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8/9/2019 Freedom to Grow: Impact Stories from the Philippines
1/36
Freedomto Grow
Impact Stories from the Philippines
PHI Impact Stories-16 Sept 2010.indd 1 10/28/10
8/9/2019 Freedom to Grow: Impact Stories from the Philippines
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Contents1 Introduction2 Homes for the Working Class By Rita R. FestinEnticed by the historic provinces modern industrial status, Cavites blue-collar workers are
nding afordable, attractive housing in an ADB-unded project.
6 The Power of the River By Rita R. FestinVillagers in remote districts o Negros Occidental are ending their isolation rom economicopportunities with the aid o hydropower.
10 A Bright Idea for Energy Reduction By Rita R. FestinThe Philippines is replacing energy-wasting light bulbs with more ecient uorescent bulbs,promising to save millions o pesosand bulbsand to reduce debilitating power ailures.
12How to Milk Carabaos By Rita R. Festin
Promising but cash-poor agricultural ventures across the Philippines are taking advantage oan ADB project that provides unds or equipment, transport networks, and other acilities,
helping poor armers scale up their incomes.
14 Roads to Bank On By Rita R. FestinFarm-to-market roads stimulate development in rural Eastern Samar and boost armersincomes along the way.
18 A Drive for Progress and Peace By Ramoncito dela CruzA bridge and a arm-to-market road in Davao del Sur bring renewed prosperity and security totroubled Mindanao.
22 Life in the Fast Lane By Floyd WhaleyADBs support or the renovation o a highway north o the Philippines capital, Manila, hastransormed the areas economic landscape.
26 Chasing Buses, Chasing Prots By Ramoncito dela CruzA new bus terminal improves the livelihoods o the women who board buses to sell snacks,drinks, or souvenirs to passengers.
30 Fount of Life and Livelihood By Ramoncito dela CruzIn Mindanao, clean water keeps children healthier, improves business, and allows women toengage in more income-generating activities.
The views expressed in this publication are those o the authors and do not necessarily reect the views and policies o the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) or its Board o Governors or the governments they represent. Accounts presented here are anecdotaland do not represent comprehensive impacts o programs or projects. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy o the data includedin this publication and accepts no responsibility or any consequence o their use.
By making any designation o or reerence to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term country in thispublication, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status o any territory or area.
ADB encourages printing or copying inormation exclusively or personal and noncommercial use with proper acknowledgmento ADB. Users are restricted rom reselling, redistributing, or creating derivative works or commercial purposes without the
express, written consent o ADB.
Note: In this publication, $ reers to US dollars.
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The Philippines holds the unique position
o host to the Asian Development Bank
(ADB) headquarters in Manila. ADB
plans to raise its impact on the tropical
archipelago to a new level, orging broader links to
society, including nongovernment organizations,
womens groups, and ethnic minorities.
ADB nds merit in supporting micronance
or income-generating activities or the poor;
education and health acilities; potable water
supplies; road transport in rural areas; and the
development o lagging regions, particularly in
the southern Philippines. These programs, some
o which are proled here, have changed the
lives o the poor or the better in a country where
almost 40% o the population subsists on $2 orless per day.
The development strategies o ADB and the
government have proven exible and pragmatic
in helping stave of the worst efects o the
global economic nancial crisis that began in
2008. As it has done beore, ADB will provide
loans to the Philippines that are sustained,
selective, and or reasonable amounts; and
it will push ahead with non-loan projects,
including knowledge products and support
or policy reorm, capacity building, and
institutional strengthening.
The Philippines is a ounding member o ADB,
and its 11th-largest shareholder and th-largest
borrower. It is one o ADBs biggest clients or
private sector lending and equity investments.
INTRODUCTION
The power sector has been a major area o ADB
support and success. Its technical and nancial
perormance is critically important to the health o
the economypowering homes, business, schools,
and transport. A revolutionary national efort is
under way to switch rom conventional light bulbs
to compact uorescent bulbs, which consume
less energy. At the same time, micro hydropower
projects are now powering rural villages.
Private sector investments have also borne
ruit. A major highway north o Manila was built
through a landmark nance plan that engaged
the private sector in inrastructure building in
a new way. The government and ADB, the lead
nancing agency, worked together to assemble
a $378 million loan package, provided primarilyby the private sector. ADB contributed a loan o
$45 million and coordinated a loan o $25 million
rom a group o international commercial banks.
Despite this progress, the southern Philippines,
especially Mindanao, lags behind the rest o the
country, according to most development indicators.
To reduce the geographic inequality, ADB has
contributed substantively to a needs assessment or
conict-afected communities in Mindanao.
And though uncertain peace in the southern
region has complicated their implementation,programs ocusing on water and sanitation,
arm-to-market roads, and livelihoods are
helping integrate the rural poor into the
economy, positioning them or inclusion in uture
economic growth.
Introduction
1
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2
Pamayanang Maliksi CaviteHousing Project ofers low-incomehousing or Cavites workers.
2
By Rita R. Festin
Homesfor theWorking Class
RitaFestin
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Once the cradle o the Philippine
revolution, the province o Cavite has
become part o a diferent type o
mass movement, as droves o blue-
collar workers head there in search o jobs and
afordable housing.
The newcomers are attracted by job openings
in the many actories making shoes, garments,
auto parts, and computer chips, which have
chosen to set up shop in Cavite because it is closeto Metro Manila. The provincial government is
spearheading eforts to provide a better living
environment or these workers through its
support or the ambitious Pamayanang Maliksi
Cavite Mass Housing Project. Cavites rst such
housing project, it broke ground in March 2008 on
53 hectares in General Trias. When complete, it will
ofer 4,834 low-cost housing units.
Riza Ferrer, 30, works in Imus City, Cavite, at a
garment actory that exports childrens clothes
to the United States. She moved into her new
house in August 2008 with her husband, their5-year-old daughter, and her brother-in-law.
She pays a monthly amortization rate o just
2,365 pesos (P) ($51), payable over 20 yearsonly
slightly higher than the rent in her old boarding
house. As the rst worker rom her actory to buy
a house, she aroused the curiosity o coworkers
who were also interested in owning a home.
Analyn Rillera, 28, works in a Japanese-owned
spare auto-parts actory in Dasmarias town and
has just moved into a new housing unit with her
husband and mother. She hopes to start a new
amily in their new home.
Better than RentingThe typical duplex unit in the project costs
P 400,000 ($8,600), payable at P 2,150 ($46) monthly
over 25 years, with no down payment and no
collateral. Each house has a oor area o 22.6 square
meters (m2) and a lot area o 48 m2. Larger-single
attached units with a oor area o 30 m2 and
a lot area o 60 m2 cost P 400,000 ($8,700), or
P 2,800 a month.
