MDGs Provincial Status Report 2010 Philippines Agusan Del Sur

1Philippines Fourth Progress Report on the Millennium Development Goals using CBMS Data - Province of Province of Marinduque

Province of AGUSAN DEL SUR

Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs)Using CBMS Data

Province of Agusan Del Sur

3Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals Using CBMS Data Province of Agusan Del Sur

The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Report of the Agusan del Sur province was made possible through the partnership with the PEP-Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) Network Coordinating Team, and with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This was conceptualized because of the initiative of the Philippine government to localize the MDG using the CBMS data.

There are at least two reasons why the UNDP supported this project. The first reason is that while the progress of the country’s MDG is systematically measured, monitored, and reported at the national level, there is none being done at the local level. Another is to fill the gap in data at the regional level. According to Ms. Corazon Urquico of UNDP, there are disparities in terms of socio-economic situation existing among provinces, municipali-ties, and even down to barangays and CBMS data can highlight these differences and use the information as basis for actions and policies of local governments. Because it is the local government that is at the forefront of policy or program execution, it is crucial for it to identify the many faces of poverty at the local level.

The province of Agusan del Sur is one of the nine pilot provinces of this technical col-laboration. One of the criteria in choosing the pilot provinces was that the province had conducted at least one round of the CBMS survey. This technical collaboration aims to enable these provinces to systematically measure, monitor, and report status toward the attainment of the MDGs.

Foreword

4Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals Using CBMS DataProvince of Agusan Del Sur

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” — Napoleon Hill

This Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Report of the province is a product of the great minds of those who were involved in this technical collaboration. This provides a picture of the province’s poverty situation and the challenges that have to be addressed in the attainment of MDG goals. This is not a mere report; in fact, what matters most is what it can contribute to the development of our province and of our country as a whole.

This achievement was made through the efforts of the Provincial MDG Team and its supportive partners. This shows that the Provincial Government of Agusan del Sur can work best with the partnership of other agencies and funding donors. Thus, this achievement is not ours alone, but also theirs. With this, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the following:

To our provincial governor, Hon. Maria Valentina G. Plaza, who supported this project on the formulation of the Provincial MDG Report;

To Dr. Celia Reyes, PEP Co-Director and CBMS Network Leader, together with her staff who continuously shared their time, skills, and knowledge from the beginning of the project to the end. Thank you, team, for being our mentors and partners from the start of CBMS implementa-tion in the province up until now;

To Ms. Corazon Urquico, Team Leader of Poverty Reduction and Support for the MDGs of the United Nations Development Programme-Philippines;

To NEDA, which also supported this project by providing inputs in the report;

To our chief of offi ce, Engr. Deanna P. Fudalan, whose insights made this report better;

To everybody who had helped in the formulation of this report: every little thing you did meant a lot to us.

MDG Team-Edna, Nep and Ofel

Acknowledgments


The preparation of provincial MDGs reports is a critical step that Local Government Units (LGUs) have taken in the overall effort to localize the MDGs. As it is often said, the MDGs will be ‘won or lost’ at the local level given the conditions of uneven progress and disparities across regions and provinces in the country.

Beyond the national averages, one can see wide disparities on the gains in poverty reduction, universal education, child mortality and maternal health. This situation reinforces the notion that the progress of each province is just as important as the achievements of the country as a whole. After all, the Philippines’ progress towards the MDGs, is the sum of the efforts and gains of all LGUs.

By preparing provincial reports, LGUs are provided vital information on the status of the MDGs in their areas of infl uence. These reports are important sources

of information for planning, resource allocation and priority setting that LGUs are tasked under their mandate of effective local governance. Likewise, in the course of the preparation of the reports, the capacity of LGUs to collect, monitor and use data for decision making has been greatly enhanced. The reports also show how far the Community Based Monitoring System (CBMS) that UNDP has supported can go in terms of its use.

Against the backdrop of renewed optimism emanating from the new political leadership, this fi rst set of nine Provincial Reports on the MDGs is a timely and important milestone. The reports provide crucial insights on how to overcome the constraints in achieving the MDGs locally as the country gears towards the last stretch to attain the eight goals by 2015. They also emphasize the important role of active collaboration of political leaders, stakeholders, and donors in achieving the MDGs.

I wish to commend the nine Provincial Governments that prepared their reports – the Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Biliran, Camarines Norte, Eastern Samar, Marinduque, Romblon, Sarangani, and Siquijor Province – the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) Network and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for working together in bringing about this important accomplishment.

With this initiative, it is hoped that other provinces will follow suit to attain nationwide support for the need to accelerate the pace of the achievement of the MDGs by 2015.

Dr. Jacqueline BadcockUN Resident Coordinator and

UNDP Resident Representative

D J li B d k

Message


Message

The Provincial Government of Agusan del Sur (PGAS) continu-ously aims to reduce its poverty incidence. I believe that we can do so by identifying the many faces of poverty and improving the aspects of planning, program intervention, project implementation, and most of all, the assessment of the impact of all interventions. I know that poverty reduction will be made more possible through the collaboration of PGAS with its partner agencies and donors. I am very grateful, in fact, to our partners such as the PEP-CBMS Network Coordinating Team and the United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP) for choosing our province tto be part of this technical collaboration on the preparation of status reports on the Millennium Develoment Goals (MDGs).

The PGAS is also proud to present the provincial Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals using CBMS Data. This report can serve as a tool to systematically measure MDG indicators and present a provincial situationer which is the fi rst big step toward the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is my sincerest hope that this report will be used as a guide on how to link the province’s plans and programs to the national poverty reduction strategy.

Let this report serve as an eye opener to everybody. In the words of Zig Ziglar: “When we can identify a problem and face the problem with confi dence and enthusiasm, the solution is on the way.”

MARIA VALENTINA G. PLAZA Provincial Governor

Republic of the PhilippinesPROVINCE OF AGUSAN DEL SUR

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR


Foreword ......................................................................................................... Acknowledgments ............................................................................................. Messages UN Resident Coordinator Dr. Jacqueline Badcock .......................... Governor Maria Valentina G. Plaza.................................................. Table of Contents ..............................................................................................List of Acronyms ............................................................................................... List of Tables ....................................................................................................List of Figures ..................................................................................................

Executive Summary ....................................................................................

Part I. Provincial Profile 1. History .................................................................................................2. Geo-Physical Environment ................................................................... 3. Population & Social Environment .......................................................... 4. Local Economy .................................................................................... 5. Infrastructure/Utilities/Facilities ............................................................. 6. Local Institutional Capability .................................................................

Part II. Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

1. Goal 1 - Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger ............................................... 2. Goal 2 - Achieve Universal Primary Education ..................................................

3. Goal 3 - Promote Gender Equality .................................................................

4. Goal 4 - Reduce a Child Mortality ..................................................................

Table of Contents

3456

791113

14

182121232425

26

39

48

54


5. Goal 5 - Improve Maternal Health .................................................................

6. Goal 6 - Combat HIV / AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases ..................................

7. Goal 7 - Ensure Environmental Sustainability ...................................................

8. Goal 8 - Development a Global Partnership for Development ............................

Part III. Meeting the 2015 Challenge

1. Priority Programs and Policy Responses ................................................ 2. Financing the MDG ............................................................................. 3. Monitoring the MDG ...........................................................................4. Conclusion and Recommendation ........................................................

Explanatory Text ........................................................................................

Message

59

62

67

76

81868787

88


List of Acronyms

AEGP Agricultural Enhancement for Growth and Productivity

APL Adaptable Loan Program

ASELCO Agusan del Sur Electric Cooperative

BAKAS Baka Alang sa Kalamboan sa Agusan del Sur

BUGAS Boosted Utilization of Grains in Agusan del Sur

CBMS Community-Based Monitoring System

CBR Crude Birth Rate

CDP Convergence Development Program

CFAD Community Fund for Agricultural Development

DFS Diversified Farming System

ECCD Early Childhood Care and Development

FMIS Financial Management Information System

HDI Human Development Index

HHs Households

IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development

IPs Indigenous Peoples

IRS International Reference Standard

ISDA Integrated Sustainable Development of Aquaculture

MDGs Millennium Development Goals

MINSAD Mindanao Settlement Sustainable Area Development

MRDP Mindanao Rural Development Program

NABCOR National Agribusiness Corporation

NEDA National Economic and Development Authority

NMCIREMP Northern Mindanao Initiatives and Resource Management Project

NSCB National Statistical Coordination Board

PACAP Philippines-Australia Community Assistance Program

PAHRDF Philippines-Australia Human Resource Development Facility

PEP Poverty and Economic Policy

PGAS Provincial Government of Agusan del Sur


List of Acronyms

PLAKAT Pinagbuklod Lakas ng Kababaihan ng Trento

PMIS Personnel Management Information System

PRUTAS Program on Utilization of Trees in Agusan del Sur

RPTIS Real Property Tax Information System

SEDIS Socio-Economic Development Information System

SELAP Support to Emergency Livelihood Assistance Program

SIOPAO Systems Information of Provincial Agriculture Office

TINA Tubig Imnonon Natong Agusanon

TRANSC Transmission Company

UNDP United Nation Development Programme

4Ps Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program


List of Tables

1 Summary of Findings of MDG Indicators, Province of Agusan del Sur, 2005

2 Proportion and Magnitude of Households/Population Living Below Poverty Threshold, by Municipality, by Sex and by

Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005

3 Proportion and Magnitude of Households/Population Living Below Food Threshold, by Municipality, by Sex and by


4 Poverty Gap Ratio, by Municipality and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005

5 Employment Rate, by Municipality, by Sex and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005

6 Proportion and Magnitude of Households/Population who Experienced Food Shortage, by Municipality, by Sex and by


7 Prevalence of Underweight Children Under-Five Years of Age, by Municipality, by Sex and by Urban/Rural,

Agusan del Sur, 2005

8 Proportion and Magnitude of Children Aged 6-12 Years Old Enrolled in Elementary Education, by Municipality,

by Sex and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005

9 Proportion and Magnitude of Children Aged 13-16 Years Old Enrolled in High School, by Municipality,


10 Number of Government Secondary Schools, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur

11 Proportion and Magnitude of Children Aged 6-16 Years Old Enrolled in School, by Municipality,


12 Literacy Rate, by Municipality, by Sex and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005

13 Ratio of Girls to Boys in Primary Education, by Municipality and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005

14 Ratio of Girls to Boys in Secondary Education, by Municipality and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005

15 Ratio of Girls to Boys in Tertiary Education, by Municipality and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005

16 Ratio of Literate Females to Literate Males Aged 15-24 Years Old, by Municipality and by Urban/Rural,


17 Proportion and Magnitude of Seats Held by Women in Municipality and Province, Agusan Del Sur

18 Proportion and Magnitude of Children Aged 0 to Less than 5 Years Old who Died, by Municipality,


19 Proportion and Magnitude of Infants who Died, by Municipality, by Sex and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005

20 Proportion and Magnitude of Children Aged 1 to Less than 5 Years Old who Died, by Municipality,


21 Proportion and Magnitude of Women Deaths Due to Pregnancy-Related Causes, by Municipality and by


22 Contraceptive Prevalance Rate Among Couples, by Municipality and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005

23 Proportion and Magnitude of Couples Using Condom Among those who are Practicing Contraception,

by Municipality and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005


List of Tables

24 Death Rates Associated with Malaria, by Municipality and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005

25 Prevalence and Death Rates Associated with Tuberculosis, by Municipality and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005

26 Proportion and Magnitude of Households/Population with Access to Safe Water, by Municipality, by Sex and

by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005

27 Proportion and Magnitude of Households/Population with Access to Sanitary Toilet Facility, by Municipality,


28 Proportion and Magnitude of Households/Population who are Informal Settlers, by Municipality,

by Sex and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur. 2005

29 Proportion and Magnitude of Households/Population Living in Makeshift Housing, by Municipality,


30 Proportion and Magnitude of Households/Population Living in Inadequate Living Conditions,

by Municipality, by Sex and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005

31 Number of Botika ng Barangays, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur

32 Proportion and Magnitude of Households with Landlines/Telephone Lines, by Municipality and

by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005

33 Proportion and Magnitude of Households with Cell Phones, by Municipality and by Urban/Rural,


34 Proportion and Magnitude of Households with Computers, by Municipality and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2005

