Policy Research Helping Provide Affordable Rice to Filipinos

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Philippine Institute for Development Studies2tress due to the loss of its economic anchor, theSubic Bay Naval Base, offers a rich lesson in localgovernance on how critical it is to plan ahead. Therisk of a severe downturn, primarily due to economicdependency, can be successfully shunned if thegroundwork for recovery is immediately put inplace. While population movements may exacerbatethe situation and imperil finances, it is still possibleto maintain a high quality of service delivery giventhe correct priorities.The second study is on Tagum City where populationprocesses and outcomes (in this case, urbanization)influence and change the development ofan area and vice versa. The city’s growing economyis presumed to be attracting a considerable movementof people that presents both opportunities andchallenges for the local government. The well- developedtransportation network and the gold rushin the early 1980s have contributed to the developmentof the city. Rapid urbanization soon ensued.Population increase has slightly slowed down in recentyears but is still above national and regionalaverages, with the increase mostly attributed to highbirth rates. The city especially puts heavy emphasison infrastructure, which by and large, has so farshaped its development. Tagum’s local governmentis credited for taking bold steps (notwithstandingthe short electoral calendar) in influencing its developmentpath—from massive infrastructure developmentright after its elevation to a city, to the initiationof fiscal discipline in its economic enterprisesand of measures in increasing local revenues, to theundertaking of a radical population managementprogram. These efforts signify the innovativenessof the local government in serving its constituentsand in meeting the increasing demand brought byan incessant population growth. Nevertheless, challengesstill remain in providing adequate manpowerto social services, setting up a feedback mechanismon its various interventions and increasing avenuesfor participation of its constituents in setting development.The third study is on Cebu City where urbanizationand rapid increase in population in Metro Cebuhas brought about increased demand for basic servicesand infrastructure. The creation of the MetroCebu Development Council comprising of the fourcities and six municipalities in the eastern part ofthe Cebu Province as an organizational structureattempts to address these problems. However, servicesthat require areas larger than a local jurisdictionfor cost-effective provisioning like water supply,garbage disposal and solid waste managementare still a problem. The same is true for serviceslike public health.The paper on Lipa City, meanwhile, focuses on thesocioeconomic development experience of Lipa inits journey to being an emerging city. Specifically, itpresents the urbanization process in the city particularlythe demographic and socioeconomic processwith emphasis on the changing economic structureas well as the living condition of the populace.In addition, it examines the booming economic activitiesand seeks to find out whether or not theseare attracting migrants and creating revenue- raisingopportunities that will in turn finance increasingdemand for basic services. Lastly, the study attemptsto identify the issues and challenges thatcome along with urbanization as well as the city’spotentials for further economic development.These factors will determine whether Lipa City willremain a promising city or transform into a highlyurbanized one.In the study on Tagbilaran City, the maintenanceof an environment conducive to being a show windowfor tourism investments in the Bohol Provinceis considered a current priority. Thus, the city isimplementing a development planning system thatrequires the dynamic participation of various sectorsin the city to ensure the conservation of theenvironment and natural resources. While the cityhas recognized the detrimental effects of uncheckedpopulation growth, it has put in place cushions toensure that the development efforts are not affected.However, it becomes prudent to focus on the city’sbeing the tourism gateway to Bohol rather than simplya catchment area for Cebu’s industrial leftovers.In conclusion, it is imperative for the city to be awareof the negative effects of industrialization—howevereconomically beneficial—on its ecology.On the other hand, the findings of the study onZamboanga City will contribute to the understandingof urbanization, local governance and the consequencesof migration at the macro level. It willhelp policymakers from the local government units
2004 Annual Reportto identify areas where urbanization mechanism cancontribute positively to the development of the city.Certainly, program implementers and service providerswill also learn from the lessons gathered onurbanization and local governance. At the locallevel, existing programs for the halaws can furtherbe improved.Trends in economic development influence populationoutcomes in an area. Increasing economicopportunities that are typically linked to industrializationenhance the attractiveness of a location andresult in population increases. The inverse of thisprocess could also be true. That is, an economicdistress could hit an area and force its residents toleave and seek better forts. In the study on IliganCity, its experience on rapid urbanization for almostfive decades due to industrialization was discussed.However, the city saw a remarkable outward migrationin the latter half of the 1990s that was stronglyattributed to the economic difficulties experiencedin the latter part of the last decade. The closure ofthe National Steel Corporation, Iligan City’s mainemployer and biggest taxpayer, in particular, aggravatedthe economic condition of the city. This casestudy describes the economic challenges that alteredthe population pattern and welfare of Iligan City.The paper also presents the interventions that thelocal government embarked on to minimize theimpact of the economic crisis, including policychanges and shifts in development strategies.The last case study under this population andurbanizatin project is on Metro Iloilo. The studypresents the experience of the Metro Iloilo DevelopmentCouncil (MIDC) in its pursuit of “a highlylivable region of God-loving and educated peopleworking together for a progressive, self-reliant andsustainable community.” It provides the socioeconomicdevelopment in Iloilo City, MIDC’s core city,and delves into urbanization issues and responsesof Iloilo City in terms of resource mobilization andallocation, and delivery of basic services. It also givesa background on the creation of the MIDC andhighlights the experience of the council in workingfor the attainment of its vision.The last study under the Social Sector Reform Researcharea is on the Community Mortgage Program(CMP). In recent years, a number of lending instrumentshave been introduced and tried out inthe area of housing finance. In the Philippines, agroup lending scheme is being implementedthrough the government’s CMP. While the programis generally accepted as a propoor housing program,its financial sustainability has been in question.Competitiveness and Competition PolicyUnder this agenda, the study titled Note on competitivenessdebate confirms that competitiveness is technicallya firm level concept. However, it is oftentimesextended to the national level—the idea of acountry’s ‘international competitiveness’ with thefollowing analogies: market share –> export shareof country; price –> real effective exchange rate orunit labor cost; profitability –> long-run economicgrowth. The concept of national competitiveness isfaulty. In the words of Paul Krugman, it has becomea “dangerous obsession.” However, national or governmentpolicies do have an impact on firm levelcompetitiveness. The only concept related to firmlevel competitiveness that can be extended to thenational level without ambiguity is technologicalcapability. Meanwhile, the Global CompetitivenessReport (GCR) presents two measures of nationalcompetitiveness: the Global Competitiveness Index(GCI) and the Current Competitiveness Index(CCI). The GCI is simply a measure of a country’spotential for economic growth and is not equivalentto competitiveness. The CCI is an exercise intautology. It simply shows that countries with ahigher level of development are “more competitive.”The issue of the appropriate development policiesis not addressed. Since technological capability is,however, at the heart of competitiveness, countriesmust therefore address this issue squarely. Onecourse of action is to adopt a strategic approach toforeign direct investment—as opposed to a passivestrategy—similar to what Malaysia and Singaporedid.The paper East Asian cooperation: the ASEAN viewdiscusses the ASEAN+3 integration in the contextof the literature on hub-and-spoke regionalism. Itargues that provided proper rules of origin are incorporated,the different bilateral arrangementsbetween ASEAN countries and each of the threeEast Asian economies are building blocs toward anEast Asian free trade agreement (FTA). It arguesthat the bilateral arrangements skirt the slow deci-3
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Policy Research Helping Provide Affordable Rice to Filipinos

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