This was conceptualized by our governor, Erineo
Maliksi, to answer the housing needs o our
people o Cavite, which is growing rapidly, or the
less ortunate, and low-income residents o the
province. It is one o his agship projects, said
provincial administrator Aristides Velazco.
GENERAL TRIAS, CAVITE, PHILIPPINES
Enticed by the historic provinces modern industrial status,
Cavites blue-collar workers are nding afordable, attractive
housing in an ADB-unded project.
A young amily makes a home inCavites new housing project.
I liked this right away because itis beautiully built. There is reshair and it is not crowded at all.
Riza Ferrer, homeowner
Homesforthe
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The provincial government is spearheading
the project in partnership with developer
R-II Builders, with P 400 million ($8.6 million)
in unding rom ADBs Development oPoor Urban Communities Sector Project.
The Housing and Urban Development
Coordinating Council and the Development
Bank o the Philippines are coexecutors.
Buyers are attracted by the spacious roads
similar to those ound in more auent
neighborhoods; amenities such as a
clubhouse and playground or each o the
ve clusters o houses; and ready drainage,
water, and power connections. A public
school is also being built on the site.
At least 1 in 10 o the current crop o home
buyers is a provincial government employee,
since the site is just 10 kilometers away rom
the capital. Factory workers make up hal
o buyers; employees outside the export
processing zones comprise a third; and the
rest are teachers, military personnel, the
sel-employed, and overseas Filipino workers
who buy the homes or their amilies. Most
Buyers are attracted bythe spacious roads similar
to those ound in moreauent neighborhoods;amenities such as aclubhouse and playgroundor each o the fve clusterso houses; and readydrainage, water, and powerconnections. A public
school is also being built onthe site.
The new homes are spacious,well built, and afordable.
RitaFestin
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Playgrounds are a keyattraction or many amilies.
Homesforthe
W
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homeowners make P 6,000 to P 15,000
($129 to $322) monthly, and all are regularly
employed and members o the Home
Development Mutual Fund. Also known asPag-Ibig, the und gives people across the
country access to housing loans at
6% interest per year.
Progress for the PoorFerrer and Rillera enthuse about the
simple application requirements and quick
processing o their papers by the Provincial
Housing Development and Management
Oce. Ferrers application took only
2 months, while Rilleras took 3 months. They
also appreciate the quality and convenience
o their new homes. I liked this right away
because it is beautiully built. There is resh
air and it is not crowded at all, said Ferrer.
In our ormer home, it was humid and the
houses were cramped. We had to pump our
own water.
ADBs $30 million concessional loan to the
project is coursed through the Development
Bank o the Philippines. The project also
provides microcredit to improve the
income and quality o lie o the urban
poor outside Metro Manila. There are other
similar project sites in Angeles City, ButuanCity, and Tarlac province.
In Cavite, provincial employees wear
T-shirts with the slogan Be part o the
revolutiona reerence to the provinces
many heroes and historical landmarks. With
ADB support, decent afordable housing
may be just that, since it improves the lives
o the working poor. n
Project Information
Development o Poor Urban Communities SectorProject (20032010)
Financing: $30.5 million, ordinary capital resources
(ADB)
5
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TOBOSO, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, PHILIPPINES
W
hen residents in the hard-to-
reach districts o this municipality
heard they would soon get
electricity rom a $1.5 million
micro hydropower project, many reused tobelieve it. Its a smokescreen or a treasure-
hunting expedition on the Dalinson River, or
There are strings attached, they scofed.
Giovanni Templado, chair o barangay
(district) Bug-angthe most isolated in the
municipalityled the skeptics. At rst, I did
not believe in it because there have been so
many ailed initiatives, he said.
But ater a couple o years and many
meetings, Winrock International, the
implementing agency behind the proposed
project Renewable Energy and Livelihood or
the Poor in Negros Occidentalconverted the
doubters. Now, I can see that it was or real.
And I am so grateul, Templado acknowledged.
Isidro Zayco, governor o Negros Occidental,
was encouraged by the hydroelectric potential
o the provinces seven large rivers and
abundant, year-round rains. So he pushed
66
Villagers in remote districts o Negros Occidental are
ending their isolation rom economic opportunities
with the aid o hydropower.
The Power
of the RiverBy Rita R. Festinor the hydroelectric plants to help end the
provinces rotating power outages.
When the 26-kilowatt (kW) power plant
on the Dalinson was nally opened orbusiness in mid-2008, villagers celebrated
with typical Filipino zeal: They easted on
roast pork seasoned with lemongrass, set
of midday reworks, and enjoyed heartelt
singing and dancing.
Three micro hydropower plants with an
aggregate output o 88 kW were built to
provide energy to 308 homes and to rice
and corn mills. The plants were part o
an innovative poverty reduction efort
to pilot renewable energy and livelihood
development in poor, of-grid rural
communities in Negros Occidental.
Dubbed Renew Negros, the project
completed 11 systems: the 3 micro
hydropower plants and 2 solarbiomass
hybrid systems under the environmentally
riendly renewable-energy plans, and
6 hydraulic ram pump systems or water
supply, beneting a total o 1,972 households.
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Residents o Toboso were trained to orm and
manage a cooperativethe Vergara Magtuod
Development Cooperativeto run the project.
Tough TravelingThe isolation o such communities, oten caused
or worsened by poor roads, can make it hard to
attract economic opportunities. Roads built on
Tobosos rocky terrain and clay-like soil deteriorate
with the regular aternoon downpours, and can
pierce tires or sink vehicles up to the axles.
Even on oot, armers in Vergara take a hal day
to carry produce 6 kilometers down to the town,
using the patch o grass running down the
middle o the road to negotiate the mud and
puddles. More oten than not they simply leave
produce at home to rot.
ThePo
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7
At frst, I did not believe in it because there have been so many ailedinitiatives. Now, I can see that it was or real. And I am so grateul.
Giovanni Templado, chair of Bug-ang district
The local electric utility, Central Negros Electric
Cooperative, could not connect the hard-to-reach
parts o the district to the grid because o the high
cost and lack o economic activity.
This changed though, when ADB, through its
Japan Fund or Poverty Reduction, proposed the
micro hydropower plants. While the electricity will
not totally solve the communitys isolation due to
the existing bad roads, the presence o electricity
will boost agricultural production and economic
activities that will eventually get the attention o
local leaders and business interests, resulting in
more development interventions in the area, said
Winrocks Jim Orprecio.
Besides the Toboso plant, a 32 kW micro
hydropower plant was commissioned in barangay
The Dalinsan River hosts a 26 kW power plant thatopened in mid-2008, bringing clean, renewableenergy to rural people.
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8
RitaFestin
The new micro hydropowerplants, which operate underenvironmentally riendlyrenewable-energy plans,required community efort.
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Laga-an, municipality o Calatrava, and a 30 kW
plant in barangay Baclao, Cauayan.