35 Economic Development Programs and Projects, Cost per Year (in Millions)

36 Social Development (Education) Programs and Projects, Cost per Year (in Millions)

37 Social Development (Health) Programs and Projects, Cost per Year (in Millions)

38 Social Development (Housing and Resettlement) Programs and Projects, Cost per Year (in Millions)

39 Social Development (Social Welfare) Programs and Projects, Cost per Year (in Millions)

40 Environmental Management Programs and Projects, Cost per Year (in Millions)

41 Infrastructure Development Programs and Projects, Cost per Year (in Millions)

42 Investment Summary

43 The CBMS-MDG Indicators and their Definition

44 Poverty and Food Thresholds


List of Figures

1 Location of the Province of Agusan del Sur

2 Map of Agusan del Sur

3 Agusan del Sur Growth Diamond

4 Proportion of Population Below Poverty Threshold, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

5 Proportion of Population Below Food Threshold, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

6 Poverty Gap, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

7 Employment Rate, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

8 Proportion of Population who Experienced Food Shortage, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

9 Prevalence of Underweight Children Under-Five Years of Age, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

10 Proportion of Children Aged 6-12 Years Old Enrolled in Elementary Education, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

11 Proportion of Children Aged 13-16 Years Old Enrolled in High School, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

12 Proportion of Children Aged 6-16 Years Old Enrolled in School, by Municipality, Agusan Del Sur, 2005

13 Literacy Rate of 15-24 Year-Olds, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

14 Ratio of Girls to Boys in Primary Education, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

15 Ratio of Girls to Boys in Secondary Education, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

16 Ratio of Girls to Boys in Tertiary Education, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

17 Literacy Rate of 15-24 Year Olds, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

18 Proportion of Children Aged 0 to Less than 5 Years Old who Died, Agusan del Sur, 2005

19 Proportion of Infants who Died, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

20 Proportion of Children Aged 1 to Less than 5 Years Old who Died, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

21 Proportion of Women Death Due to Pregnancy-Related Causes, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

22 Contraceptive Prevalence Rate, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

23 Proportion of Couples Using Condom Among those who are Practicing Contraception, by Municipality,


24 Number of Deaths Associated with Malaria, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

25 Prevalence and Death Rates Associated with Tuberculosis, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

26 Proportion of Population with Access to Safe Drinking Water, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

27 Proportion of Population with Access to Sanitary Toilet Facility, by Municipality, Agusan Del Sur, 2005

28 Proportion of Population who are Informal Settlers, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

29 Proportion of Households Living in Makeshift Housing, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

30 Proportion of Population Living in Inadequate Living Conditions, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

31 Proportion of Households with Landlines/Telephone Lines, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

32 Proportion of Households with Cell Phones, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

33 Proportion of Households with Computers, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

34 CBMS Coverage in the Philippines (as of May 12, 2010)


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Agusan del Sur MDG Report used the 2005 data of the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS). This report tracked the provincial government’s perfor-mance in the past years and the challenges the political leaders, decisionmakers, and development partners would be facing, and the identifi ed solutions to uplift the lives of the poor majority.

Agusan del Sur had had some good developments or gains (Table 1), but it also had some weaknesses that need to be addressed by political leaders, program and project implementers, and various stakehold-ers. All should move toward a unifi ed action to achieve the MDG targets by 2015.

Good news• Proportion of underweight children under

fi ve years of age was 5.8 percent, which is much lower than the 2015 national target of 17.3 percent.

• Literacy rates among population aged 15-24, or youths, was 97.0 percent, which is lower by only 3 percent than the 2015 national

target of 100 percent.• The ratio of girls to boys in secondary and

tertiary education is 1.1, which is aligned with the 2015 national target.

• Proportion of children aged 0 to less than 5 who died was 0.8 (or 574 out of 73,078 children), which is much lower than the national target of 26.7 for 2015.

• Proportion of infants who died was only 1.9 percent (or 263 out of 13,786 infants.

• Proportion of women deaths due to pregnancy-related causes was only 0.3 percent, much lower than the 2015 national target of 52.3 percent.

• No death associated with malaria was reported.

• Proportion of land area covered by forests is 68.45 percent. This is the reason why the province has never experienced a long dry season.

• Proportion of households/population living as informal settlers was only 7.2 percent.

„Not So Good‰ News• Employment rate is high at 87.10 percent, but

this is far from being good news because majority


Table 1. Summary of Findings of MDG Indicators, Province of Agusan del Sur, 2005


Table 1. (Continued)


of the employed labor force were engaged in agriculture, where employment is seasonal in nature; that is, jobs are only available during planting and harvesting seasons.

• Death rates associated with tuberculosis was 6.9 percent.

• Proportion of children aged 6-12 enrolled in elementary was 73.8 percent, which is considerably lower than the 2015 national target of 100 percent.

• Cohort survival rate in elementary was 54.32 percent, which is way below the national target of 100 percent for 2015.

• Proportion of elective seats held by women in municipalities and province was 20.2 percent---far lower than the national target of 50 percent by 2015.

• Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel was 54.69 percent, which is far lower than the national target of 100 percent by 2015.

• Proportion of households and population with access to safe drinking water were 66.4 percent and 66.2 percent, respectively, both of which are lower than the national target of 86.5 percent by 2015.

• Proportion of households/population with access to sanitary toilet facilities were 78.2 percent and 78.6 percent, respectively.

• Proportion of households with telephones was 2.4 percent while those with cellular phones comprised 20.3 percent.

Posing Great Challenge

• Agusan del Sur is one of the poorest provinces in the country with 69.6 percent of its total population below poverty threshold, and 54.6 percent below the food threshold. Although Agusan del Sur is an agricultural province, a high percentage of the popula-tion lies below the food threshold because bananas, camote and other root crops are not considered as food substitutes for rice and corn. The challenge now to political leaders is how to get their legislative and administra-tive actions to focus more on the agriculture sector so as to increase food production. The provision of irrigation systems and other farming facilities, including inputs, must be given top priority.

• Cohort survival rate was only 54.32 percent, which is far below the national target of 100 percent by 2015. Children living in the farms stop schooling to help their parents. Girls will take good care of their younger siblings, while boys help in the farms.

• The proportion of children aged 13-16 years old enrolled in high school was only 50 percent. This low percentage poses another challenge to the leaders and development partners. Although tuition fee is free in public high schools, poor families have to still shoulder other schooling-related expenses.


Part 1. Provincial Profile

1. History

1.1. Political History

The province of Agusan del Sur was born on June 17, 1967 through Republic Act No. 4979, which divides the province of Agusan into Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur. In January 1970, the fi rst set of provincial offi cials assumed offi ce. The same law provided that the capital of Agusan del Sur shall be the municipality of Prosperidad, while the govern-ment center was set up in Barangay Patin-ay.

Hon. Rufi no C. Otero was elected as the fi rst provincial governor while Hon. Democrito O. Plaza became the fi rst Congressman in the November 1969 election. Congressman Democrito Plaza would have continued his term until December 1973 had it not been cut short after Martial Law was declared on September 21, 1972. When the Interim Batasang Pambansa re-convened in 1978, Hon. Edilmiro Amante represented the province.

In the local level, Governor Valentina G. Plaza, wife of former Congressman D.O. Plaza, won the governorship race in 1971 to

become the second provincial governor. She was again re-elected in the next 1980 local election and would have continued her term until February 1986 had Marcos regime not ended abruptly. The departure of Marcos catapulted President Corazon C. Aquino as the new president of the Republic of the Philippines. During this time, Atty. Ceferino S. Paredes, Jr. was designated as the OIC provincial governor of Agusan del Sur on March 3, 1986.

In the first congressional election under the Aquino Administration, Congressman D.O. Plaza was re-elected as the province’s representative to Congress, while OIC Governor Paredes was elected on January 18, 1988 as the province’s governor.

On May 11, 1992, then-Governor Ceferino S. Paredes, Jr. became the province’s Representative to Congress while D. O. Plaza won as the provincial governor. They were again re-elected on May 9, 1995.

When Governor D. O. Plaza died on September 2, 1995, Vice-Governor Alex G. Bascug, M.D. succeeded as the governor of the province. When Governor Bascug resigned


from his post after fi ling his candidacy as Representative to Congress, Virginia M. Getes, the number one-elected Sangguniang Panlalawigan member, assumed the vacated post.

On May 11, 1998, Governor Bascug was elected as the province’s Representative to Congress while Former Governor Valentina G. Plaza and Hon. Virginia M. Getes were re-elected as governor and vice governor, respectively.

On May 14, 2001, Congressman Rodolfo Rodrigo G. Plaza won as the province’s Representative to Congress. Former Valentina G. Plaza did not seek re-election in favor of her son Adolph Edward G. Plaza, who had a landslide victory over his opponents. Virginia M. Getes was re-elected as vice governor.

Three years later, on May 11, 2004, Congressman Rodolfo Rodrigo G. Plaza, Governor Edward G. Plaza, and Vice Governor Virginia M. Getes were re-elected through a landslide victory.

In the May 2007 election, Congressman Rodolfo Rodrigo G. Plaza again was re-elected. This would be his last term. Hon. Maria Valentina G. Plaza, the younger sister of Former Governor Adolph Edward G. Plaza, was elected as governor, and former Sangguniang Panlalawigan Member Hon. Santiago B. Cane, Jr. ran as vice governor without an opponent.

1.2. Historical Background

Agusan literally means “where the water fl ows”, after that great river that splits the land from south to north in a 250 kilometer rush to the Butuan sea.

Figure 1. Location of the Province of Agusan del Sur Figure 2. Map of Agusan del Sur


Agusan’s pre-hispanic cultural history is traced back to the great influence of the Majapahit Empire through the discovery of an eight-inch tall image of a woman in pure gold at Maasam, Esperanza in the early 1920s and molten jars unearthed at Bahbah, Prosperidad in the early 1960s. The aborigines of Agusan were the ancestors of the present-day Mamanwas who were driven to the hinterlands by the waves of Malay immigrants from nearby Borneo, Celebes and Malaysia. These people, in turn, sought the protection of the interior jungles because of the forays and the constant raids of “Moro” pirates. The “Moros,” being a sea-faring people, confi ned themselves to the coastal areas where they


started settlements, leaving the forested areas to other native tribes.

The coming of the Spaniards was around the same time as the visit of Rajah Siagu, the ruler of Agusan, to his friend Rajah Humabon of Bohol. Together, they visited the ruling rajah of an island called Limasawa where a fleet of Spanish galleons commanded by a Portuguese navigator named “Feranao Magalhao” (Fernando Magallanes in Spanish) has just dropped anchor. Expressing fervent hospital i ty characteristic of the Filipino natives, Rajah Siagu invited Magalhao to visit his place. On Easter Sunday, April 8, 1521, the first mass in Agusan - and for that matter, in the Philippines - was celebrated in what is now called Magallanes (formerly Masao).

Agusan took up arms against Spain during the revolution of 1898. After the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898, the Americans took over the civil government. Under the Americans, the dream of indepen-dence and self-government continued to haunt the Filipinos, and Agusan was again act ively campaigning to dr ive away the conquerors---this time, against Americans. Bolos and spears were no match to the Americans’ powerful guns and in January 1900, Agusan yielded. The peaceful road toward self-government fol lowed, cut short by the Japanese occupation in December 1941. Liberation came in 1946.

2. Geo-Physical Environment

The province is located in North Eastern Mindanao. It is a landlocked area with an elongated basin formation, and with mountain ranges in the eastern and western sides. It

has a total land area of 8,965.50 square kilometers and is considered as the fourth largest province in the country. It comprises 47.6 percent of the total land area of the Caraga Region. The province is situated below the typhoon belt. It has a Type II climate, where there is no dry season but maximum rain period. Locally, theirs is affectionately called the “wet and very wet” season.

3. Population and Social Environment

3.1. Demography

Based on the 2007 Census, the province has a total population of 609,447, which is the highest among the provinces in CARAGA. The population is projected to reach 691,211 in 2017. It has a growth rate of 1.19 percent and a population density of 68 persons per square kilometer. The urban population comprises 27 percent of the total, while rural population is 73 percent. The population of indigenous people is 33 percent of the total population based on the 2005 CBMS data. Children comprise half of the total population.

3.2. Social

The Crude Bi r th Rate (CBR) of the province has been fluctuating from 2003 to 2007. The CBR in 2007 is 21.9 percent per 1,000 population. The incidence of death in the province is not alarming. The Crude Death Rate in 2007 is only 1.84 percent. The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) per 1,000 live births is only 4.2 percent and has decreased in the past five years. While the under-five Mortality Rate per 1,000 children aged 0-4 years old is only 1.14 percent, the Maternal Mortality Rate is 0.89 percent and has also dropped


in the past f ive years because of the maternal care and services provided.

The heal th program on feeding of malnourished children has greatly contrib-uted to lowering the incidence of malnutri-tion in the province. The 2007 prevalence rate of malnutrition among children aged 0-5 years old in the province dipped to 16.46 percent from 24.44 percent in 2003. Another health program of the province is the immunization activity, which hit 91.25 percent immunized children in 2007.

Programs such as providing access to safe drinking water and access to sanitary toilet facility also helped improve the health condition of the populace. The number of households served with potable water rose from 73 percent in 2005 to 77 percent in 2007. However, there are still municipalities with less access to potable water such as Loreto, La Paz, and Veruela. On the other hand, there is a remarkable improve-ment in the access to sanitary toilet (from 72.53% in 2004 to 76% in 2007).

