targets for SHS enrollments in non- DepEd schools achieved DLI 6 10.00 3.33 Performance targets in procurement monitoring achieved Total 300.00 100.00 The DepEd SHSSP completion date was extended from December 31, 2020 to December 31, 2021 approved by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) last November 18, 2020. This approval also granted in parallel the extension of the project’s closing date from June 30, 2021 to June 30, 2022. III. OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF MONITORING This report is intended to document the status of proposed actions in the SHSSP Detailed Safeguards Program Action Plan (PAP), particularly those under the Environmental and Involuntary Resettlement safeguards sections with issues for clarification. IV. UPDATES ON THE DETAILED SAFEGUARDS PROGRAM ACTION PLAN Gap Proposed Indicator/Target Compliance Comment or Reasons for Compliance, Partial Issues Action Status Compliance/Non-Compliance for Yes/No/Partial Further Action Indigenous Peoples Lack of Ensure staff Orientation – Yes Following a broader framework and systemic approach capacity of field assigned have training(s) to implementation (following the National IPEd Policy offices/staff to adequate conducted at Framework), DepEd's policy and program response on conduct IP technical skills central office IP safeguards has substantially complied with the impact screening, identified measures by strengthening key program areas. Fully document social impact Regional Key developments relevant to this action point are FPIC process, assessment, orientation- provided below. consensus- meaningful training(s) building consultation conducted activities and Indigenous Peoples Education (IPEd) Capacity and FPIC community (Luzon, Visayas, Building Program: Framework, Budget and Program consultations, and Mindanao) Support for Regions and Divisions including with participation dissenting of assigned As part of the National Indigenous Peoples Education opinions and district and (IPEd) Program*, institutionalized by DepEd since 2013, concerns, and division program the IPsEO has continued to invest substantially on personnel response. capacity building of its Regional and Division IPEd Focal Include in Persons. The IPEd budget of DepEd – as a line item in EMA engaged internal and the General Appropriations Act (GAA) – has steadily external increased from PhP 100 million in 2013 to PhP 162 Periodic Internal monitoring million in 2017. Capacity building for the focal persons reports and external monitoring and staff from various units is a major component of reports prepared IPsEO's annual Work and Financial Plan (WFP). In 2017, and include full PHP 15.7 million has been allocated for national trainings documentation (this is for the IPsEO-led capacity building activites alone, 6 of consensus- PhP 90.2 million of the total budget has been released as building Regional and Division IPEd Program Support Fund activities, (PSF), utilized by field offices to implement capacity community building activities, among other priority activities, based consultations, process of on their own needs). In the Multi-Year Implementing adhering to FPIC Guidelines on the Allocation and Utilization of the IPEd requirements PSF adopted in