Among Renew Negros other schemes, two
sh-drying systems were built on the islands o
Molocaboc and Sipaway to provide the additional
capacity needed or drying 100 kilograms o marine
products per day, creating a ready market or the
sh catch in the two communities. These systems
run on a mixture o solar energy and biouels.
The hydraulic ram pumps, meanwhile, have given
360 amilies in six districts a daily water supply o
almost 500,000 liters or households, schools, and
arm irrigation.
Lasting LivelihoodsThe programs important provisions or livelihood
efortsnanced under the microcredit Renew
Fund and managed by the Negros Women or
Tomorrow Foundationhave provided residentswith low-interest loans o up to P 5,000 ($109) or
electricity connections, ertilizers, carabaos (water
bufaloes), and other benets.
Beore hydropower, Toboso relied on kerosene,
batteries, candles, and traditional biomass uel.
Now, students study into the night under bright
lights, households breathe more easily without
toxic kerosene umes, and economic opportunities
are expanding. The grain-milling operation is
boosting rice and corn production, reducing the
cost o processing, and ensuring a better market
and price or produce.
Power costs are also down. At just P 5.50 ($0.12) per
kW, the new power is cheaper than kerosene, which
is P 44 ($0.95) per liter, yielding savings o almost
P 200 ($4.30) per month or the average household.
Greater disposable income and the availability o
low-interest loans have encouraged people to raise
livestock in their backyards.
I it were not or your help, we would not have
been able to improve our lives, said Rico Rivera,
president o the Vergara Magtuod Development
Cooperative. I we had relied on the government,
it would have taken longer, maybe 50 years.n
Project Information
Renewable Energy and Livelihood or the Poor in
Negros Occidental (20032007)
Financing: $1.5 million, Japan Fund or Poverty
Reduction (ADB)
ThePo
wer
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1010
A Bright Ideafor Energy Reduction
The Philippines is replacing energy-wasting light bulbs
with more ecient uorescent bulbs, promising to save
millions o pesosand bulbsand to reduce debilitating
power ailures.
By Rita R. Festin
CEBU CITY, CEBU, PHILIPPINES
Prodded by persistent power shortages, the
Philippine government has turned to the
humble light bulb to help end debilitating
power ailures in major urban centers,
among them Cebu Citythe astest-growing in
the country and second only to Metro Manila as
an important industrial and cultural hub.
Under the $46.5 million Philippine Energy
Eciency Project (PEEP), the government
is ofering 13 million energy-ecient
compact uorescent lamps (CFLs) to replace
traditional incandescent bulbs in Cebu City
and throughout the country, setting aside
$18 million or bulb replacement.
Impact
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Compact uorescent lampswill save power and pesosin the Philippines.
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11
ABrightIdeafor
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aging and inecient power plants. "When there
is a shortall due to a breakdown or maintenance
o power plants, we have outages, which are
happening right now," said Ethel Natera, Visayan
Electric Company (VECO) spokesperson, I we
don't interrupt our customers' power supply, there
will be a problem in the whole system, resulting
in a breakdown.
I any plant goes down, then there will be
outages because there is no more reserve supply,"
said Jaime Jose Aboitiz, VECO executive vice
president. According to government data, peakpower demand is 1,175 MW, while the total power
supply is only 1,140 MW.
Energy ocials are hopeul that with the PEEP, and
new power plants in place by 2010, the critical
power situation will be tempered. Besides VECO,
other electric cooperatives are also being tapped
to distribute about 2 million CFLs in the Visayas.
VECO residential customers can visit any o its
branches with their latest bill, identication, and
two unctioning incandescent bulbs and receive
six 15 watt CFLs in exchange.
ADB is the lead nancing agency in the
Philippine power sector, with a third o its total
o over $10 billion in domestic lending going to
generation, transmission, distribution, and sector
development support. ADB also participates in
the government's power sector restructuring
and power plant privatization program to
encourage competition, which would help lower
electricity costs. The ocus o ADB's uture power
sector operations will be on promoting ecient
and renewable energy, and on improving rural
distribution systems.n
With this project in place, the chances o brownouts are nowgetting slimmer.
Roy Kyamko, energy undersecretary
"I 1 million incandescent bulbs are replaced with
CFLs at the cost o an estimated $1.5 million,
the electricity demand will be reduced by about
50 megawatts (MW)," said Sohail Hasnie, ADB
principal energy specialist. The impact on the
power system will be equivalent to building a
new 50 MW power station, which would have
cost at least $50 million and taken 3 to 4 years to
build, and another $2 million to $3 million each
year to operate.
Funded in part by a $31 million ADB concessional
loan, the project will deer investments o some$450 million in new power plant construction. It
will also save about $100 million annually in uel
costs and avoid 300,000 tons o carbon dioxide
emissions annually by reducing power generation.
While the average incandescent bulb lasts
only about 800 hours, the new CFLs last up
to 10,000 hours, substantially reducing the
residential customer's energy consumption and
electric bill. Each customer can then save up
to P 400 ($8.60) per bulb each year or the next
7 to 10 years.
Retrot, Reduce, and ReplaceThe PEEP will retrot government oce
buildings and public lighting systems with other
ecient lighting options. It has established an
energy service company as a one-stop shop
to provide nancial and technical support to
companies and institutions planning to reduce
energy consumption (such as hospitals, schools,
government oces, hotels, and malls).
"With this project in place, the chances o
brownouts are now getting slimmer," declared
Energy Undersecretary Roy Kyamko during
the recent project launching. With the savings
in megawatts, the load that will be prevented
through the use o CFLs can be redistributed to
other parts o the Visayas," he added.
In Cebu, privately owned businesses have resorted
to using their own generators during scheduled
power interruptions. The citys rotating brownouts,
as requent as three times a day, are caused by
Project Information
Philippine Energy Eciency Project (20092011)
Financing: $31.1 million, ordinary capital resources
(ADB); $1.5 million, Clean Energy FacilityAsian
Clean Energy Fund (ADB)
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12TALAVERA, NUEVA ECIJA, PHILIPPINES
milk drinker showed of a svelte gure and
youthul looks that belie her age. I not only stay
t and slim, I also have no hypertension because
o low levels o cholesterol rom carabao milk,
she declared.
Milk rom carabao, a type o water bufalo,
is gaining popularity. The Nueva Ecija Federation
o Dairy Carabao Cooperativesin Talavera, a
town amous or its resh carabao milk and sweets
RitaFestin
Promising but cash-poor agricultural ventures across
the Philippines are taking advantage o an ADB
project that provides unds or equipment, transport
networks, and other acilities, helping poor armersscale up their incomes.
By Rita R. Festin
How to MilkCarabaos
Carabao milk brings income ormembers o the Dairy CarabaoCooperative.