The education indicators of the province show an increasing trend during the two school years 2004-2005 and 2006-2007. For SY 2006-2007, note the 33 percent enrolment under the Early Childhood Care and Development Program for aged 3-5 years old children. The participation rate in elemen-tary is 74.95 percent; that in the secondary school is 44.14 percent. The achievement rate in the elementary level is 69.49 percent while it is 55.93 percent in the secondary schools. The drop-out rate has been decreasing at both the elementary and secondary levels, bringing about a positive impact to the province. The drop-out rate in the elementary and secondary schools for SY 2006-2007 is 5.93 percent and 17.57 percent, respectively.

Agusan’s social infrastructure support includes five public hospitals, two private hospitals, 14 rural health units, 132 barangay health stations, 203 day care centers; 3,092 classrooms in elementary schools and 1,736 rooms in secondary schools.


The Human Development Index (HDI) of the province has also improved. In 2003, the HDI stood at only 0.494, making the province hit the 69th rank among the provinces in the country. In 2006, the HDI has increased to 0.556, bringing the province to the 57th rank. Based on NSCB data, the poverty incidence in 2006 is 48.7 and the poverty threshold is P14,544. There is a disparity in the data at the regional level because, as cited by Ms. Corazon T. Urquico of UNDP, there are stark inequalities between provinces in a region, municipalities in a province, and barangays in a municipality in terms of poverty incidence. As 2005 CBMS data show, the highest incidence of poverty in the province is in river towns such as San Luis, Loreto, and La Paz. These municipalities also show low school participation of children 6-16 years old. Only about 74.95 percent of the proportion of children aged 6-12 years old are enrolled in elementary schools, while only 44.14 percent are in secondary schools. Some factors that contribute to these are the poor road conditions and less access to schools especially for those who live in far-flung barangays (villages).

4. Local Economy

Because agricultural land comprises 46 percent of the province’s total land area, the people’s major economic activity is farming. Agricultural land with a 0-18 percent slope is suitable for inland fi sh, crops, and livestock. About 21 percent of the land has a slope of 19-30 percent and is therefore suitable for agroforestry.

Based on the 2005 CBMS, 63 percent of households are engaged in crop farming and gardening. Rice and corn are the major crops produced. In 2007, they covered a land area of 29,551 hectares and 27,232 hectares,

respectively. The municipality of Trento tops the list as producer of rice in the province. Other common crops produced in the province are coconut, oil palm, and banana, while the major forest products are falcata, mahogany, gmelina, rattan, and agsam. The province is also rich in mineral resources such as gold, silver, and copper.

For a more focused economic develop-ment, the provincial government identi-f ied the growth centers. These identi-f ied growth centers or municipalit ies, when connected, will form a diamond (Figure 3), which is called the “growth diamond”. Recently, these growth centers have also been called the Convergence Development Area (CDA), wherein each CDA is composed of municipalities and has its own functional roles.

The four growth centers are Bayugan, San Francisco, Trento, and Talacogon. They have one corn processing plant; two palm oil mills; one banana chip processor; one kaong

Figure 3. Agusan del Sur Growth Diamond


processing center; and nine wood processing plants, rattan semi-processing center, and goldsmiths.

Bayugan City, the only component city of the province, belongs to CDA 1. It assumes the role of processing zone and is the major producer of rice, corn, vegetables, coconut, fruits, and fl owers. San Francisco is considered the primary commercial center and service of the province and belongs to CDA 2. On the other hand, Trento would serve as the food production zone and the commercial, industrial, and service center, and belongs to CDA 3. Talacogon, which is under CDA 4, has managed to become the wood processing center of the province.

The province has an employment rate of 85.5 percent, according to the 2005 CBMS study. Veruela and San Luis have the highest employment rate among the municipalities at 92 percent, followed by Talacogon at 90 percent, and Bayugan at 89 percent. Because both Talacogon and Bayugan are

growth centers, their households then have more opportunities for employment. Other municipalities, such as San Luis, have a high employment rate but their poverty incidence is likewise high.

Tourism activities in the province include bird watching; boating and lake hopping in Agusan Marsh; river cruising in Gibong River; mountain trekking at Mt. Diwata; spelunking in Puting Buhangin and waterfalls; discovering the cultural heritage of the Higaonon Tribe in Esperanza; and organic farming in Esperanza and Trento. The province also has tourism potentials in such activities as kayaking in the Agusan Marsh; canopy walking at Mt. Diwata; and spelunking in Lucac Caves.

The province’s fi nancing institutions include two government banks, two commercial banks, and 33 rural banks. Rural banks serve as lending institutions to the poor farmers in the province.


5. Infrastructure/Utilities/Facilities

The province has 188 units of bridges in different barangays and municipalities. It has a total road length of 3,361 kilometers, of which 638.320 kilometers are provincial roads. There are 12,000 hectares irrigated out of 48,000 hectares irrigable area. The company TRANSCO is the source of electricity of the province, while ASELCO is in-charge of the power distribution through-out the province via its three substations in Bayugan, San Francisco, and Trento that transmit a total of 20 MVA. Based on 2007 data, 95 percent of the barangays already receive electricity while 65 percent have been served with potable water.

6. Local Institutional Capacity

Agusan del Sur is a first-class province with a total income of PhP729 million in 2007 (Provincial Accounting Offi ce, Agusan Del Sur). It had a total Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of PhP652 million in 2007. The total number of PGAS employees for the same year was 1,859, broken down into 882 permanent staff, 454 casual employees, and 523 job orders.

The Provincial Government of Agusan del Sur has eight development agenda: Peace and Order; Economic Development; Health and Sanitation; Education and Sports Development; Social, Cultural and Tourism Development; Moral and Spiritual Renewal; Ecological and Environment Protection; and Information, and Communication Technology (ICT). Information, and Communication

Technology is the main thrust of the present administration under the leadership of Honorable Governor Maria Valentina G. Plaza. In fact, the province has an ICT scholar who graduated in Australia under the Philippine-Australia Human Resource Development Facility (PAHRDF) Program. The newly developed system of CBMS is part of this development plan.

There are several employees who were trained on database management under the PAHRDF short-term training program. As a result, several databases were established such as System Information of the Provincial Agriculture Offi ce (SIOPAO), Socio-Economic Development Information System (SEDIS), and Environment and Natural Resources Database (ENRDB). PGAS has also maintained several systems such as Financial Management Information System (FMIS), Real Property Tax Information System (RPTIS), and Personnel Management Information System (PMIS).

Another program in partnership with PAHRDF is the creation of a pool of trainers who will be responsible for in-house trainings. It has already conducted several trainings such as Dare2Serve, Understanding PGAS, and Get Your Message Across.

The province had conducted a strategic planning session in preparation for the re-organization. Likewise, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan members have passed Ordinance No. 39-2009, the guideline pertaining to its re-organization that started in June 2009.


2266Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals Using CBMS DataPProviince off AAggusan DDell SSur

Part 2. Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

Target 1.A: Halve between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day.

A. Status and Trends

The fi rst aim of the MDG is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. There are six CBMS indicators used as correspondence to MDG indicators of poverty. These are proportion of population with income below poverty threshold, poverty gap, proportion of


Table 2. Proportion and Magnitude of Households/Population Living Below Poverty

Threshold, by Municipality, by Sex and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2006

population who experienced food shortage, employment rate, and prevalence of underweight children less than 5 years of age.

Proportion of Population Living Below Poverty Threshold

Based on the 2005 CBMS data, the province’s poverty incidence is, 69.4 percent of the population or a total of 384,409 people

were suffering from poverty. The poverty gap of the province is estimated to be 33.3 percent. This implies that the province has high mean shortfall from the poverty line.

In contrast, the employment rate of the province is a high 85.9 percent but poverty is high, too. This is because the people are engaged mostly in agricultural activities that are seasonal in nature. Moreover, m o s t o f t h e p o p u l a ce i s working as farm laborer on a per-day basis and earn low income.

There are nine municipalities with higher poverty incidence compared to the provincial fi gure of 69.4 percent. These are San Luis, Loreto, La Paz, Sibagat, Esperanza, Sta. Josefa, Veruela, Talacogon and Rosario.

San Luis has the highest incidence of poverty among its population, followed by Loreto and La Paz. These municipalities are classifi ed as river towns with poor road conditions. Economic

activities are dependent on forest and farm products, and the populace has less opportu-nity for employment. Loreto comes in second in terms of poverty incidence because its households’ main source of income is small-scale farming that is rain fed. Moreover, Loreto has inaccessible farm-to-market roads.

The households of La Paz are also engaged in small-scale farming with limited accessibility.


On the other hand, Figure 4 shows that rural areas always have high poverty incidence than urban areas in all municipalities of the province. La Paz has the highest poverty incidence among the urban areas, followed by Rosario and Esperanza. Among the rural areas, San Luis has the highest poverty incidence, followed by Loreto and Sibagat.

Proportion of Households/Population Living Below Food Threshold

There remains nine munici-palities with higher proportion of population whose income is below the food threshold when compared to the provincial fi gure of 54.6 percent. These are San Luis, Loreto, La Paz, Sibagat, Sta. Josefa, Esperanza, Rosario, Talacogon, and Veruela.

San Luis registered the highest proportion of population with income below the food threshold. This is followed by Loreto and La Paz. Most households in La Paz have low income, which is not enough to meet their basic needs, especially food. This is because they can hardly market their farm products due to either poor road condition or no existing roads. Consequently, they are forced to sell their products at lower prices because the buyers experi-ence diffi culty in transporting their products to urban areas.

Figure 4. Proportion of Population Below Poverty Threshold, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

Figure 5. Proportion of Population Below Food Threshold, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005


On the other hand, San Francisco has the lowest proportion among the municipalities considering that it is one of the growth centers in the province. Business establishments such as internet café, hotels and groceries, government and private banks are present in the municipality.

Poverty Gap Ratio

Poverty gap is the mean shortfall of popula-tion from the poverty line, which relates with the poverty incidence. San Luis and Loreto continue to have the highest poverty gap of 0.5. San Francisco ranks the lowest in terms of poverty gap. This implies that the depth of poverty in San Francisco is lesser compared to other municipalities.

Table 4. Poverty Gap Ratio

Source: CBMS Survey 2005


What’s more, poverty gap measures the capita amount of resources needed to eliminate or reduce the poor’s shortfall from the poverty line to zero, through perfectly targeted cash transfers. In Table 4, the poverty gap per-capita is reflected by municipality. In terms of income gap per-capita per year (Table 2.), San Luis again ranks the highest at PhP8,616.90. This is followed by Loreto and La Paz with PhP8,155.50 and PhP7,401.80, respectively.

The lowest is in San Francisco with PhP5,682.60. As a growth center, the municipality boasts of commercial and industrial establishments.

Target 1.B: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people

Employment Rate There are six municipalities with

employment rates lower than the provincial fi gure of 85.5 percent. These are La Paz, Prosperidad, Loreto, Bunawan, Esperanza, and Sta. Josefa.

Veruela has the highest employ-ment rate, followed by San Luis and Talacogon. Veruela tops other municipalities in terms of employ-ment rate because 83 percent of the households are engaged in crop farming and gardening. Most of the populace engages

Figure 7. Employment Rate, by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005

Figure 6. Poverty Gap by Municipality, Agusan del Sur, 2005


On the other hand, La Paz has the lowest employment rate considering that it has no business establishments and less economic activity is done because of poor road condition. The poor households in far-fl ung barangays are diffi cult to reach.

Proportion of Households/Population Who Experienced Food Shortage

There are fi ve municipalities with higher proportion of population who experienced food shortage compared to the provincial figure of 14 percent. These are Veruela, Esperanza, La Paz, Loreto, and Sibagat.

Veruela has the highest proportion of population who experience food shortage, followed by Esperanza and La Paz. Veruela has the highest fi gure because its residents only consider rice or corn---not root crops such as sweet potato “camote” and banana---as full meals. La Paz experiences food shortage

in seasonal activities such as planting and harvesting of palay.

It is ironical that San Luis ranks second in terms of employment rate, but still has the highest poverty incidence among the municipalities. It has a high employment rate because 34 percent of the households are engaged in forestry (it ranks second in forestry among the 14 municipalities). However, poverty remains a main problem because its people are dependent on forest products (at the time of the conduct of this survey, it was harvest time for timber) and are less engaged in crop farming. Also, the poor have less job opportunities due to lack of education. These can be employed as seasonal laborers, but only at a very low rate. Based on the 2005 CBMS study, 83 percent of the total households in Veruela are engaged in crop farming. Moreover, most of the people are working as laborers in the farm, and in forestry.

Table 5. Employment Rate, by Municipality, by Sex and by Urban/Rural, Agusan del Sur, 2006


because its populace’s average family size of six members per household is higher than other municipali-ties’ fi ve members.

