Report - Social Watch Philippines

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Seven provinces in Mindanao, almost all of them confl ict areas, are among the top 10 where the quality of life is the worst in the Philippines, the latest human development report on the country showed. Sulu ranked lowest in the human development index (HDI), followed by Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao, Basilan, and Lanao del Sur. Sarangani ranked seventh and Zamboanga del Norte ranked ninth. Experts said that because of the armed confl ict in the southern provinces, thousands of displaced families are unable to access basic services. “The policy challenge is to stop war, but the whole military approach is not the correct approach,” said Toby Monsod, an economics professor at the University of the Philippines and principal author of the 2008/2009 Philippine Human Development Report. The poor quality of life in these provinces is almost at the same level as in poor African countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Mauritania, and Senegal, and confl ict-ridden countries like Pakistan and Myanmar, according to a comparison of HDI’s made by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 5 Conclusions and Recommendations Prospects for the attainment of MDGs in the Moro (Muslim) areas are both political and economic interventions: A. An effective governance system shall be in place For genuine and long-term development to succeed and eradicate to poverty, there should be a negotiated peace settlement of the Moro question for the right to self-determination. The GRP should pursue peace talks with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Review and refi nement of the GRP-MNLF FPA should continue. Unity of MILF and MNLF is an important element in developing the genuine governance system which expresses the Moro people’s right to self-determination. There should be an element of democratic process in developing the coveted genuine and workable governance system. Patronage politics presently being practiced by the Philippine traditional politics will be a bane in coming up with genuine governance system. Specifi c recommendations include: a. Stop the war in Mindanao together with the Peaceful settlement of the Bangsamoro ques- 5 http://www.undp.org.ph/?link=news&news_id=238&fa=1 152 SOCIAL WATCH PHILIPPINES tion for the right to self-determination b. Provision of a comprehensive program for livelihood and indemnifi cation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), who are victims of the confl ict. c. Massive human rights education and capacity-building initiatives should be provided to confl ict areas. Organize community-based human rights watch bodies with contemporary and appropriate technology in the human rights violation reporting, monitoring and lobbying. d. Establishment of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Provide the CHR with prosecutory powers as at present it is only investigative in character. e. Recognizing loopholes in the electoral practices as a primary source of electoral fraud, electoral reform should take place through: – Massive citizen-voters education in the grassroots communities throughout Mindanao – Institutionalization of election monitoring and fraud deterrence activities f. Develop legislation on good governance, transparency, and accountability in the performance of public duty B. Full and unbiased Philippine Government support In the next fi ve (5) years and onwards beyond 2015, at least 30% of the annual national budget should go to Mindanao. At least three-fold worth of efforts and resources should be undertaken in Moro areas to keep the MDGs target on track. Specifi cally, additional funds for ARMM to fund MDG-focused programs and projects should be established. The government should review its ODA priority areas to include Mindanao, especially ARMM. Assistance packages that are doable in the next fi ve years should also be prioritized. This is a very timely period to test the fulfi llment promises for development of the new President of the Philippine administration. Specifi c recommendations include: a. The development budget for Mindanao shall be equivalent to percentage of Mindanao GDP
in terms of infrastructure and public investments (soft and hard) b. Mindanao should receive 30% of the annual Offi cial Development Assistance (ODA). c. Passage of an Anti-Discrimination Bill. d. Investors in Mindanao should employ 80% of personnel from workers of Mindanao in origin, 60% of the 80% shall come from the Bangsamoro and Lumad peoples. Staff development trainings shall be provided free by the investors for the purpose. e. Establishment of Regional Anti-Poverty Commission in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with a budget allocation equivalent to 30% of the annual ARMM budget. The Regional Commission’s budget however shall not be part of the ARMM budget. The ARMM Regional Anti-Poverty Commission shall be composed of four Commissioners and a Chairperson appointed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines upon the recommendation of mainstream Mindanao civil society organizations. The need to urgently address the worsening poverty situation and the highest illiteracy rate along with the nutritional requirements and reproductive health in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is imperative. Criteria for the Regional Anti- Poverty Commission budget allocation shall be the following: – 25% goes to poverty eradication program – 25% goes to primary education including the Madrasah education – 20% goes to nutrition and reproductive health – 10% goes to gender & women empowerment initiatives – 10% goes to environment protection – 10% goes to AIDS/HIV education and partnership for development f. Increase public investments in basic health, education, biodiversity, sanitation and livelihood to adequately provide for affordable and quality services g. Passage of a bill that ensures the provision of reproductive health education and services for all Filipinos. The Philippines has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world: 10 women die each day due to complications from pregnancy and childbirth. However, any legislation or policy promoting birth control will be opposed. h. Legislate measures to incorporate funding for Madrasah education and informal education programs in the education budget. Expand the Alternative Learning System (ALS) to make it more relevant and accessible to some 11.6 million out-of-school children and youth, and to address the functional literacy needs of adults especially in ARMM and other poor egions and provinces in Mindanao. Such programs will help address the increasing number of drop-outs from the formal education system. (The national average for drop-out rates in the elementary level increased from 9.82% for academic year 2004-2005 to 10.57 % for academic year 2005-2006, while that in secondary level rose from 11.30% to 15.81% during the same period. The ARMM has much higher drop-out rates considering that the ARMM region has the highest illiteracy rate among regions. i. Support legislative measures for the establishment of the Lanao Lake Development Authority whose mandate among others will be the protection and preservation of Lake Lanao. j. There is a need for the government to fully develop ARMM’s agricultural sector and supporting infrastructure through clear cut legislations. k. Develop a targeted yet comprehensive workforce development initiative for Out-of-School Youth (OSY), supported by public/private sector partnerships, to include the following components: An alternative learning system to provide basic functional competencies, equivalent to a high school certifi cate Focused technical vocational education and training to acquire government certifi ed competencies Opportunities for employment of Bangsamoro & Lumads pro-ratio with the percentage of the population in the localities with participating businesses in Mindanao Winning the Numbers, Losing the War: The Other MDG Report 2010 153
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Winning the Numbers, Losing the War
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Many deserve our th
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CLEEP Comprehensive Livelihood and
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MOA-AD Memorandum of Agreement on A
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS/CONTRIBUTORS Leon
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FOREWORD By ISAGANI R. SERRANO This
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An urgent MDG message: Inadequate f
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The use of the budget instrument fo
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MDG chances: stability and vulnerab
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may mean a short honeymoon period.