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The words carabao and slim do not
normally occupy the same thought. But
or health-conscious ans o the milk rom
this rotund icon o Philippine agriculture,
which has less at than cows milk, they go
together like bread and butter.
Joyce Ramones o the agrarian reorm oce in
Nueva Ecija is living proo that carabao milk is
healthul. At 46 years old, this regular carabao-
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called pastillas de lecheproduces the most milk
in the province. From its 27 armer cooperatives
and 5 associatemember cooperatives, it procures
1,000 to 1,200 liters o milk daily, enough or
a small-scale operation.
Yet even that ell ar short o the 5,000 liter
requirement, or example, o a major ice cream
maker that approached them or an exclusive
supply contract.
From its early ragtag operations using plastic
pails and containers, the ederation has been
transormed into a modern and sanitary enterprise
using stainless-steel containers or collection
and storage. It started with only nine member
cooperatives in 2002, when it became apparent
that an umbrella group could better distribute
the highly perishable dairy product and compete
or better pricing and quality control. Most o itsdaily volume, or 650 liters, is sold as raw milk, and
the rest processed. It also markets dairy products
to major ood and git stores in Metro Manila and
other big cities.
Going NationwideADB ts into this picture through the
Agrarian Reorm Communities Project (ARCP)
implemented by the governments Department
o Agrarian Reorm, and providing about
P 500,000 ($10,752) worth o equipment or milk
collection, quality control, bee management,
and training.
The nationwide ARCPto which ADB contributed
a $93.2 million loan out o a total project cost o
$168.9 million in 1998beneted nearly 30,000 rural
households or 140 agrarian reorm communities in
almost 1,000 poverty-stricken villages.
To qualiy, armers had to own land but lack the
basic inrastructure and support services needed
to reap its ull potential. They also had to organize
themselves into agrarian reorm communities. The
project provided these communities with roads,
bridges, communal irrigation, drinking water
sources, or other inrastructurewhatever was
deemed necessary.
With the success o the ARCP, completed in 2007,
ADB approved Phase II in October 2008, ocusing
on the southern Philippines, where three-quarters
o the countrys rural poor live. The ARCP II will
assist 152 agrarian reorm communities covering
731 barangays (districts) in 137 municipalities
HowtoMilk
C
b
o 18 provinces in 6 regions. Beneciaries are
expected to increase to about 215,000 rural
community members with the inclusion
o the 3 provinces in the Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao.
For the ederation in Nueva Ecija, besides the
equipment, the ARCP provided six arm-to-market
road networks in Talavera to improve access to
markets and reduce transport and hauling costs.
ARCP unds built the concrete road leading to the
cooperatives milk collection and processing and
marketing center in the Unlad Buhay agrarian
reorm community, in barangay San Ricardo.
Typhoon ProofThe ederation helped provide armers with
lucrative income opportunities. Andy Vallarte, 64,
the ederations vice chair and one o almost
700 armers supplying milk, earns P 29 ($0.62) perliter rom the 10 to 11 liters a day he milks rom his
two carabaos. That means that, rain or shine,
he nets up to P 8,000 ($172) per carabao per
month. He would earn the same rom a 1-hectare
rice eld per year.
I dont have any losses in dairy arming. Even i
there is a typhoon, I can still milk my carabao, said
Vallarte. He no longer incurs high-interest debt
just to get by, and i he needs to borrow money or
an emergency, he can pay it back right away with
his income rom carabao milk.
Long known as the rice bowl o the Philippines,
Nueva Ecija could soon also be known as the
dairy capital. Indeed, with milk and dairy
products accounting or a quarter o total
agricultural imports, the potential or carabao
milk arming is promising. n
Project Information
Agrarian Reorm Communities Project
(19972007)
Financing: $119.7 million ($72.6 million,
ordinary capital resources [ADB]; $47.1 million,
Government o the Philippines [national
government, local government units, Land Bank
o the Philippines, and other nanciers])
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Farm-to-market roads stimulate development in rural
Eastern Samar and boost armers incomes along the way.
By Rita R. Festin
Roads toBank On
This new road through thewoods links armers to markets.
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DOLORES, EASTERN SAMAR, PHILIPPINES
In the past, Arnold Jocosol, 38, a armer in thetown o Dolores, in the province o Eastern
Samar, could only transport his produce rom
his arm to the nearest market via carabao
(water bufalo). And there was no road to speak o.
Then, in 2008, a road was built right in ront o
Jocosols home. He knew it would be a big help
to his amily.
I did not even dream there would be a road
here, he told a visiting group o ADB Board
members. But he hoped that the road would
bring him the capital he would need or other
income-generating activities, including a piggery
and a mini-store.
Roads Out of PovertyEastern Samar struggles with a high rate o
poverty. According to the National Statistical
Coordination Board, the provinces poverty levels
decreased substantially rom 2000 to 2003. Many
believed that investments in education, social
services, inrastructure, and livelihoods werebearing ruit.
According to available data, however, poverty
was again on the rise, at least as o 2006.
Ben Evardone, the provinces two-term governor,
continues to push or growth, particularly by
trying to gain a slice o the booming tourism
industry. There is much to recommend Eastern
Samar to tourists. The waves are so strong here,
even outside o typhoon season, that it has
become a popular destination or surers. The
region is also rich in history: it was on Homonhon
Island that the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand
Magellan rst set oot in the Philippines, in 1521.
But bad roads have held back the development
o a thriving tourism industry. In act, they
have held back development altogether.
Eastern Samar was once notorious or the poor
condition o its highways. Not anymore, thanks
to support rom ADB.
Roads
to
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Getting Farmers to MarketsThe construction o new arm-to-market roads
in the hinterlands, supported by the national
government and multilateral agencies such as
ADB, has dramatically increased the incomes oarmers like Jocosol, by providing easier and aster
access to markets.
Under the Agrarian Reorm Communities Project,
about P 200 million ($4.5 million) worth o arm-
to-market roads were built or rehabilitated in
a number o Eastern Samar cities and towns,
including Borongan, General MacArthur, Hernani,
Llorente, Maydolong, Quinapondan, San Julian,
and Sulat.
The project allocated up to P 30 million ($645,200)
to each municipality to build roads and bridges.
It provided or investments in communal
irrigation, drinking water supply, and other basic
inrastructure. The project also provided land
survey, agribusiness, and community development
assistance, and promoted comprehensive bottom
up community participation.
For the rural inrastructure subprojects, local
governments contributed counterpart unding.
The projects successul rating rom ADB has
led to the approval o a second phase, targeting
150,000 poor armers, mostly in the southern
Philippines.
Impact of InfrastructureStill in efect in the province is another
ADB loan or the Inrastructure or Rural
Productivity Enhancement Sector (InRES)
Project, implemented with the governments
Department o Agriculture. As part o this
scheme, some P 309.9 million ($6.7 million)
worth o arm-to-market roads and bridges are
being built or rehabilitated.
