Poverty in the Philippines by Asian Development Bank;

Author:Asian Development Bank;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Asian Development Bank Institute
Published: 2009-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

KALAHI–CIDSS = Kapit–Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services Project, LGU = local government unit, NGO = nongovernment organization.

Source: Author’s compilation.

• horizontal coordination among key agencies involved in poverty and social development; DOH, DepEd, DSWD, NAPC, and NEDA are the key coordinating agencies although they have overlapping functions;55

• vertical coordination within agencies (national to regional offices) and from national and regional to local government units;

• sector coordination—there are a number of agencies in one sector that also need to coordinate their actions (e.g., insurance, education); and

• multistakeholder coordination—both national and local agencies need to network with key stakeholders from civil society and the private sector.

Coordination consumes both time and resources, but is necessary in order to be able to craft well-designed and efficiently implemented programs. For example, many programs in the past were successful because of such coordination and complementation, which leads to optimized human and financial resources, smooth information flow, minimized waste and leakage in targeted programs, and avoidance of duplication of programs across national and local implementing agencies. However, insufficient resources constrain such coordinating mechanisms. For example, the NAPC convenes the different regional KALAHI convergence groups (RKCGs) but their funding is very limited.56 It will also need additional resources to coordinate and monitor the implementation of policies and programs decided by the RKCGs in their respective localities (i.e., provinces and municipalities). With improved technologies for information and communication, innovations in coordinating mechanisms can be tapped by government to improve the response to the poverty problem.

Crosscutting Concerns

Resource Allocation

Over the years, persistent budget deficits have led the government to substantially reduce spending on social services. Resources for poverty reduction and attaining the MDGs will not be sufficient in the years to come. Table 48 shows the decreasing government expenditures for both social services and infrastructure (as a percent of GDP) from 1998 to 2005. There were tight fiscal constraints during these years and a large share of revenues went to debt payments. Per capita expenditures, especially for education, also went down during the same period (Table 49). Lack of adequate financing partly explains the remaining challenges in social development.

Table 48: National Government Expenditures as a Percentage of Gross Domestic Product, 1990–2006

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