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what we got from Annex I countries
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(Php58.6 Billion) of GDP at current
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Fourth Assessment Report provide a
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Losing the war on poverty The Other
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Table 1. Philippines’ MDG progres
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(NER) and medium on both cohort sur
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incidence of 97.46 percent. The las
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special needs; (c) 228,928 women in
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cultural structures urgently needin
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capacity to confront the dreaded cl
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MDG Goal 1 Targets 1 and 3: On erad
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Table 1. Prevalence of undernutriti
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2007, women’s national unemployme
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in the service and production secto
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een generally positive—increased
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Table 9: Partial Listing of Big Lan
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and promote gender equality in all
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While many see this as an education
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seen in both public and private pre
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and therefore, limited coverage. Th
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Table 7. Education Expenditure as a
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Box 2. Education budget tracking (2
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This paper looks at highly vulnerab
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to education. 5 In practice, debt p
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Table 5. Distribution of Government
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Table 7. Average Daily Basic Pay by
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in the 80’s, according to Sibal,
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eports of female OFW deaths, sexual
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Table 13. Trafficked Migrants Assis
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plicating overpopulation and poor w
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CAN$318.8 billion. While they found
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. Women’s economic empowerment i.
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statistics-fs-violence-against-fi l
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New policies and programs meant to
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Table 2: Immunization Status 1998 2
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Table 4. List of Nutritionally Vuln
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percent), who gave birth at home (9
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protocol is another comprehensive s
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5. Revamping the health insurance s
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Universalizing health care As we po
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Progress of work in improving mater
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Figure 2. Use of Skilled Birth Atte
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In terms of postnatal care, 77 perc
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Abortion Worldwide abortion rates h
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went down from 9.8 percent in 2005
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longer to health care centers in co
Page 118 and 119: However, USAID, with the concurrenc
Page 120 and 121: Box 1. Safe Motherhood: a brief his
Page 123 and 124: The rising challenge of HIV/AIDS an
Page 125 and 126: Sexual transmission remains to be t
Page 127 and 128: national response. Since health was
Page 129 and 130: Figure 7. Frequency distribution of
Page 131 and 132: Table 5. Annual estimated cost for
Page 133 and 134: tion of Public-Private Mix Departme
Page 135 and 136: Not much time, but not without opti
Page 137 and 138: Questions and more questions on the
Page 139 and 140: Figure 1: Biodiversity Hotspots Bio
Page 141 and 142: MDG’s, but more importantly, on b
Page 143 and 144: 8. Organic Agriculture Act of 2010;
Page 145 and 146: science Bureau (MGB) but funded by
Page 147 and 148: Problems and gaps Incoherent and cl
Page 149 and 150: must be able to provide for non-pro
Page 151 and 152: Trade, debt and aid: MDG retardants
Page 153 and 154: Table 1. Recent Trade and Investmen
Page 155 and 156: elated social spending; Three, ille
Page 157 and 158: eing proposed in Congress. But more
Page 159: Results - Developing countries and
Page 162 and 163: Mindanao situation Mindanao is the
Page 164 and 165: Table 1.Cohort Survival Rate by Reg
Page 166 and 167: MTPDP has not gained momentum to ef
Page 170 and 171: a. Lobby for the crafting of laws a
Page 172 and 173: Moro situation after the Treaty of
Page 174 and 175: and Palawan movement and Mindanao I
Page 176 and 177: Appendix B Are the Moros Filipinos?
Page 178 and 179: Government with respect to the Moro
Page 180 and 181: legal and political shields behind
Page 182 and 183: Goals and Targets (from the Millenn
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