The project benets local governments in
regions where over 70% o poor Filipinos live.
Instead o the national government imposing
the project on them, local governments identiy
and develop projects based on their own designs
and implementation processes. Hal o the
project cost is unded by the ADB loan, while the
national and local governments and beneciaries
shoulder the other hal, in cash or in kind.
The project aims to increase rural incomes,
on the premise that a major cause o poverty
The project providedinvestments in communalirrigation, drinking water supply,and other basic inrastructure.Rit
aFestin
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A major inrastructure project in the rural Philippinesboosts agricultural trade.
Roads
to
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Project Information
Agrarian Reorm Communities Project(Department o Agrarian Reorm [DAR]) (19972015)
Financing: $70.0 million, ordinary capital resources
(ADB); $253,000, Japan Special Fund (ADB);
$30.0 million, OPEC (Organization o Petroleum
Exporting Countries) Fund or International
Development; $56.0 million, local government units;
$52.4 million, Government o the Philippines
Agrarian Reorm Communities Project II (DAR)
(20062015)
Financing: $250,000, Technical Assistance Special
Fund (ADB)
Inrastructure or Rural Productivity EnhancementSector Project (19992011)
Financing: $800,000, Technical Assistance Special
Fund (ADB); $75.0 million, ordinary capital
resources (ADB); $28.3 million, local government
units; $8.5 million, beneciaries; $1.0 million,
International Labour Organization; $37.2 million,
Government o the Philippines
We have very rich rice landand this will be the key tothe development o EasternSamar.
Emiliana Villacarillo, mayor of Dolores
is inadequate rural inrastructure. The project
avors poor areas with high agricultural
potential, providing them with roads, communal
irrigation systems, and drinking water. Some
700,000 people rom arm and nonarm
households are the beneciaries.
InRES will revolutionize the rural areas, said
Evardone, citing the positive impacts o the
new roads, and the resulting quick transport
between neighborhoods and districts.
The project is expected to increase trade,
industry, and entrepreneurship in the afected
communities, as well as shorten travel time and
reduce transport costs.
Tapping Potential and Pursuing ProgressIn the town o Dolores, the arm-to-market
road was much-delayed due to a change in
contractors and bad weather (including heavy
rains), but the towns mayor was determinedto nish it because it could spur her towns
economic growth.
We have very rich rice land and this will be
the key to the development o Eastern Samar,
said Mayor Emiliana Villacarillo. We have
over 5,300 hectares o irrigable land, she said.
Dolores boasts the biggest irrigation project in
the region.
The project in Dolores is critical, agreed Evardone,
because Dolores is the second-highest rice-
producing municipality in Eastern Samar.
Spanning 28.5 kilometers, the P 100 million
($2.2 million) road is a combination o newly
opened and rehabilitated components. It
traverses 13 neighborhoods, beneting
two-thirds o the towns 46,000 people. Each
neighborhood maintains the portion o the road
in its area to ensure sustainability.
The good roads have beneted the
municipalities. Local government units unable to
avail themselves o the project have submitted
proposals or the projects second phase. The
project could make a big diference in reducing
poverty in Eastern Samar.
That said, Evardone acknowledges that he and
his colleagues in government still have a lot o
work to do to sustain their early gains in poverty
reduction and to resist alling behind again. n
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A bridge and a arm-to-market road in Davao del Sur bring renewed
prosperity and security to troubled Mindanao
By Ramoncito dela Cruz
A Drive forProgress and Peace
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A delivery man uses the new ADB-supported road in Davao del Sur.
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MALABANG, DAVAO DEL SUR, PHILIPPINES
Despite abundant natural resources, the
southern Philippine island o Mindanao
was neglected or decades. Years o
internal strie stunted development
and pushed many o Mindanaos people to the
margins. But new roads and bridges are bringing
renewed prosperity to this troubled region.
Ten years ago, the nearly 1,000 people who live
in the village o Malabang rarely encountered
motor vehicles on the almost-impassable dirt road
linking their neighborhood to the town center.
But things have changed or this village, which
sits upland rom the town o Hagonoy in the
province o Davao del Sur. The government
completed a bridge over the treacherous
Bulatukan River in 2002 and a new arm-to-market
road in 2004both supported by ADB.
Malabangs residents used to trek or more than
2 hours to reach the town market in Haganoy,
only 8 kilometers away. Travelers started out on
a bicycle with an improvised cart, then crossed
the Bulatukan on bamboo rats. Once on the
other side, they typically rode motorcycles to the
market, where they bought goods to meet their
daily needs.
Greater Connectivity, More ProsperityToday, because o the arm-to-market road
nanced by ADBs Agrarian Reorm CommunitiesProject, people in Malabang can drive arm
harvests to market in trucks, and return with daily
basic supplies to sell to neighborhood stores.
Instead o us going to town to replenish our
stocks, I now buy my stocks rom traders who
come here twice a week to sell their products, said
Lourdes Babor, 43, who sells canned goods, instant
noodles, and bath products in her retail store. This
way, we save on our transport costs.
Beore the new bridge, armers used river crat
to transport their produce across the Bulatukan.
The river would become impassable during
heavy rains, and armers had to use a roundabout
route, taking two or even three times as long to
complete their journey.
These days, not only can armers get their goods
to market easily, but the road and bridge have also
encouraged big and small businesses to ock to
Malabang because o its ertile armland. These
businesses are contracting local people to plant
bananas, sugar cane, and rice on nearby arms.
Our livelihood has become better. Those without
jobs beore are now employed by the businesses
here, said Primitiva Cablinda, 55. She added that
many young people now earn P 280 ($6) per day
plus benets. This is a sizeable addition to the
income o poor amilies, enabling some to save or
invest in new ventures.
Like many o her neighbors, Cablinda used the
savings rom her extra earnings to start a small
piggery behind her house.
Driving Away DangerBeore the roads, residents also lived in ear o
rebels toting Armalite assault ries, who roamed
the mountains, extorting money and producerom armers. In the 1980s, rebels attacked the
house o an uncooperative armer. Fortunately,
nobody was hurt. In 2000, they gunned down a
neighborhood security patrol during a estivity.
It was not sae at all. They were extorting money,
especially in the more remote part o the village,
said Cablinda, who grew up in the area and now
serves as secretary o the local council. Many
people moved out o the community.
As a result o the new road, police and health
workers can reach the people in Malabang morerequently and with greater ease.
Nowadays, we have the ull support o the local
government. Police can easily respond to any
disturbance in the area, Cablinda said.
Success in SemongThe village o Semong, in Davao del Norte province,
aced the same challenges that plagued Malabang.