Prevalence of Under-weight Children Under 5 Years of Age

S u b s i s t e n c e incidence (or popula-tion living below food threshold) in 2005 was placed at 54.60 percent., Roughly, about 49 ou t o f

Figure 8. Proportion of Households/Population Who Experienced Food Shortage


every 100 households in the province are considered as core poor in 2005. This means that the per capita annual incomes of these households are not suffi cient to buy their basic food requirements hence it is not surprising that 14 percent of population experienced food shortage.

T h e p r e v a l e n c e o f underweight children under fi ve years old is estimated at 5.8 percent for the province. Moreover, the incidence of underweight children among girls is higher than boys in the province. Although the incidence of malnutrition is low as this is being addressed

Figure 9. Prevalence of Underweight Children Under 5 Years of Age


by the active barangay nutrition program, where scholars are given a modest honorar-ium and constantly monitored by the health personnel, the province remains steadfast on its aim to reduce the number to zero..

Trainings on backyard gardening, nutrition and nutritious food preparation were conduct-ed in the barangay with assistance from the Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation-Integrated Development Center, Inc. and in partnership with the provincial, municipal and barangay offi cials.

There are six municipalities with higher prevalence of malnutrition than the provincial fi gure of 5.8 percent. These are La Paz, Trento, San Francisco, Sibagat, Prosperidad, and Loreto.

Based on the 2005 CBMS data, La Paz has the highest prevalence rate of underweight

Daing making is the main source of livelihood for the poor households

children aged 0-5 years old. This is followed by Trento and San Francisco. La Paz also has the highest number of underweight children based on the Provincial Health Offi ce data in 2006, followed by Loreto and San Luis. The reason for in La Paz’s high prevalence rate of malnutrit ion is because malnourished children, especially those in far-flung barangays, are not monitored properly. Moreover, the poverty incidence among those in rural areas is high, which greatly contributes to the high prevalence of malnutrition.

B. Current Policies and Programs

The province has implemented various strategies and programs to uplift the standard of living of the poorest households such as giving

basic social services to those household whose monthly income is PhP3,500 and below; providing livelihood project under the Diversifi ed Farming System (DFS), a locally-funded program for households with a monthly income of PhP3,500 to PhP6,500. The DFS targets 26,653 households until 2015 and will cost a total of PhP1.27 billion.San Luis has the highest poverty incidence among the munici-palities despite the various programs already in place: The Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP), Convergence Development Program, and Diversifi ed Farming System, to name three. This plight persists because the programs were found to not reach the poorest households in far-fl ung barangays due to the bad road condition. La Paz and Loreto also have high poverty incidences but these municipalities are not recipients of MRDP and Convergence Development Programs. In fact, fewer projects are poured into these


and corn production with corn sheller in San Nicolas, Talacogon.

The Northern Mindanao Community Initiatives and Resources Management Project (NMCIREMP) is another poverty alleviation project with an infrastructure component. The loan assistance is provided by the International Fund for Agricultural Development. The goal of NMCIREMP is to reduce the vulnerability and to enhance food security of agrarian reform benefi ciaries, upland farmers, fi sher folks, and indigenous people.

The Support to Emergency for Livelihood Assistance Program (SELAP) under the Department of Agriculture is a poverty alleviation program with a total cost of PhP13 million, of which PhP9 million is allocated for livelihood projects and PhP4 million goes to infrastructure projects. Other Department of Agriculture -funded programs are the Boosted Utilization of Grains in Agusan del Sur (BUGAS), Program on Utilization of Trees in Agusan del Sur (PRUTAS), Integrated Sustainable Development of Aquaculture (ISDA), Baka Alang sa Kalamboan sa Agusan del Sur (BAKAS), and Agricultural Enhancement for Growth and Productivity (AEGP). The assistance came in the form of seed and fertilizer inputs, which boosted the surplus production of clean rice at 87,809 metric tons in 2008; packets of farm equipment such as rice thresher, power tiller with engine. The province provided its counterpart funding for these projects.

As one of the poorest provinces and confl ict areas, Agusan del Sur is also a recipient of KALAHI Projects. As of 2009, a total of 30 projects were implemented and undertaken by the Engineering Brigade of the Philippine Army with a total project cost of PhP61.2 million.

municipalities although they had just been included in the Diversifi ed Farming System Project.

The province has also implemented the Philippine-Australia Community Assistance Program (PACAP) and its PhP78 million budget from 2005 to 2010. The program is a poverty alleviation project with small infra implemented through nongovernmental organizations of the Agusan Focus Community Assistance Program (FOCAS). This project is funded by the AUSAID.

The MRDP is a program funded by the World Bank. Adaptable Program Loan 1 (APL 1) projects were implemented in 2000-2006, and APL 2 were implemented in 2007 up until 2012. It includes infrastruc-ture projects and the Community Fund for Agricultural Development (CFAD), which provides l ivel ihood projects to small farmers. One project under the MRDP APL 1 that has been sustained is the cattle raising program in Cecilia, San Luis. Projects that were sustained under APL 2 were the vegetable production with a marketing facility in Awao, Sta. Josefa; corn production with draft animals in Aurora, Sta. Josefa; post-harvest facilities with draft animals in Marbon, Talacogon;


Projects include: Rehabilitation of roads and bridges, construction/improvement of water system, construction of day care centers, and school buildings, and electrifi cation. These are all based on the priority needs of the community. Other related projects are the KALAHI CIDDS, which is being implemented by the DSWD regional offi ce; and the KALAHI GEM.

The province, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture and the National Agribusiness Corporation (NABCOR), established the Corn Post-Harvest Processing and Trading Center in Pagkain ng Bayan, Mabuhay, Bayugan in 2009 and is expected to process production from 1,000 hectares per cropping. This will help solve the problem on the very low buying corn price offered by private traders, and will encourage farmers to produce more, thereby increasing their income, and uplift their living condition.

On the infrastructure side, the Tulay ng Pangulo Project has helped ease the residents’ access paths from the barangay to munici-palities and to other provinces and allowed them to avail these other places’ social

services such as hospitals, schools, recreation services. Most of all, the project will facilitate the transport of agricultural crops and other economic activities.

Another program that contributed to the development of the province is the Mindanao Settlement and Sustainable Area Development (MINSSAD), which has constructed and improved 163.64 kilometers of farm-to-market roads amounting to PhP335 million, installed 396 units of shallow tube wells or STW irriga-tion projects amounting to PhP70.60 million, and constructed the Veruela Jumbo Bridge and eight other bridges located in Prosperidad, San Francisco, San Luis, and Talacogon in the amount of PhP58.20 million. This program has been implemented by the Provincial Government of Agusan del Sur under the Provincial Engineering Offi ce, together with the Department of Agrarian Reform and Department of Public Works and Highways.

There is an ongoing concreting of the 14,897 kilometers of NRJ Awa-Los Arcos-Lianga Road (connecting Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur and Lianga, Surigao del Sur), which has started on March 7, 2009 and costs PhP396.914 million. Another is the completion of the 20 kilometers of Hawilian-Salug-Sinakungan Road of Esperanza at a total project cost of PhP90 million.

The province has been continuously implementing nutrition programs such as feeding of malnourished children, extensive promotion of exclusive breastfeeding up to six months, health and nutrition information education campaign, growth monitoring and development of under fi ve children; referral of malnourished children to Nutri-hut Village, Operation Timbang using the International Reference Standard (IRS), micronutrient


supplementation such as iron to pregnant women and vitamin A to 6-71 months children, deworming of pre-schoolers (1-6 years old), and promotion of iodized salt. These greatly contributed to lower prevalence of underweight children aged 0-4 years old in the province. There are 191 health and nutrition posts established by the community. Parents/caregivers avail the comprehensive health and nutrition services from trained health workers such as the barangay heath workers and the barangay nutrition scholars.

C. Challenges / Priorities/Recommendations

1. Identifying the poorest households and provide basic social services and livelihood opportunities

The top three municipalities with high poverty incidence should be given intervention programs such as livelihood projects for poor households. Moreover, road maintenance and development projects should be prioritized in these areas so as to improve access and to reach the poor households.

Based on the poverty gap study, the poor populace of San Luis should be given cash transfers worth a total of P36.4 million, while Loreto needs P38.0 million; and La Paz, P22.8 million. The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) should focus on these areas

with the assistance from the local government units (LGUs).

The province should also support economic enterprises to increase employment and job opportunities for the people.

2. Construction of farm-to-market roads and other infra support facilities

To further increase economic activities within the municipality as well as the province, Agusan del Sur should prioritize the develop-ment of farm-to-market roads, especially in far-fl ung barangays. Agricultural production facilities and capital, including markets, should be provided to boost agricultural production, including continuous education to farmers.

3. Provision of health and sanitation programsThe province should continue to implement

feeding programs among malnourished children to solve the prevalence of underweight children.

On health and sanitation, LGUs should prioritize the construction of toilet facilities for about 30 percent of total households with no access to sanitary toilets. This will help solve the problem on the spread of schistoso-miasis, which has been affecting low-income communities in Agusan del Sur.

Target 2.A: Ensure that, by 2015,


Th e Provincial Government of Agusan del Sur (PGAS) has several good practices in terms of poverty alleviation. For one, the province has adopted the Convergence Development Program and Diversifi ed Farming System to help uplift the conditions of the poorest households. All programs and projects of the local and national governments are poured in a certain community to maximize its socio-economic benefi ts. Th is program includes livelihood projects, farm-to-market roads, water and sanitation, and establish-ment of botika ng barangay.

Boosted Utilization of Grains in Agusan del Sur (BUGAS) is one of the projects under the program on Agricultural Enhancement For Growth and Productivity (AEGP). This has P6 million as hybrid rice seeds subsidy, and has sustained the implementation of SELAP. Corn seeds are distributed to nine municipalities such as Bayugan, Esperanza, Prosperidad, Trento, Bunawan, Loreto, Sibagat, Sta. Jo-sefa, and Veruela. Support projects are also included in BUGAS such as seed production, integrated pest management (IPM), pre- and post-harvest facilities, and small-scale irrigation project. In 2008, PGAS has allocated P46 million for the pre- and post-harvest facilities so as to maintain the surplus of rice in the province.

Program on the Utilization of Trees in Agusan del Sur (PRUTAS) is another banner program of PGAS and gained more attention from the farming sector. In 2008 under SELAP, more than 7,000 seedlings of durian, mangosteen, lanzones and rambutan were given to 49 benefi ciaries. Th ree years from now, some of these trees will

start bearing fruits which will eventually give the province a surplus of fruits.

Integrated and Sustainable Development of Aquaculture (ISDA). Th is program is for the development of lakes and rivers and backyard fi shponds for freshwater fi sh growing/raising. Th e Provincial Fish Hatchery, which is the only pro-vincial government-operated hatchery in Caraga Region, is the source of fi ngerling requirements of raisers. Moreover, through SELAP, three munici-pal fi sh hatcheries were established in Esperanza, Trento, and La Paz. From 2007 up to this date, more than 6 million tilapia fi ngerlings were dis-tributed to 1,534 fi sher folk. Of this total, about 697,000 kilos of tilapia valued at P 34.9 million were produced. Truly, ISDA has changed the lives of the province’s backyard fi shpond and fi sh cage operators.

On local governance, Agusan del Sur is one of the most advanced provinces in terms of information technology. A number of systems are already in place and functional. Th is includes the enhanced Community-Based Monitoring Systems (CBMS), the Personnel Management Informa-tion System (PMIS), Financial Management Information System (FMIS), Real Property Tax In-formation System (RPTIS), and other sub-systems.

To properly fi t the “right job for a right person”, the provincial government had undergone a com-plete reorganization in June 2009. Th is is the fi rst ever in the history of the Province of Agusan del Sur, and the result of several strategic planning activities conducted since 2007.

t



Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.


The province has 26 school districts, of which 15 are located in highway towns and 11 are in river towns. The school districts in highway towns are Sibagat I, Sibagat II, Bayugan West, Bayugan Central, Bayugan East, Bayugan North, Prosperidad I, Prosperidad II, Prosperidad III, San Francisco I, San Francisco

II, Rosario, Bunawan, and Trento I and Trento II. While in river towns, the school districts are Esperanza I, Esperanza II, San Luis, San Luis II, Talacogon East, Talacogon West, La Paz, Loreto North, Loreto South, Sta. Josefa, and Veruela.

There are a total of 35 secondary govern-ment schools and 26 locally-funded annex schools. Special schools such as Science High School and Integrated School are also present.

Based on the 2005 CBMS data, the


proportion of 6-12 year-old children enrolled in elementary is estimated to be 73.2 percent. Elementary school participation rate for males is lower compared to females. On its second-ary education, the provincial fi gure stands at 50.0 with males having the lower secondary school participation rate compared to females. The girls’ population enrolled in elementary and secondary schools is higher than that of the boys. The province has low participation rates in elementary and secondary schools.

