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This is a report of the proceedings of - Asian Strategy & Leadership ...

This is a report of the proceedings of - Asian Strategy & Leadership ...

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THE ASIA THINK TANK DIALOGUE REPORTRebuilding Confidence, Restoring Livelihoods Session Two 23Case Studies – Sharing <strong>of</strong> Country Experiences andPerspectives on How Rural Development & PovertyEradication Programmes Have SucceededDr. Josef T. YapPresident, Philippines Institute for Development StudiesManila.Sustainable economic development was stillan elusive concept in <strong>the</strong> Philippines. Lookinginto per capita GDP growth over <strong>the</strong> past50 years, <strong>the</strong> Philippines had lagged behindits neighbours in poverty reduction, with its absolutepoverty incidence <strong>of</strong> USD1 a day representing 13.2per cent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> population as compared to Viet Nam’s8.4 per cent. Dr. Yap noted that <strong>the</strong> Philippines hada long way to go to address th<strong>is</strong>. Noting that povertyin <strong>the</strong> Philippines was largely a rural problem, andgiven its overwhelming numerical importance, povertyprogrammes had to be concentrated in <strong>the</strong> ruralareas. Thus far, he said, <strong>the</strong>re had been very littleprogress made by <strong>the</strong> Government. Besides <strong>the</strong>adequacy <strong>of</strong> programmes and resources, targetingwas also poor as most developmental efforts wereconcentrated in Manila. More importantly, localgovernment agencies were not fully equipped totackle poverty-reduction programmes. At <strong>the</strong> heart <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong> problem, baseline data at <strong>the</strong> local level was notyet credible and <strong>the</strong>re was a need for nationalaggregated data. At <strong>the</strong> provincial, municipality andtown levels, <strong>the</strong> data was incomplete to ensure abetter understanding <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> problems at hand.He described <strong>the</strong> Micro Economic Impact <strong>of</strong> MicroPolicies, a community-based monitoring system(CBMS), as a way out as it addressed <strong>the</strong> gaps indata and diagnosed poverty at <strong>the</strong> micro levelby identifying eligible beneficiaries, policies andprogrammes. He said it was more than a data-collectingsystem as it also intended to promote evidence-baseddec<strong>is</strong>ion-making. It was a tool to support <strong>the</strong> dec<strong>is</strong>ionmakingprocess by providing local government unitswith <strong>the</strong> means to promote better governance.There was, however, some res<strong>is</strong>tance to <strong>the</strong> projectbecause local politicians did not want <strong>the</strong> public toknow whe<strong>the</strong>r progress had or had not beenachieved.‘Sustainable economicdevelopment <strong>is</strong> still an elusiveconcept in <strong>the</strong> Philippines.We have lagged behind ourneighbours in poverty reduction’Dr. Josef T YapDr. Yap explained that <strong>the</strong>re were 14 indicators undervarious headings such as education under <strong>the</strong> CBMS.It had been streamlined to make it more effective.CBMS tabbed on local governance and its data hadbeen drawn upon for human development <strong>report</strong>sand by NGOs for resource pr<strong>of</strong>iling. Major lessonslearnt from <strong>the</strong> implementation <strong>of</strong> CBMS over <strong>the</strong>past nine years were many and <strong>the</strong>y included <strong>the</strong>need for a local poverty monitoring system to ensureefficient assessment <strong>of</strong> impact from Poverty ReductionStrategies. It was also important to work with localgovernments and convince <strong>the</strong>m <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong>CBMS to ensure its sustainability. He found that politicalscions were progressive and hence more open to <strong>the</strong>concept <strong>of</strong> CBMS. While it was moving forward, it wasnot progressing as fast as he had hoped. Never<strong>the</strong>less,a good beginning had been made to make sense <strong>of</strong>what poverty meant and what could be done in amuch more systematic and rational manner.

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