In 2007, the Inrastructure or Rural Productivity
Enhancement Sector Project (InRES) unded
the construction o a 9,785-kilometer road and
a 54-meter bridge. Now, Semong is easily accessible
to traders and investors alike.
Charlie de Vera, 33, is building a bigger
house or himsel and his wie. He attributes his
new prosperity to the arm-to-market road,
which has reduced transport costs or his
produce and increased the prots rom his rice
and banana harvests.
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We used to pay P 40 ($0.86) per sack to
get our produce to the market. Now, its the
trader who comes to us to buy our harvest,
de Vera said.
Eugene Timplado, a buying agent or a multi-
national ruit company, said that armers in
Semong can now sell at higher rates since
many buyers are competing or their harvest.
Roads to Progress and PeaceFarm-to-market roads not only link armers
to buyers, but they also bring opportunities
and hope to the once-neglected towns. Ater
roads are established, other services usually
ollow. Health care, education, and business
opportunities become more accessible.
For children, their schools are easier to
reach. Charleston Mainit, 12, used to trudge
by bicycle along muddy trails or an hour
to get to school. But thanks to a new ADB-
supported road in his neighborhood,
Charleston can ride there in just 15 minutes.
Women Walk Prosperitys Path
The arm-to-market roads that ADB has helped
build in Mindanao's villages have created morejobs or women.
As banana companies move into these newlyaccessible towns, they seek to hire women as
banana handlers and sorters. Banana companiespreer women or these positions because the
ruit are prone to bruising, and companies believewomen will handle them more careully.
In a sorting station near Semong, more than
30 women select and sort bananas or major oodcompanies, earning more than P 4,000 ($86) per
month. The group lls more than 1,000 boxes obananas each day.
Employed by a local cooperative, Merly JaneSocorin said the additional income enables her
to buy school supplies or her three children aswell as help take care o some o the amilys daily
expenses. "We have also saved some money orour uture," Socorin said.
Farmers can get goods to marketaster now, ueling business.
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Beyond Livelihoods,Road Saves Lives
Alredo Lacerona, 44, almost lost his lie ona medical mission to the other side o Semong
in the early 2000s.
The river current was very strong, we almost
drowned, said the doctor, one o manyexperiences he has had as a health worker in
Kapalong municipality.
That was beore the Semong bridge was
completed in 2007, part o the arm-to-marketroad projects supported by ADB.
Beore the bridge, residents on the ar sideo Semong were cut of rom the main town
o Kapalong in the Davao del Norte province,especially during the rainy season.
Sick people had to wait or the raging waterto subside beore they could saely cross the
river to visit the community health centeron the other side, sometimes risking seriouscomplications or even death.
I know o one case where an expectant
mother was bleeding prousely on the otherside o the river, but she had to wait or thewater to subside beore she could cross over,
said Lacerona. Luckily, the mother was ableto deliver her baby saely in the community
center despite the delay.
The bridge also means people on the ar side
o the river can benet rom preventive healthmeasures. Lacerona said that the Kapalong
health center can now control malaria betterthrough regular monitoring by health workers,
who visit the area more requently. At the sametime, residents are able to get to the health
center more easily or regular checkups.
We now have zero malaria cases in the area.
Malaria has been under control since lastyear due to regular monitoring and ollow-up
with the patients, said Lacerona. The peoplethere can now go to the neighborhood health
stations by riding a motorcycle, any time andunder any weather condition.
ADrivefor
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d PChildren are more excited to go to school, said
Nestor Alcoran, mayor o New Corella in Davao
del Norte, about the new road. They dont have
to walk very ar.
TomasEricSales
Women benet rom the arrival omore banana companies and thejobs they bring.
Project Information
Agrarian Reorm Communities Project (19972007)
Financing: $79.3 million, ordinary capital resources
(ADB); $253,000, Japan Special Fund (ADB);
$15.7 million, local government units; $32.5 million,
agrarian reorm communities; $19.3 million, Land
Bank o the Philippines
Inrastructure or Rural Productivity Enhancement
Sector Project (19992011)
Financing: $75.0 million, ordinary capital resources
(ADB); $800,000, Technical Assistance Special
Fund (ADB); $28.3 million, local governments;
$8.5 million, beneciaries; $1.0 million,
International Labour Organization; $37.2 million,
Government o the Philippines
And Hagonoy mayor, Franco Magno Calida,
said o Malabang: It used to be a sleepy and
poor town. But now, they have good living
standards. People live more harmoniously with
each other. Theres less criminality. Overall,
the town now has development, progress,
and peace.n
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ADBs support or the renovation o a highway north o
the Philippines capital, Manila, has transormed the areas
economic landscape.
Life in theFast Lane
By Floyd Whaley
A new highway north o Manila isgenerating economic benets.
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MANILA, PHILIPPINES
At World Wide Auctioneers, north
o Manila, businesspeople rom
all over the world wander among
hundreds o trucks, cranes, and
other heavy equipment. They are deciding
what they want to bid on at an upcoming
multimillion-dollar auction.
The businesspeople rom around the world,
the heavy equipment they are buying, and
the auction company all have one thing in
common: they are here because o the North
Luzon Expressway.
Most o our equipment comes up the North
Luzon Expressway rom the Manila port, and
most o our customers come up the highway
rom the Manila airport, said Eric Montandon,
chair and chie executive ocer o World Wide
Auctioneers, which also maintains auction
sites in Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates,
and the United States. Said Montandon,
We wouldnt have been able to locate our
business here without the renovation o the
expressway.
A Dramatic ShiftADBs North Luzon Expressway Rehabilitation
and Expansion Project helped renovate an
83.7-kilometer section o the road and build or
rehabilitate 14 interchanges, 24 bridges, and
31 overpasses rom Manila to the Clark Special
Economic Zone in Pampanga province.
The project, a long time in the making,
resulted in a landmark nancing plan that
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24
engaged the private sector in inrastructure
building in a new way. In the early 1990s, the
government recognized the need to upgrade
and modernize the 30-year-old highway. The road
had allen into disrepair, with ooded sections,potholes, and trac congestion.
Despite the highways poor condition, trac grew
signicantly rom 1992 to 1997. Commuters had
little choice but take the highway, whatever its
condition. It was the only major thoroughare
going north rom Manila.
The government and ADB, the lead nancing
agency, worked together to assemble a
$378 million loan package, provided primarily
by the private sector. ADB provided a loan o
$45 million and coordinated a loan o $25 million
by a group o international commercial banks.
For users o the highway, the impact has been
dramatic. The road used to be a heavily potholed,
two-lane thoroughare where overloaded trucks,
speeding buses, and private vehicles dangerously
competed or space. Today, it is a sae, smooth
tollway with good lighting, modern signage, and
vigorous enorcement o trac laws.