Based on the Department of Education’s data for SY 2005-2006 and SY 2006-2007, the province has participation rates of only 72.07 percent and 74.95 percent, respectively. While the secondary schooling participation rates for SY 2005-2006 and SY 2006-2007 are 40.91 percent and 44.14 percent, respectively. Some factors that contributed to the low participa-tion rate are the lack of teaching positions, lack of schools, and most of all, no access to schools especially among children living in far-flung barangays. Another possible reason for the low participation in both levels is that there were children who enrolled in elementary that are more than 12 years old, and in secondary schooling that are more than 16 years old hence this children are unaccounted for. Although participation rates of the province are low, the rates have been increasing in the past few years.

The province’s cohort survival rate in elemen-tary schooling shows a fl uctuating trend for three school years. Based on the Department of Education’s data, the cohort survival rates are 54.32 percent for SY 2005-2006, 50.75 percent for SY 2006-2007, and 57.41 percent for SY 2007-2008. These fi gures mean that about half of the population of children from grade I were able to reach grades six. Moreover, the female population (62.71%

for SY 2007-2008) is greater than the male population (52.83%). Boys are less likely to complete elementary schooling because they are usually assigned to assist their parents in the farms.

On the other hand, the secondary cohort-survival rate for three school years are: 55.93 percent (SY 2005-2006); 64.56 percent (SY 2006-2007); and 63.75 percent (SY 2007-2008). Again, this shows that there is still more female population (58.50 %) than male (49.82%) in secondary schools for SY 2007-2008 suggesting that boys are less likely to graduate from high school compared to girls.

In general, the factors that contributed to the low cohort survival rate in the elementary and secondary levels in the province are poverty, less access to schools because of poor road conditions, and parents’ lack of motivation to send their children to school. On the other hand, the province has a very high literacy rate (97.77%) among those ages 15-24 years old (CBMS 2005).

In general, based on the secondary data, the educational indicators of the province have improved because school heads are motivated and have undergone a capability building process through the Third Elementary Education Program (TEEP) and Secondary Education Development and Improvement Program (SEDIP).

Proportion of Children Aged 6-12 Years Old Enrolled in Elementary Education

Sta. Josefa has the highest proportion of children aged 6-12 years old enrolled in elementary, followed by San Francisco, and Trento. Sta. Josefa has one school district


with a total of 14 elementary schools. While San Francisco has two districts with 28 elementary schools, Trento, too, has two districts with 28 elementary schools. In SY 2006-2007, the pupil-to-room ratio in Sta. Josefa is 33.88.In San Francisco, the two districts have ratios of 35.85 and 30, respectively. In Trento, the pupil-to-room ratio is 37.47. The ratios of the three munici-palities are ideal since each classroom has below 50 students. The teacher-to-class ratio in all school districts in the province, meanwhile, varies between 33 and 41. This means that the population of teachers is enough for the population of enrollees in the elementary schools. Moreover, the number of schools and the facilities can still suffi ce for the number of the children enrolled in elementary school. Currently, the ratios are not a big problem considering

Figure 10. Proportion of Children Aged 6-12 Years

Old Enrolled in Elementary Education


that the participation rate in the province is not high (only 76.97% as of SY 2007-2008). Such will only become a problem when the participation rate climbs to 100 percent, as targeted for 2015.

On the other hand, San Luis has the lowes t propor t ion o f ch i ld ren aged 6-12 years old enrolled in elementary, followed by La Paz and Loreto. These municipalities are also the top three in terms of high poverty incidence. Poverty and poor access to elementary school greatly contributed to the low proportion of enrollment in elementary schools.

Proportion of Children Aged 13-16 Years Old Enrolled in High School

San Francisco has the highest proportion of children aged 13-16 years old enrolled in


secondary schools, followed by Sta. Josefa, Rosario, and Bayugan. San Francisco has three government secondary schools, while Sta. Josefa and Rosario each has one, and Bayugan has six.

San Francisco and Bayugan have colleges that offer secondary education. The student-class ratio in San Francisco varies from 46.28 to 51.82; while in Sta. Josefa, it is 54.64; and in Bayugan, it varies from 42 to 66. There is a problem with the number of students in secondary schools because the ratio exceeds the standard of 50 students per class in SY 2006-2007. Furthermore, this implies that there should be additional classrooms to avoid overpopulated classes.

On the other hand, La Paz has the lowest proportion of children aged 13-16 years old enrolled in secondary school, followed by San Luis, and Esperanza. For SY 2006-2007, the student-to-class ratio in La Paz is 58.43; in San

Luis, it is 48.16; and in Esperanza, it is 50.25 (school district I) and 67.38 (school district II). Note that the ratios of the municipalities exceed the standard 50 students-per-class even though their participation rates are low. The teacher-to-pupil ratio is not a big concern except for a school in Bayugan with a ratio of 54.70; in Esperanza, with 59.89; and in Prosperidad (ASSAT) with 81.13. The three exceed the standard 50 students-per-teacher rule, and therefore need more teachers.

La Paz and San Luis belong to the top three in terms of high poverty incidence. Poverty and poor access to secondary schools greatly contributed to the low enrollment in secondary schools.

In sum, there is already congestion in classes, regardless of whether there is high or low participation rate in secondary schools. Moreover, there are not enough teachers despite the fact that all municipalities have low

Figure 11. Proportion of Children Aged 13-16 Years Old Enrolled in High School


enrolment. These will become huge problems once the partici-pation rate increases, and if the lack of classrooms and teachers in secondary schools continues to be left unaddressed.

Proportion of Children Aged 6-16 Years Old Enrolled in School

Sta. Josefa has the highest p r o p o r t i o n o f p o p u l a -t ion aged 6-16 years old enrolled in schools. This is followed by San Francisco and Bayugan. In terms of I P p o p u l a t i o n , B a y u ga n has the least proport ion, fo l lowed by S ta . Jose fa ,

Figure 12. Proportion of Children Aged 6-16 Years Old Enrolled in School


Veruela, and San Francisco. On the other hand, San Luis has the least proportion of enrolment, followed by La Paz and Loreto, both of which are river towns. La Paz has the highest proportion of IP population, followed by San Luis and Loreto.

All these tell us that the proportion of enrolment somehow relates to the culture of the people, the motivation parents give to their children, and how education is valued.

Literacy Rate of 15-24 Year-Olds

Literacy rate among the youth aged 15-24 years old is not a major problem in the province. San Luis has the lowest literacy rate, followed by Loreto and La Paz.

Figure 13. Literacy Rate of 15-24 Year-Olds


These municipalities have a low proportion of enrolment among their elementary and secondary school-age population.


The prov ince, mun ic ipa l i t i es , and barangays have shared funding in the provision of honoraria to 58 voluntary teachers so as to augment the gap in the number of teachers in schools. Access to libraries through the establishment of 203 Pagtuon Library Centers augmented the gap on the books requirement, especial-ly of the hard-to-reach barangay. The province has also provided counterpart funds for the construction of the school bui ldings under the Third Elementary Education Program (TEEP) funded by the World Bank.

Fourteen disparity barangays were given funding by the UNIDEF Country Program for Children VI (CPC) for various programs and projects for school children. Programs include the Food for School Program, Healthy Start Feeding Program, School Playground with Outdoor Facilities, and others that address the basic rights of children.

For the out-of-school youth, existing programs provided by the Department of Education are the non-formal education, including short-term courses that wil l prepare the youth for jobs in the future; and the Alternative Learning System (ALS) for school children and youth who cannot attend regular classes.

The province is a recipient of 4s Program (Pamilyang Pantawid Pilipino Program), which


also helps the children of poor households.

The PGAS also has a scholarship program under the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and non-IPs. In 2009, there were a total of 108 scholars, including IPs and non-IPs.

C. Challenges/Priorities/Recommendations

1. Increase participation rate by 2015For 2015, the province targets a 90 percent

participation rate in the elementary level in which the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) can help fi ll the gap at a cost of about PhP1.4 billion by 2015. Barangay leaders should make alternative ways to

motivate parents to send their children to school. A massive education campaign by both the LGUs and the school authorities must be done to bring the children back to school.

2. Request the national government to create plan-tilla positions for teachers in Agusan del Sur

The province lacks permanent teaching positions, especially at the elementary level. This has been remedied by LGUs by giving honoraria to voluntary teachers at a minimal amount of PhP2,000 per month. The recommendation of this paper, though, is for the national government to create plantilla positions for teachers in Agusan del Sur.

Pagtuon: Pagtuon: Pagtuon Alang sa Masanag

nga Kaugmaon is a project that involves the distribution of books, construction of reading centers, and establishment of mu-nicipal and barangay libraries. Its donor is Madame Nancy Harrington of the Books to the Barrios Foundation, which is based in the United States. Pisaan Elementary School located in Pisaan, San Francisco is the fi rst recipient of this project and is now the most visited institution by diff erent schools in the country after being tagged as the Model School of Excellence.

Another project is the Mobile Library that travels to diff erent schools along the highway towns. Th is has helped school children with their research work and assignments.



Target 3. A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015.


The ratio of girls to boys in primary education is 0.9. It shows little gender disparity in the

elementary school age population. While the male population of 39,354 is greater than the female of 38,615, such cannot really be avoided since there are more male population than females. Similarly, there is a slight gap between the male and female population in secondary school at 1.1. This means that more females (16,250) enrolled in secondary schools than did the males (13,189).

On the other hand, there is a 0.9 females-per-male literacy rate among persons aged

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality


15-24. This means that there are more literate males aged 15-24 years old than females.

Ratio of Girls to Boys in Primary Education

Five municipalities show no gender disparity among children 6-12 years old enrolled in elementary schools. These are La Paz, Loreto, Prosperidad, San Francisco, and Trento. The rest of the municipalities have gender dispari-ties; there are more male school-age population than females enrolled in elementary schools. Most of the girls are utilized in doing household chores such as cooking, washing, and caring for their young siblings while their mother is at work.

Figure 14. Ratio of Girls to Boys in Primary Education


Ratio of Girls to Boys in Secondary Education

Most of the municipalities, except for San Francisco, have gender disparities in secondary schools. More females aged 13-16 years old are enrolled in secondary schools than do males. Most of the boys of these ages are now employed on seasonal basis. Most work in farms in such jobs as planting and harvesting palay, hauling oil palm products and falcata logs using carabao-drawn carriages, wood crafting, and sawali making.

Figure 15. Ratio of Girls to Boys in Secondary Education


Ratio of Girls to Boys in Tertiary Education

Three municipalities were found to have no gender disparities in their tertiary schools. These are Bunawan, La Paz, and San Francisco. Bunawan and San Francisco have a number of colleges; ergo, there are more chances for their school-age population to pick a college. Meanwhile, the rest of the municipalities have more female population than male population enrolled.

Figure 16. Ratio of Girls to Boys in Tertiary Education


Ratio of Literate Females to Males Aged 15-24 Years Old

Most municipalities–again, except San Francisco---have gender disparities in terms of the literacy rate of those 15-24 years old. Figures show more literate males aged 15-24 years old than females. Females of this age usually stop school and work instead as house helpers in nearby municipalities or provinces and cities so as to provide for their own personal needs. For them, this is the only means they could earn money.

Figure 17. Ratio of Literate Females to Males Aged 15-24 Years Old


Proportion of Seats Held by Women in Municipality and Province

It is interesting to note that the proportion of elective seats occupied by women in the province is lower than the national fi gure. Only 16.13 percent of women have occupied the elective seats in the province and municipalities. Only 25 out of the 155 elective seats, excluding the barangay level, are occupied by women. There are three women at the provincial level (one provincial governor and two Sangguniang Panlalawigan members) while the male offi cials total 12 (one vice governor, eight SPs and three ex-offi cio members). At the municipal level, the males are 118 to the females’ total of 22 (includes four female mayors, one female vice mayor, and 17 women Sangguniang Bayan members). In contrast, there are 10 male mayors, 13 vice mayors, and 95 Sangguniang Bayan members.

B. Policies and Programs

As mandated by Republic Act 7192, which recognizes women as partners of men in nation building, the province supports the Gender and Development Program. A female Sangguniang Panlalawigan Member has been assigned as a point person handling the affairs of women. She likewise has counterparts from the Provincial Planning and Development Offi ce, Provincial Social Welfare Offi ce, Provincial Budget Offi ce, Provincial Governor’s Office, Provincial Agriculture Office, Provincial Health office, Provincial Assessment Offi ce, and Provincial Information Offi ce. The Municipal Federation of Women and the Provincial Federation of Women were organized. A yearly funding support from the provincial government was earmarked to fi nance the programs and projects for women. These include leadership skills training for

women; strengthening of women organizations from municipal to provincial level; and livelihood skills training for women such as fossilized fl ower making, and corn husk utilization skills training. Honoraria were provided to women members of the Provincial Federation.

