Mapping PoverMapping Pover
Mapping PoverMapping Poverty in the Philippinesty in the Philippinesty in the Philippinesty in the Philippinesty in the Philippines
Income poverty data exists primarily at the national, regional, and provincial level, based on the FIES surveys conducted every 3 years. The provincial level data was only released in 2003 for the years 1997 and 2000. The development of provincial data by NSCB is valuable, but more timely local-level data is required if decentralization for poverty reduction is to work in the Philippines. Local planners and implementers need local information.
In April 2003 the DILG issued a directive to all LGUs in the Philippines outlining guidelines for the adoption of core local poverty indicators. This directive was based on work of the MIMAP project55 in the mid-1990s to
develop a community-based monitoring system (CBMS). The 13 indicators fall into three categories (survival, security, and enabling) and are meant to help LGUs formulate their local poverty reduction action plans. The list of indicators can be found in Box 4.
55 The Micro Impacts of Macroeconomic Adjustment Policies Philippines project.
Box 4 Cor
Cor Cor Cor
Core Local Povere Local Povere Local Povere Local Povere Local Poverty Indicatorsty Indicatorsty Indicatorsty Indicatorsty Indicators Sur
Sur Sur Sur
Survivalvivalvivalvivalvival
Health 1 Under-5 mortality
Nutrition 2 Malnutrition
Basic Services 3 Proportion of households without access to safe water
4 Proportion of households without access to sanitation
Security Security Security Security Security
Shelter 5 Proportion of households who are squatting
6 Proportion of households in makeshift houses
Peace and Order 7 Proportion of households with victims of crime
Enabling Enabling Enabling Enabling
Enabling
Income 8 Proportion of households with income less than
poverty line
9 Proportion of households with income less than food
poverty line
10 Proportion of households who eat less than 3 meals a day
Employment 11 Unemployment rate
Education 12 Elementary participation rate
13 Secondary participation rate
These indicators are based on earlier attempts to monitor nonincome dimensions of deprivation at the local level, such as the Minimum Basic Needs
(MBN) approach developed in the early 1990s.56 The DILG memorandum
recommends that the indicators be collected annually, and indicates that communities might decide to include other concerns for their particular area. So, for instance, indicators related to environmental concerns are included in the CBMS for Palawan (where the system was successfully piloted). The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) and DILG have agreed that a 14th indicator
should be added across the board: the maternal mortality rate. One indicator that appears to be missing from the list is a measure of community participation, allowing for the assessment of social capital.
CBMS data allows for poverty mapping, and results show that local policymakers’ and communities’ comprehension of the poverty situation in their localities was greatly facilitated by the use of poverty maps (Reyes and Valencia, 2004). Being able to visualize the data facilitates understanding. Figure 11 shows the level of detail that can be obtained through CBMS and poverty mapping, where households are identified precisely. The potential for its use in planning and impact monitoring is very high. Poverty maps will often use color to get the message across, with municipalities colored darkening shades of red to mean worsening conditions, and shades of green implying higher/ better levels of a particular indicator. This is the method employed by the Peace Equity Foundation maps.
In 2004, CBMS was being implemented in 7 out of 12 municipalities in Camarines Norte and is scheduled to commence in the province of Bulacan. Region IV B had expressed interest in implementing it region-wide through the National Economic and Development Agency (NEDA) regional office (Reyes and Valencia, 2004). Support for this type of local-level poverty monitoring would be useful for improved service delivery at the local level, with the ultimate goal of reducing access poverty.57
56 The MBN approach was developed by a consortium of organizations and academic institutions
including the UNDP, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and scholars from the University of the Philippines. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) was mandated with its implementation, and the first survey of 33 indicators was implemented in December 1994, covering a sample of 825 barangays across the country.
57 While there are many benefits from using CBMS, there are a few issues that have to be considered
in using CBMS results: (i) the comparability of indicators across locations; (ii) the use of standard concepts and methodology in compiling indicators; and (iii) cost-effectiveness. The compilation methodology and even concepts and definitions may vary across locations. Strict comparability across areas or aggregation to provincial or national level may not be possible.
Figure 11 Pr
Pr Pr Pr
Proporoporoportion of Households with Access to Sanitaroporoportion of Households with Access to Sanitartion of Households with Access to Sanitary Ttion of Households with Access to Sanitartion of Households with Access to Sanitary Ty Ty Ty Toilet Facilityoilet Facilityoilet Facilityoilet Facility,,,,,oilet Facility by Pur
by Purby Pur
by Purby Purok and Household, Barangay Oring-Oring,ok and Household, Barangay Oring-Oring,ok and Household, Barangay Oring-Oring,ok and Household, Barangay Oring-Oring,ok and Household, Barangay Oring-Oring, Br
Br Br Br
Brooke’ooke’ooke’ooke’ooke’s Point, Palawan, 2002s Point, Palawan, 2002s Point, Palawan, 2002s Point, Palawan, 2002s Point, Palawan, 2002
Source: Reyes and Valencia (2004).
Different stakeholders in the Philippines have launched other attempts at poverty mapping. The Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF) has been working on poverty maps of the poorest 28 provinces. Four detailed provincial maps have been completed—of Marinduque, Romblon, Bohol, and Negros Oriental—and were launched in November 2004. The PEF uses official secondary data on income, health, education, employment, and other social indicators. PEF has mapped some of the data from the APIS surveys, for example. The stated goal of these maps, as with the DILG and CBMS systems, is to provide a tool to guide local stakeholders in setting their own priorities. ADB is preparing to support the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo) working with the local office of the NSCB to produce detailed municipal level poverty maps of the 25 provinces of Mindanao. The indicators will at first be taken from existing administrative data (gathered locally), with the idea of eventually institutionalizing the full DILG/CBMS list of indicators.