Signs of GrowthWe have seen this business thrive due to
the renovation o the highway, said Adonis
Baluyot, ormer chair o the North Luzon
Expressway Billboard Association. Thebusiness barely existed beore. People didnt
want to put their company advertisements on
the old road.
He noted that more than 50 billboards have
been erected since the renovation, creating
dozens o jobs or those who install and
maintain the billboards, raising millions o
pesos in revenue or advertising companies,
and channeling business toward the
companies that use the billboards.
There is a saying that the economic health
o an area can be judged by the number and
quality o billboards, said Baluyot. I so, this
areas economy is very healthy.
Travelers WelcomeThe highway also opened up the picturesque
areas in the north to greater tourism. The
Spanish colonial city o Vigan, the historic rice
terraces o Iugao, and the beaches o La Union
The upgraded North LuzonExpressway is viewed rom the air.
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Even though I was only about
100 kilometers rom my amily,
I couldnt get home to see them
because o the bad road. Now I
see them every weekend.
Elmer Rotoni, professional driver
and Pagudpud used to be easily reached only
by air. It required a much more arduous trip to
reach some o the top tourist destinations by
car. Today, most areas can be reached in a day.
In Central Luzon, the area that benets most
rom the new highway, tourism has risen
steadily in the last 3 years, according to the
governments Department o Tourism, with a
24% increase rom 2007 to 2008. In 2009, the
region had a total o 550,277 visitors.
Jim Sebree, a retired United States Air Force
ocer, operates the popular Cottage Kitchen
Ca, in Angeles City, adjacent to the highway.
He has seen business increase by about 15%
since the upgraded highway opened. In
response, Sebree has doubled his oor space
and taken on new employees.
It used to be a real challenge, getting to our
place beore they xed the highway, said
Sebree. People always enjoyed our ood, but
the [renovated] highway made our location
more convenient. Now, he said, travelers
heading north or returning to Manila can easily
stop or a meal along the way.
An ADB review o the highway renovation
project ound that the average daily trac
rom January to March 2009 was at 149,430
vehicle entries, the highest rst-quarter
trac since commercial operations started
in 2005, and 2.87% higher than the previous
record145,258 vehicles in 2007.
Bringing Families TogetherThe highways renovation has shown impressive
results, but or Elmer Rotoni, its all about his
1-year-old son, Carl. The proessional driver
works in the northern province o Zambales, but
his wie and young son live in the capital.
Beore the upgrade o the highway, Rotoni, 41,
spent weeks away rom his wie. The commute
was too unpredictable and arduous to complete
regularly. Ater the highway was renovated,
Rotoni could reliably make his commute to his
amily in about 2.5 hours rom his provincialworkplace to Manila.
Now, Rotoni can get home ater work on Friday
night and play with his young son beore he
sleeps, then spend the weekend with his amily,
and be back to work Monday morning. He can
also get home quickly or amily emergencies or
special occasions.
Even though I was only about 100 kilometers
rom my amily, I couldnt get home to see them
because o the bad road. Now I see them every
weekend and Im a bigger part o their lives,said Rotoni. For me, the highway has meant the
reunion o my amily.n
Project Information
Manila North Tollways (20062009)
Financing: $45.0 million, private sector loan (ADB);
$25.0 million, complementary nancing scheme
involving international commercial banks
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Chasing Buses,Chasing ProtsA new bus terminal improves the livelihoods o the
women who board buses to sell snacks, drinks, orsouvenirs to passengers.
By Ramoncito dela Cruz
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PANABO CITY, DAVAO DEL NORTE, PHILIPPINES
Helen Dolino used to chase buses up
and down the main road o Panabo
City in the southern Philippines. She
and several other vendors would
scramble up to the buses and hawk their
warescigarettes, biscuits, and candiesto
weary travelers plying the main highway that
links northern and southern Mindanao Island.
We would run rom one bus to the other to
sell our merchandise since there was no
designated terminal or provincial buses and
jeepneys [mini-buses], recalled Dolino.
It was chaotic, she said, and did not result in
many sales.
That changed in 2007, when the city
government opened an integrated bus and
jeepney terminal along the main highway o
Panabo, with unding rom ADB through the
Mindanao Basic Urban Services Sector Project.
The new terminal brought order to the loading
and unloading o passengers and goods. It also
provided retail stalls or small businesses.
Today, with the new terminal, the government
allows ambulant vendors like Dolino to display
merchandise or ree in small commercial spaces,as long as they undergo training at the nearby
Panabo Women Resource Center, and do not
approach buses or solicit passengers.
The Panabo Women Resource Center was built
through a P 5 million ($107,500) grant rom
ADBs Japan Fund or Poverty Reduction. The
center teaches poor women in Panabo City
new ways to improve their incomes, and then
helps them set up small ood stores or their
products. So ar, it has trained more than 100
women vendors, including Dolino.
The centers training modules include ood
processing or native delicacies, ruit processing,
and ice-cream making, as well as simple
accounting and bookkeeping or the vendors. It
will train about 1,600 poor women.
Beore the Panabo Women Resource Center,
there were times when Dolino and her riends
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Vendors sell ood and drinks to buspassengers in Panabo City.
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would have so little money at the end o the
day, they would go to the local social welare
oce to ask or rice and dried sh to bring
home to their amilies.
But these days, Dolino is able to sell ood
produced by women at the center. Because
o these, we now have extra income. We now
can earn P 100 to P 300 ($2.15 to $6.45) more
each day, she said.
We now have extra income. We now can earn P 100 to P 300($2.15 to $6.45) more each day.
Helen Dolino, food vendor
With their new stands, womenvendors earn extra income.
Alice Buenae, 46, is also one o the centers
beneciaries. She can be seen selling its
merchandise at the terminal rom 4:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m. almost every day. Because all public
transport has to stop by the terminal, making it
a natural retail and commercial hub, Buenae said
sales have been steadily rising.
She recently nished her training or ice-cream
making, which has had a measurable impact on
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Project Information
Mindanao Basic Urban Services Sector Project
(20032010)
Financing: $1.0 million, Japan Special Fund (ADB);
$30.0 million, ordinary capital resources (ADB)
I get earn money or my amily romworking at the center, especiallyduring down time at the market.It has increased our amily income.
Anecita Buenaor, vegetable vendor
her nances. The center has helped me increase
our amily income, said Buenae, whose husband
is also an ambulant vendor. Their combined daily
income now averages around P 1,200 ($26).
Vegetable vendor Anecita Buenaor visits the
center during her ree time to help prepare
bichoa sweet pastryor sale at the center,
which is just two blocks rom her stall. She earns
extra money, especially during down time at the
market. It has increased our amily income, said
the mother o eight.
The center also operates a preschool or
the children o market vendors. This year,
37 pupils have been enrolled. The preschool
allows these busy women to have peace o
mind, knowing that their children are sae and
learning, just nearby.