A series of symposia on Responsible Parenthood, Gender, and Development were conducted for the different barangays by the provincial government.


Increase the number of elective seats held by women in the municipality and province

Women should be given incentives to take an active role in the community. Recognize their efforts and best practices by giving rewards. Build the capacities of the women to become leaders in the community by training, developing and making them self-reliant.


54Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals Using CBMS DataPPrroovviinnccee ooff AAgguussaann DDeell SSuurr

Target 4. : Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality ratio


The province only has a 0.8 percent propor-tion of deaths among children ages 0-4 years old. This is due to the availability of child health programs such as the immunization projects and availability of Botika ng Barangay that offers cheaper medicines. There are more male children aged 0 to 4 years old who died compared to female children.

The province has only a 1.9 percent propor-tion (263 out of 13,786) of infant deaths. On

the average, a 2005 DOH Report reported the region’s infant mortality rate is 7.5 percent. The deaths of male children (2.2) are greater than the females’ (1.5). On the regional level, Agusan del Sur ranked 5th among the fi ve provinces in terms of infant mortality rate, which means that the province has the lowest rate.

The proportion of one-year old children immunized with measles is 89.1 percent (16,335 out of 18,335 one-year old children), while fully immunized children (per DOH-Center for Health Development Report 2005) were recorded at 87 percent --- higher than the region’s 80.3 percent. This was attributed to the availability of medicines at health centers and regular scheduling of child immunization.

Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality


Proportion of Children Aged 0 to Less than 5 Years Old who Died

The graph above shows that La Paz has the highest proportion of child deaths among children aged 0-4 years old. This is followed by Sibagat, Veruela, and Loreto. La Paz experienced a cholera epidemic back in 2005 and with proportion of child deaths aged 0-4 years old estimated at 2 percent (or 51 out of 3,353). The fi gures for the rest of the munici-palities ranges from 0.5 percent to 1.2 percent.. La Paz and Loreto have their own primary hospitals to serve their populace, while Veruela is served by the private and public hospitals of Trento and

Figure 18. Proportion of Children Aged 0 to Less than 5 Years Old who Died


Bunawan. Sibagat is served by the hospitals of Bayugan and Butuan City. Each municipality has its own main health center located at the poblacion and 125 barangay health stations, although not necessarily in all barangays.

Proportion of Infants who DiedVeruela has the highest

proportion of infant deaths, followed by Bayugan, and then by La Paz and Bunawan. The graph shows that Veruela posted 4 percent(or 32 deaths out of 880 infants); while Bayugan, La Paz and Bunawan posted-about 3 percent (38 out of 2,707 for La Paz; 40 out of 9,593 for Bayugan; 18 out of

Figure 19. Proportion of Infants who Died


669). Sibagat posted: the lowest proportion of infants who died which is about 0.6 percent. The low proportion of deaths is due to several health programs for infants and pregnant mothers already in place in the province such as maternal care programs for pregnant women, promotion of breastfeeding, immunization programs, and supplementary programs.

Proportion of Children Aged 1 to Less than 5 Years Old who Died

La Paz, Sibagat, and Loreto took the top three spots in terms of high proportion of deaths among children aged 1- 4 years old. The figures for the three municipalities range from 1.1

Figure 20. Proportion of Children Aged 1 to Less than 5 Years Old who Died


percent to 1.4 percent. The rest of the munici-palities posted less than 1 percent in terms of children aged 1 to less than 5 years old who died. Although these three municipalities are the top three, their numbers are not deemed alarming.


The province implemented activit ies down to the community level such as immunization programs; nutrition programs; sixth (6th) country program for children; supplementary feeding; dengue prevention and control programs; and breastfeeding. On the other hand, the province already has a total of 97 Botika ng Barangay

sponsored by the DOH-Center for Health Development-Caraga Region, plus seven botikas established under the Convergence Development Program (CDP) of the provin-cial government. Of the seven botikas under CDP, three are located in Esperanza (Aurora, Duangan, and Guadalupe), two are in Bayugan City (Magkiangkang and Grace Estate), one in Prosperidad (La Perian), and one in San Francisco (Pisaan).


A total of 183 Botika ng Barangay for 90 percent of the barangays needs to be set up by year 2015. These are in addition to the 103 botikas already existing.



Target 5.A: Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio


The province posted only 0.3 percent of women who died due to pregnancy-related causes (or 36 deaths out of 13,718 women). The slightly low number is attributed to the rural health personnel’s promotion of health programs for pregnant women and the support of barangay offi cials. On the regional level, Agusan del Sur ranked 3rd among the provinces in terms of maternal mortality rate, with only 0.9 percent per 1,000 live births (PHO, ADS 2007).

In 2005, only 54.7 percent of the birthing cases were attended by health personnel. This increased to 65.8 percent by 2008 (per PHO Report) while only 34.2 percent were

handled by hilots or trained traditional barangay attendants (TBAs). Eight separate birthing clinics were established as of 2008 to cater to pregnant women’ safe delivery, but every barangay health station has its own birthing area. Home-based deliveries were not allowed. Constant follow-ups were done by the health workers, especially midwives, on pregnant women to convince the latter to have their babies delivered at the birthing clinics. In 2008, there were 2,451 active barangay health workers (BHWs) and 869 TBAs available.

On the other hand, the prevalence rate of contraceptive use in the province is 34.4 percent. Urban areas (38.33%) have a higher rate compared to rural areas (33.2%). There are more users of contraceptives in urban areas, which means that the populace is more conscious of population control, and most mothers in the urban areas go to work.

Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health


Figure 21. Proportion of Women Death Due to

Pregnancy-Related Causes

Proportion of Women Deaths due to Pregnancy-Related Causes

The proportion of women who died due to pregnancy-related causes Maternal death in all municipalities is about 0.3 percent This means that health services for pregnant women are delivered down to the household level. Birthing clinics are not available at barangay level (although not yet in all barangays). Moreover, the barangay health workers (BHW) are now properly monitoring the pregnant women and advocate the importance of prenatal care and its benefits to the mother and baby. Except for those mothers in far-fl ung barangays without accessible maternal health services available, women are now generally conscious of their health.

Target 5.B: Achieve by 2015, universal access to reproductive health

Contraceptive Prevalence Rate

Trento, Sta. Josefa, and Rosario are the top three sites with the highest proportion of couples who practice contraception. These municipalities have low poverty incidences. On the other hand, there are four municipalities with lower contracep-tive prevalence rate than the province’s rate of 34.4 percent. These are Sibagat, San Luis, Loreto, and La Paz–munici-palities that are also known for their high poverty incidence. This indicates that couples in these municipalities are not conscious of family planning; thus, they have more household members and experience poverty.



Health programs implemented in the province include the Nutrition Program,

Figure 22. Contraceptive Prevalence Rate

Indigency Program under the Philhealth-Sponsored Sector Program (funded by FOURmula ONE and DOH), Voluntary Blood Services Program, Health and Sanitation Program, and Family Planning and Maternal Services. Maternal services offered include provision of iron supple-ments, tetanus toxoid, and birthing clinics in each barangay health unit.

Agusan del Sur is also a recipient of FOURmula ONE for Health, which is funded by the EC and DOH and covers four areas: Health Service Delivery, Health Care Financing, Good Governance for Health, and Health Regulation. A total of P106,434,274 have been released to the province since 2007.

Other foreign funding agencies that have contributed to the delivery of health services include the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), AusAID, World Vision, Culion Foundation Incorporated, JPIC, NMCIREMP, IFAD, World Neighbors, UNDP-ACT for Peace. Nongovernmental organizations such as Loving Presence Foundation, Bangon Agusan Alang sa Kalamboan (BASAK) Inc., and Agusan del Sur Network of Civil Society Organization are also active partners of the province.

C. Challenges/Priorities/RecommendationsThere shall be no more child death in

2015, and 90 percent of those in the produc-tive ages must adopt family planning.

Concerned LGUs must increase their budget for health services, including family planning, to achieve the target by 2015. Medicines must be available especially in far-fl ung barangays with diffi cult road access.



Target 6. : Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS


The province has no reported HIV case among the 15-24 years old population based on Provincial Health Offi ce data since 2005. Moreover, the proportion of couples using condom as contraception is estimated to

be 2.4 percent suggesting that condom is not popular among couples as choice for contraception method.

The province has minimal cases of death (1.8%) associated with malaria, based on 2005 CBMS data. The MDG target set for 2015 is zero deaths due to malaria. The death rate associated with tuberculosis is estimated to be 31.1 percent. This is mainly due to the

Goal 6: Combat HIV/ AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases


proper health monitoring at the barangay level and the availability of medicines in barangay health units. However, the downside is that some tuberculosis patients were reported to not take their medications religiously.

Proportion of Couples Using Condom Among those who are Practicing Contraception

Five municipalities posted proportions of couples using condoms as contraception method higher than the provincial estimate of 2.4 percent. These are Rosario (2.8%). Bayugan (3.4%), Esperanza (3.4%), Loreto (4.3%), and San Luis (6.0%). On the other hand, Sta. Josefa recorded the lowest propor-tion at only 1.3 percent.

6

Figure 23. Proportion of Couples Using Condom

Among those who are Practicing Contraception


Target 6.C: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

Death Rates Associated with Malaria

La Paz has the highest incidence of deaths associ-ated with malaria at six deaths, followed by Veruela (2 deaths), and Loreto and San Luis (1 death each). These municipalities belong to river towns. Even though malaria drugs and treated mosquito nets have been distributed to these areas, the recipi-ents do not take the drugs

Figure 24. Death Rates Associated with Malaria


religiously because the less educated folks, especially those in the hinterlands, believe that malaria drugs are the cause of headaches.

Prevalence and Death Rates Associated with Tuberculosis

There are seven municipalities with death rates associated with tuberculosis that are higher than the provincial fi gure of 31.1 percent. These are Sibagat, Bunawan, Sta. Josefa, San Francisco, Prosperidad, Veruela, and Loreto. Sibagat has the highest number of deaths with about 59, followed by Bunawan with 47, then by Sta. Josefa with about 44. Generally, tubercu-losis is a disease associated

Figure 25. Prevalence and Death Rates

Associated with Tuberculosis


with poverty such as in the case of Loreto, La Paz, Veruela, and Sibagat. Lack of nutrition is also a factor. Moreover, laborers, especially those who lift heavy objects such as logs and other forest products, are most likely to be vulnerable to this disease. Sadly, it had been noted those already affl icted with tuberculosis do not go to rural health units regularly for treatment or, worse, do not accept that they have the disease.


The Provincial Health Offi ce is continu-ously monitoring the HIV prevalence in the province. The Malaria Control Program under an AusAID-funded project continues to be implemented. Activities include health education, distribution of treated mosquito nets, house spraying, and provision of malarial drugs to those areas considered positive for malaria. Results show a decrease in the number of deaths associated with malaria. From two deaths in 2003, the province managed to report zero deaths in 2004 and although there were 732 malaria

cases confi rmed in 2005, no deaths were recorded either.

The TB DOTS Program of the Department of Health, which is a national tuberculosis control program, has fi ve tuberculosis DOTS centers that are Philippine Coalition Against Tuberculosis (PHILCAT) accredited as well as six rural health units certifi ed as Sentrong Sigla-Level health facilities in the province.

Programs related to as Schistosomiasis Control and cardiovascular disease preven-tion are also being enforced in the province.


While the number of malaria cases in the province has ebbed, there remains a need to constantly monitor and reevaluate the strategies implemented and the availability of supplies for prevention as well as to be vigilant in combating malaria. Its control program should be supported because the cases can again increase due to ecological conditions that favor breeding of vectors.



Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability

Target 6.C: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases


Proportion of Land Area Covered by Forest

Based on the records of the DENR, Agusan del Sur has 76 percent forestland and 24

percent alienable and disposable lands out of the 896,550 hectares of land area. The Mt. Magdiwata Ranges is evidence that the province’s mountainous areas are still covered by forests. However, there are areas that need reforestation, which the province now has been working on.

Data gathered by the PENRO-LGU showed that the province has 68.45 percent of its


areas covered by forests. The Mt. Magdiwata Ranges is home to various fl ora and fauna, of which 2.32 percent of the fauna are in fact threatened with extinction. This number does not yet cover other areas and the Agusan Marsh.

Target 7.C : Halve by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation

Proportion of Households/Population with Access to Safe Drinking Water

About 66.2 percent of the population have access to safe drinking water. When broken down by gender, a slightly higher proportion of female members (66.6%) have access to

areas coveredRanges is hoof which 2.32threatened wnot yet coveMarsh.

Target 7.C : proportion oaccess to safsanitation

Proportion of Hpwith Access to S

About 66.2access to saf

Figure 26. Proportion of Househplds with Access to safe

Drinking Water


drinking water than do the males (65.8%). Although Agusan del Sur is crisscrossed by 13 rivers and several lakes, potable water is scarce unless these rivers are tapped as sources of drinking water, which involves a huge amount of money.