Chasin
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Women learn income-generatingskills at the Panabo WomenResource Center.
ADBs Japan Fund or Poverty Reduction is also
nancing the construction o women resource
centers in six other provinces in Mindanao.n
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In Mindanao, clean water keeps children healthier,
improves business, and allows women to engage in
more income-generating activities.
Fount of Lifeand Livelihood
By Ramoncito dela Cruz
NAAWAN, MISAMIS ORIENTAL, PHILIPPINES
The southern Philippine island o
Mindanao has abundant water resources,
yet many o its residents still do not have
easy access to potable water in their
homes. The Mindanao Basic Urban Services Sector
Projectunded by a loan o $336,959 rom ADB
to the Land Bank o the Philippinesis helping
change that.
Safe Water, Healthy ChildrenWe used to etch water rom a creek 2 kilometers
away rom our home. For children, the trek was
simply too ar, said Geralyn Emperado o Naawan,
in the province o Misamis Oriental. As a child, she
used to wake up at dawn to etch water rom a
creek beore going to school.
Besides sufering rom lack o sleep and sore
muscles, some small children developed rashes
and other skin blemishes because the river
in which they bathed was not always clean.
Sometimes there would be some bufaloes doing
their thing upstream, Emperado chuckled.
But now she is assured that the water coming
out o the tap is clean and will ow 24 hours a
dayhelping her care or her 3-year-old son and
2-month-old baby.
We are grateul or the clean water, said Emperado,
Its a great convenience or me, especially ater
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Estrella Zara has more timeto play with her grandchildsince a water tap was installedin her neighborhood.
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Water is sae to drink straightrom the tap.
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giving birth. I need clean water to bathe; my baby
also needs clean water.
Naawan, a town with about 20,000 people, has
received unding rom ADB through the project,
which supports various community-based
initiatives such as water-supply systems, transport
terminals, and public markets in several towns
across the island.
This project has not only broadened the coverage
o the water supply and increased the pressure o
water in taps, it has also made the water systems
more ecient. Today, less water is lost through
leakage than with the old, dilapidated system.
Clear Water, Satised CustomersIn neighboring Manticao, Julieto Vicariato said
that beer-colored water coming out o his
water pump had turned many customers of his
roadside eatery.
We couldnt serve it to our guests and
customers, even though tests had shown that
the water was actually sae to drink, he said. It
ruined our business.
To get clean water or drinking and laundry,Vicariato would either hike to the creek several
times a day to ll eight containers, or pay
somebody to etch water rom the town center.
O course, Im happy now, he said, ater the
project extended the water supply line to his
village in 2005. My daily lie is not as burdensome
as it was beore. And there are more customers
coming here to eat.
Accessible Water, Active CommunitiesIn a valley under the majestic Mount Apo, the
local government, with ADBs assistance through
the Agrarian Reorm Communities Project,
installed communal taps in Mahayahay village,
Davao del Sur province, where residents used to
sufer rom waterborne diseases.
You should taste and see how clean the water is,
Mayor Franco Magno Calida told visitors. We are
100% sure that the system is giving the people
sae water.
Its a great convenience or me, especially ater giving birth.I need clean water to bathe; my baby also needs clean water.
Geralyn Emperado, Naawan resident
Aside rom sae drinking water, the system
which distributes water through communal taps
stretching 5.8 kilometers throughout the villages
has made peoples lives easier.
Estrella Zara let out a big sigh o relie when the
taps were installed.
We used to trek to the creek very early in the
morning to get our drinking water. We would
go back in the aternoon to do our laundry, the
55-year-old housewie said. A one-way trek to
the creek, which is about 1 kilometer away rom
her house, would take 30 minutes to 1 hour,
depending on the trails condition.
We would have sore legs and necks because the
path was hilly and winding. We also had to balance
our buckets on our heads, she recalled. The hike
would be more dicult during the rainy season,
when the path becomes slippery with mud.
Gerondia Nerosa, 77, said her children used to bear
the brunt o their poverty, since they had to wake
up early to etch water and go back again in the
aternoon or another round, leaving them with
little time to study.
Fetching water was also time-consuming because
people had to wait or their turn to ll their buckets.
There were times when ghts would break out
because o the long wait, or as a result o idle gossip
among those waiting.
It was really a waste o time, Zara said.
With water available in communal taps near their
homes, people in this village o about 1,500 now
have time to engage in more productive activities.
Children have more time to study their lessons.
People have more time to do household chores, with
some tending small vegetable gardens at home.
Zara plants okra, eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers
in her little vegetable patch. She sometimes sells
them to augment her amily income.
Most o all, I now have more time to play with my
grandchild, Zara said gleeully.n
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Project Information
Agrarian Reorm Communities Project (19972007)
Financing: $79.3 million, ordinary capital
resources (ADB); $253,000, Japan Special Fund
(ADB); $15.7 million, local governments;
$32.5 million, agrarian reorm communities;
$19.3 million, Land Bank o the Philippines
Mindanao Basic Urban Services Sector Project
(20032010)
Financing: $1.0 million, Japan Special Fund (ADB);
$30.0 million, ordinary capital resources (ADB)
O course, Im happy now. Mydaily lie is not as burdensomeas it was beore. And there are
more customers coming hereto eat.
Julieto Vicariato, restaurant owner in Manticao
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Clean water makes cookingeasier and prevents illness.
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Asian Development Bank6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City1550 Metro Manila, Philippineswww.adb.org
Freedom to Grow: Impact Stories from the Philippines
Almost 40% of Filipinos subsist on $2 or less per day, with many more vulnerable to falling into suchpoverty. Freedom from persistent, pervasive, and intense poverty is the cornerstone of ADBs partnershipwith the Philippine government. To maximize its impact, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is partneringnot only with government but also with nongovernment organizations, and womens and ethnic minoritygroups to deliver income-generating activities, education and health facilities, potable water supplies,road transport in rural areas, clean energy resources, and development of lagging regions, particularlyin southern Philippines, to have real, positive impacts on peoples lives.
About the Asian Development Bank
ADBs vision is an Asia and Pacific region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing membercountries substantially reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people. Despite the regionsmany successes, it remains home to two-thirds of the worlds poor: 1.8 billion people who live on lessthan $2 a day, with 903 million struggling on less than $1.25 a day. ADB is committed to reducing povertythrough inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.
Based in Manila, ADB is owned by 67 members, including 48 from the region. Its main instruments forhelping its developing member countries are policy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants,and technical assistance.
Philippines Country Office
Uniquely, Philippines is not only the ADBs founding member and 11th largest shareholder, butalso its host country. It is the fifth largest borrower, accounting for about 8% of total sovereignand nonsovereign lending. It is also one of the largest clients for private sector lending and equityinvestments, and is a supplier, winning bids under ADB loans and technical assistance projects.