On the other hand, 78.6 percent of the population have access to sanitary toilet. There is a slightly higher number of female users (78.9%) than the males (78.2%). Those who do not have ready access to water and are living in the hinterlands do not have any sanitary toilets.

Rosario, Bayugan, San Francisco, and Esperanza are the places with better accessi-bility to safe drinking water. These are the municipalities having Level III water supply projects. Meanwhile, the municipalities of La Paz, Talacogon, and Loreto have lesser access to safe water since these are located along the Agusan River. Several Level I water supply projects have been implemented but the water produced is not potable. These municipalities, including those situated along the Agusan River, are the priority of the TINA Project.

Proportion of Households/Population with Access to Sanitary Toilet Facility

Eight municipalities have lesser access to sanitary toilets when compared to the provincial fi gure of 78.6 percent. La Paz has the least proportion of its population with access to sanitary toilets, followed by San Luis and Loreto. These municipalities have many far-fl ung barangays where most households do not have water-sealed and closed-pit types of toilet facilities. Moreover, about 82.52 percent, 56.15 percent, and 53.54 percent, respectively, of these municipalities are composed of indigenous people.

Figure 27. Proportion of Population with Access to Sanitary Toilet Facility

The graph above shows that Sta. Josefa, Trento, and Rosario have high access to sanitary toilets, either water-sealed or closed-pit types of facility. This means that more households are aware of sanitation and health concerns. The province has provided water-sealed toilet bowls to recipients who currently have no access to sanitary toilet. However, problem arose when some households failed to install the toilet bowls. Recently, the Provincial Health Offi ce put in place a strategy to rectify the problem. That is, aside from toilet bowls, the sponsors also include cement and other installation materials. In this case, households’ role is simply to render labor for the construction of the toilet.

The province has 7.2 percent of the popula-tion who are informal settlers. People who live in makeshift housing are only 3.9 percent. This is because lumber materials are cheap, Agusan del Sur being known as the timber capital of the Caraga Region.


In general, 49.5 percent, or almost half of the population, has inadequate living conditions. These are households that do not meet one or all of these four basic social necessities: access to safe drinking water, access to sanitary toilet facilities, not living in makeshift housing, and has security of tenure.

Target 7.D: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

Proportion of Households/Populationwho are Informal Settlers

There are three municipalities whose proportion of informal settlers

Figure 28. Proportion of Population who are Informal Settlers


is higher than the provincial figure of 7.2 percent. These are Prosperidad, Talacogon, and Rosario. In Prosperidad, the specific barangays whose informal settlers comprise with more than half of the barangay’s number of households are Libertad, Azpetia, Los Arcos, and Patin-ay. Informal settlers in Talacogon are mostly located near the river banks or live in fl oating houses in Barangay Sabang Gibong or are located at the road “right of way” in Barangay Marbon. Informal settlers in Rosario are those located in the mining areas such as Barangays Bayugan 3 and Maligaya.

Proportion and Magnitude of Households/Population who are Living in Makeshift Housing

There are nine municipalities whose propor-tion of households living in makeshift housing is higher than the provincial figure of 3.9 percent. Among these municipalities, Sta.

Figure 29. Proportion and Magnitude of Households/

Population who are Living in Makeshift Housing


Josefa tops the list, followed by Rosario and Veruela.

Proportion and Magnitude of Households/Population who are Living in Inadequate Living Conditions

There are nine municipalities with higher proportions of households with inadequate living conditions as compared to the provin-cial fi gure of 49.5 percent. La Paz has the highest proportion, followed by Loreto, and San Luis. These municipalities have many poor households.


To maintain ecological balance, existing laws (both national and local), especially

Figure 30. Proportion and Magnitude of Households/Population who

are Living in Inadequate Living Conditions


those that govern forestry and mining, should be strictly enforced.

In the area of environmental manage-ment, the PTWG has formulated the Environment Code that was duly approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and implemented the internal rules and regula-tions of the Code. The PENRO has monitored and evaluated activities related to RA 9003 in each municipality; and has provided technical assistance in the preparation of the Municipal Ecological Solid Waste Management Plan. Likewise, policy-making bodies such as the Agusan del Sur Environment and Sustainable Development Council (ASESDC) was set up to further safeguard the environment.

Meanwhile, the More Vegetation and Greening Project (MVGP), a rehabilitation

project on denuded forests covering 50 hectares of land, has been funded with P1.2 million. This involves replanting the area with rattan, rubber, and forest trees.

To reduce the percentage of waterless households, Agusan del Sur implement-ed Project TINA (Tubig Imnonon Natong Agusanon). In 2009, a total of P6.48 million has been allocated for the production and distribution of concrete water dispensers containing biosand fi lters.

The province has provided sanitary toilets to all pilot barangays of the Convergence Development Areas such as Rosario, Sibagat, Esperanza, San Francisco, and Prosperidad. Moreover, the DOH also has a regular project on the provision of sanitary toilets running at the barangay level.



1. Provision of waterless households with project TINA

Project TINA aims to provide the 90 percent (31,461 HHs) of waterless households with safe drinking water by the year 2015 at a total project cost of P70 million.

2. Increase the number of households with sanitary toilet by 5.2 percent

To be able to increase the number of households with sanitary toilets, the province and the different municipalities have to allocate funds for the construction of such toilet facilities. This action should be is in addition to the existing programs funded by FOURmula ONE and the DOH.

The famous Agusan Marsh. People living in this area are poor.


Project TINA is one of the good practices the province can boast of. In this strategy, the province solves the problems on potable drinking water by resorting to the use of the biosand fi lter. Th e technology was provided by a group of expert from the Palawan Con-servation Corps Center for Aff ordable Water & Sanitation Technology, A Single Drop for Safe Water.

Th e biosand fi lter consists of layers of sand and gravel enclosed within a body or box, usu-ally constructed from concrete. A shallow layer of water sits atop the sand whose purpose is to eliminate sediments, microorganisms, and other water impurities.

Th e fi lter cleanses 60-80 liters of water every day. It removes bacteria that cause diseases such as e-coli; cholera, viruses, parasites; and metallic elements such as iron. Th e fi ltered water looks, smells and tastes good. It is easy to maintain and operate, cheap and aff ord-able, built for household use, not necessary to change sand and gravel inside, and durable and long-lasting.

Th e project was launched in Agusan del Sur last December 18, 2008. Th e fi lters distributed to the diff erent schools and households had a budget of P6.48 million.

Gov. Maria Valentina G. Plaza together with Vice Gov. Cane, Jr., SP Magdamit and SP

Allan Santiago during the installation of project TINA at the household level.



Target 8.A: In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries


Proportion of Population with Access to Affordable Essential Drugs on a Sustainable Basis

The province has 107 Botika ng Bayan established, allowing households access to cheaper medicines, thus reducing the incidence of preventable diseases in the community.

Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development


Target 8.F: In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefit of new technologies, especially information and communication

The province has a low proportion of households with cell phones. Although all 14 municipalities have cell sites, households still have less access to telephones/cell phones because not all can afford the gadget.

Moreover, nine municipalities have telephone landlines such as Veruela, Sta. Josefa, Trento, Bunawan, San Francisco, Prosperidad, Bayugan City, Sibagat, and Esperanza.

Proportion of Households with Landlines/Telephones

San Francisco leads in terms of the propor-tion of households with access to telephones, followed by Bayugan, Prosperidad, and Trento. Their telephone service providers include Bayantel, Cruztelco, Philcom, PLDT, PT&T and RCPI. The province has a total of 38 public calling stations installed in 12 municipalities except Sta. Josefa and Bunawan.

Figure 31. Proportion of Households with Landlines/ Telephones


Proportion of the Households with Cell Phones

San Francisco also leads in terms of the number of households with access to cell phones. It is followed by Trento and Bayugan. These are all growth centers of the province, and therefore, more economic activities happen in these areas. All municipalities have accessed to Globe and Smart mobile networks. The number of cell sites installed in the province hiked from 21 in 2004 to 28 in 2005. In 2008, a cell site of Sun Cellular Company was installed in Bayugan.

Figure 32. Proportion of Households with Cellphones


Proportion of Households with Computers

San Francisco still tops in terms of the number of households with computers, followed by Prosperidad and Bayugan. More households in these municipalities can afford to buy a computer. A number of households are, in fact, engaged in computer businesses such as internet cafés, computer encoding and printing because of the high demand from students. These municipalities also have several secondary and tertiary schools wherein internet research is part of the require-ments from students.


Four of the province’s municipalities (Bayugan, Prosperidad---the capital town, San Francisco, and Trento) have functional Real Property Tax Information System (TRPTIS).

Figure 33. Proportion of Households with Computers


These are located in the province’s growth centers or commercial centers. Likewise, they have internet connec-tions. The lone radio station and lone TV station owned and managed by the provincial government is located at the D.O PLAZA Government Center in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur.

C. Challenges

There is a need to connect all the municipalities and 70 percent of the barangays of the province through internet and enhance/upgrade the existing systems.

Agusan del Sur is more advanced compared to o the r p rov inces in Caraga in terms of information technology. It has been frequently visited by other LGUs as

part of their benchmarking activities on information technology. Accessing global information is made easy, and local information exchange is always available.

Examples of existing informa-tion systems developed by the local Information Technology Unit are the Real Property Tax Information System (RPTIS), F i n a n c i a l M a n a ge m e n t Information System (FMIS), Warehouse Information System (WIS), Personnel Management Information System (PMIS), and the Community-Based Monitoring System.


based. This is to boast the province’s economy by 2015 by utilizing the available local resources. Funding will be a joint effort of the local, national, private and foreign investors.

Projects already ongoing are the Mindanao Rural Development Program, which is funded by the World Bank with LGU counterpart; the Northern Mindanao Community Initiatives and Resource Management assisted by the International Fund for Agricultural Development with LGU counterpart; the Philippines-Australia Community Assistance Program (PACAP); PODER 5 funded by the Spanish Government; ACT for Peace Program funded by the UNDP (New Zealand, Spain, Australia) and locally-initiated projects such as the Diversifi ed Farming Systems implemented in conver-gence development areas at the cost of P24.9 million in 2009 and 2010. This last one is funded yearly from the 20-percent of the Provincial Development Fund.

1. Priority Program and Responses for 2010-2015

Agusan del Sur allocates its funds by sectoral development areas: Economic Development, Soc ia l Deve lopment , In f ras t ruc tu re Development, Environment Management, and Development Administration. All programs and projects identified in this report are taken from the Provincial Development Physical Framework Plan (PDPFP)/Provincial Development Investment Plan (PDIP) and geared toward poverty reduction. This still excludes the Annual Investment Plan projects funded solely by 20-percent of the Provincial Development Fund.

1.1. Economic Development

To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, P71.67 million has been earmarked to fund several projects. It can be noted that majority of these projects are agriculture and forest

Part 3. Meeting the 2015 Challenge


Goal 1 – Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger


1.2. Social Development

To achieve universal primary education, P54.464 million and P46.0 million are allocated for the construction/repair of classrooms for pre-schools and elementary schools, respec-tively. Moreover, P36 million is allocated for the construction/repair of secondary school buildings/classrooms.

A total of P350.4326 million is allocated for the implementation of various social develop-ment projects under three goals: promote gender equality, reduce child mortality, and improve maternal health. Activities under these goals include upgrade of hospital facili-ties and equipment, indigency programs for poor families, water and sanitation programs, etc.

Goal 2 – Achieve Universal Primary Education

Table 36. Social Development (Education) Programs and Projects, Cost per Year (in Millions)


Goal 3 – Promote Gender Equality Goal 4 – Reduce Child Mortality Goal 5 – Improve Maternal HealthGoal 6 – Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases

Table 37. Social Development (Health) Programs and Projects, Cost per Year (in Millions)

Table 38. Social Development (Housing and Resettlement) Programs and Projects, Cost per Year (in Millions)


Table 39. Social Development (Social Welfare) Programs and Projects, Cost per Year (in Millions)

1.3. Environmental Management

A total of P41.85 million is allocated for the implementation of various projects in support of environmental sustainability. Major projects include watershed management/reforestation,

upland farming through the application of slope agricultural land technology (SALT), and settlement for poor households living in danger zones such as those along the river banks and road right of way.

Goal 7 – Ensure Environmental Sustainability

Table 40. Environmental Management Programs and Projects, Cost per Year (in Millions)

The above investments are funded by the PLGU, MLGUs. BLGUs; foreign-assistance organizations such as AusAID. CIDA, UNDP, EC, ADB, World Bank; and the coffers of the national government.


1.4. Infrastructure Development

Road density in the province has not reached the national standard. The existing road density is only 0.346 kilometer for every square kilometer of land---which is far below the standard of one kilometer for every kilometer of land. The province still needs financial

assistance to fully connect all barangays’ roads and construct bridges to those sites located along rivers and creeks. A total of P716.779 million is allocated for the construc-tion/repair of roads and bridges.

Goal 8 – Develop a Global Partnership for Development

2. Financing the MDGs


3. Monitoring Progress Toward the Attainment of the MDGs

Monitoring the province’s progress vis-a-vis the MDGs is not a problem in Agusan del Sur. The second round of the CBMS was conducted last May-June 2009. The next round is expected to be in 2012, and done regularly at three-year intervals. Yearly assessment of the programs and projects will be conducted by the Provincial Planning and Development Offi ce. For the next assess-ment activities, the province will be using the Logical Map designed by Dr. Cesar Mercado of the Development Center for Asia Africa and Pacifi c (DCAAP).

Another monitoring tool introduced to the province by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is the local Governance Performance Measuring System (LGPMS). The output of this tool is called the State of Local Governance Report (SLGR). Another tool also introduced by the DILG recently is the Systems Capacity Of The Local Government (SCALOG), which focuses on the LGUs’ capacity to deliver services, programs, and projects.

4. Conclusion and Recommendations

It can be gleaned in the report that the most challenging goal is to eradicate extreme poverty. The persistent problem on poverty

cannot be solved by one or two persons alone. It is a collaborative effort by all stakeholders and should be spearheaded by the political leaders with political will. Poverty leads to poor education, malnutrition, increasing criminality, prostitution, etc. Agusan del Sur has much to offer in terms of natural resources: vast agricultural lands, forest products, mineral deposits, etc. Its climate is a major factor of the production of agricultural crops. There is no long dry season in the area. Agusan del Sur has large rivers and lakes suited for fi sh production, and as source for irrigation and electricity. There are also large waterfalls that can be tapped as source of energy. Brownouts will be a thing of the past in Mindanao if only the relevant development programs are given top priority.

Recommendation:

• LGU officials and other development partners must focus on the implementation of programs and projects that are geared toward poverty reduction using the CBMS data. As of this time, not all programs and projects implemented uses the CBMS data;

• Source out funds for the implementation of various projects.

• Continue to provide counterpart funds for the foreign-funded projects;

• Involve NGOs in the implementation of programs and projects;

• Increase the number of women to occupy political position.



EXPLANATORY TEXT

A. Preparation of Provincial Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Report Using CBMS Data

1. Background and Justification

The availability of good statistics and the capacity of governments, donors and

international organizations to systematically measure, monitor and report on

progress in all social and economic spheres are at the heart of development

policy and the achievement of the MDGs.

The Millennium Development Goals Report 2007

While progress toward the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is systematically being measured, monitored and reported at the national level, clearly, there must be a parallel effort at the local level to bring the MDGs into the mainstream of the local development agenda.

This is especially called for under decentral-ized regimes where local government units (LGUs) are at the forefront of policy or program execution. Unfortunately, however, national statistical systems have yet to respond adequately to the demand for micro-level statistics that can aid LGUs in their poverty alleviation efforts, as noted in a joint World Bank and Asian Development Bank report, to wit: “the most comprehensive and consistent comparative subnational data (are) is at the regional level although this is simply an

administrative level of government that has no responsibilities for delivery of social services. More data (are) is gradually becoming available at the provincial level, but not at lower levels which are at the frontline of efforts to reduce poverty1.”

In response, the Philippine Government has embarked on an initiative to localize the MDGs using the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS). In 2005, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) issued Resolution No. 6 “recogniz-ing and enjoining support to the CBMS as a tool for strengthening the statistical system at the local level that will generate statistics for monitoring and evaluation of development plans, including the progress of the local governments in attaining the Millennium Development Goals.”

Meanwhile, several approaches are being carried out by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in capacitat-ing LGUs to contribute to the attainment of the MDGs and uplifting the quality of life of their constituents. These interventions are particularly stated in DILG Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2004-152 “Guide to Local Government Units in the Localization of the MDGs” dated November 2004, which provides for the: (a) menu of Programs, Projects and Activities (PPAs) per MDG goal and target to guide LGUs in responding to

1 Decentralization in the Philippines: Strengthening Local Government Financing and Resource Management in the Short-Term, 2005 (A Joint Document of the World Bank and

the Asian Development Bank)


the MDGs; (b) diagnosis of the local situation using existing local indicators and monitoring system; and (c) call for documentation and replication of good practices.

The CBMS that is being implemented in the Philippines is indeed well-positioned to track progress toward the attainment of the MDGs at the local level. For one, a number of indicators being monitored in the CBMS are included in the indicators for monitoring the progress in achieving the MDGs. Moreover, CBMS is intended to be done on a regular basis and can therefore be used for updating MDG indicators and facilitating preparation of regular MDG reports. The CBMS can also be used as basis by national and local govern-ments for costing and identifying appropriate interventions needed to achieve the MDGs as well as for resource allocation. Finally, given the large spatial disparities, the CBMS can help identify where focus has to be given to achieve the targets.

The CBMS’ role in localizing the MDGs was recognized during an Experts Group Meeting on Localizing the MDGs held on November 28, 2006 at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacifi c (UN ESCAP) in Bangkok, Thailand. The Committee on Poverty Reduction composed

of 24 nation-states agreed that the CBMS could complement the offi cial data collec-tion activities of national statistical offi ces and improve the availability of the MDG and other indicators at the local level. It also agreed that localizing the MDGs through CBMS would help integrate the goals into the national development strategies. It therefore urged other developing countries to initiate and implement similar innovative systems that would help localize the MDGs.

As of May 12, 2010, CBMS is being implemented in 59 provinces (32 of which are province-wide), 687 municipalities and 43 cities in the Philippines, covering 17,848 barangays all over the country (see Figure 34). A good number of these LGUs have already consolidated their CBMS databases and are well-positioned to generate their own local MDG Reports. For one thing, CBMS collects information that reflects the multi-faceted nature of poverty. In addition, data generated by the CBMS can be broken down by munici-pal, barangay, purok and even down to the household level, thereby presenting meaning-ful information and enabling deeper analysis of the poverty situation. Moreover, the CBMS can generate color-coded maps showing the poverty status at each geopolitical level.


Figure 34. CBMS Coverage in the Philippines (as of May 12, 2010)

2. Objectives

This project aims to capacitate ten provincial governments to systematically measure, monitor and report their status with respect to the MDGs. The operative word here is status since the provinces used their fi rst round of CBMS data in formulating this report. These provinces include Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Batangas, Biliran, Camarines Norte, Eastern Samar, Marinduque, Romblon, Sarangani and Siquijor. The abovementioned provinces were selected since they were among the first LGUs that were able to consolidate their CBMS databases at the provincial level. The CBMS Census was conducted in these provinces between 2005

and 2007 (for detailed information on census years, see Table 44).

In particular, the technical collabora-tion-- was carried out to meet the following objectives:

(i) to track the status on the attainment of the MDGs in the identifi ed provinces; (ii) to assist these provinces in preparing their Provincial MDG Reports; and (iii) to increase local awareness on how these reports can bridge local and national development strategies.

3. Expected Outputs

The technical collaboration is expected to produce the following outputs: (i) mentored


technical staff of the ten CBMS-partner provinces on how to prepare Provincial MDG Reports, and (ii) Provincial MDG Reports of the nine provinces

4. Capacity-Building

The capacity-building of the Provincial MDG Teams consists of three workshops and one-on-one mentoring process.

Processing of CBMS Data to Generate MDG Indicators. This 2-day activity was designed to provide participants with: (i) a deeper appreciation of the importance of the CBMS in benchmarking/tracking local progress toward the attainment of the MDGs; (ii) a satisfactory level of knowledge in processing CBMS data to facilitate analyses of accomplishments versus targets; (iii) some basic skills on how to incorporate MDG targets in local development plans and facilitate corresponding increase in budget allocation for MDG-responsive PPAs; and (iv) tools and methodologies in formulat-ing MDG reports.

Preparation of Provincial MDG Reports Using CBMS Data. This 2-day activity was designed to build on the gains of the fi rst workshop by providing technical assistance to the Project Teams in (i) processing CBMS data to generate the additional MDG indicators and consolidating their data at the provincial level, (ii) benchmarking/tracking their progress toward the attainment of the MDGs , (iii) reviewing partial provincial reports based on the indicators generated using the fi rst workshop , and (iv) fi nalizing list of indicators to be included in the report.

Presentation and Critiquing of Provincial MDG Reports. This 3-day activity was designed to fi nalize the Provincial MDG Reports and at the same time provide an opportunity for an exchange of views and possible harmonization of approaches as well as for the provision of consistent guidance to all the Provincial MDG Teams. The expected output from this workshop was the complete manuscript of the MDG Report which already incorporates the comments/inputs of the assigned mentor and resource persons who were invited to share their expertise during the workshop.

Mentor/Mentee Relationship. In order to ensure a sustained and focused mentoring program, a mentor from the Research Team of the CBMS Network was matched to one Provincial MDG Team.

The assigned mentor was expected to set a specifi c time each week to interact with his/her Provincial MDG Team and discuss the following: (1) review progress in drafting the Provincial MDG Report, (2) set/identify targets for the coming weeks, and (3) draw up an action plan to achieve those targets. In addition, the mentor was expected to assist his/her assigned MDG Team in identifying and solving problem areas.

Meanwhile, Dr. Celia M. Reyes, Anne Bernadette E. Mandap and Marsmath A. Baris, Jr. reviewed all partial and final reports. The technical staff of the NEDA Social Development Staff headed by Director Erlinda Capones also reviewed and provided valuable comments on the


The CBMS is an organized way of col-lecting data at the local level to be used by local governments, national government agencies, nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and civil society for planning, budgeting, and implementing local devel-opment programs as well as for monitor-ing and evaluating their performance. It is a tool for improved local governance and democratic decision-making that promotes greater transparency and accountability in resource allocation.

It involves the following steps:Step 1 – Advocacy/organizationStep 2 – Data collection and fi eld editingStep 3 – Data encoding and map digitizationStep 4 – Data consolidation, database-building

& poverty mappingStep 5 – Data validation and community con-

sultationStep 6 – Knowledge (database) managementStep 7 – Plan formulationStep 8 – Dissemination, implementation, and

monitoring

The MDG Indicators, which were esti-mated using CBMS data, are presented in Table 43.

Box 1. Community-Based Monitoring System

reports.

B. CBMS-MDG Indicators

Unless otherwise indicated, all the statisti-cal tables, graphs, charts and poverty maps presented in this report were generated using the CBMS methodology.

The MDG Indicators, which were estimated using CBMS data, are presented in Table 43.


Table 43. The CBMS-MDG Indicators and their Definition






D. Authority for the CBMS Census

The NSCB has issued Resolution No. 6 (2005) which recognizes and enjoins support to the CBMS as a tool for strengthening the statistical system at the local level. It also directs the NSCB Technical Staff to initiate and coordinate an advocacy program for the adoption of the CBMS by the LGUs, through the Regional Statistical Coordination Committees (RSCCs), the technical arm of the NSCB Executive Board in the regions.

The NSCB has also approved the CBMS Survey Instruments through NSCB Approval No. DILG-0903-01.

E. Survey OperationsAll survey operations were undertak-

en under the supervision of the CBMS Technical Working Groups (TWGs) at the Provincial and Municipal Levels. They

identified the local personnel who were trained as enumerators and field supervi-sors. Technical assistance was provided by the PEP-CBMS Network Coordinating Team, the Bureau of Local Government Development (BLGD) and Regional Office IV-B of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Regional Office IV-B and the Institute for Democratic Participation in Governance (IDPG).

Training was mainly conducted at two levels. The fi rst level training (Training of Trainors) is conducted for members of the TWGs. This is usually conducted by members of the research staff of the CBMS Network and CBMS accred-ited trainors from the DILG, NAPC and NEDA. Meanwhile, a second level training (Training of Enumerators) is conducted for enumera-tors who are usually composed of barangay health workers and students. The members

Table 44. Poverty and Food Threshold


of the TWG acted as trainors in this training.

F. Data Processing System

The data processing software used under this project includes the CBMS Data Encoding System, the CBMS-Natural Resources Database and Stata.

The CBMS encoding system uses CSPro (Census and Survey Processing), a software developed by the United States Bureau of Census for entering, editing, tabulating, and disseminating data from censuses and surveys. The CSPro-based (Census and Survey Processing) Encoding System converts survey data into electronic data. It produces text fi les (ASCII) described by data dictionaries, which adds fl exibility to the output data. This feature facilitates the interface between the CBMS data and other database systems and statistical softwares.

The CBMS Mapping system employs the Natural Resources Database (NRDB) for CBMS-based poverty mapping and for storing and displaying household- and individual- level information, The CBMS-NRDB is capable of creating and storing spatial (shapefi les) and non-spatial (texts and numbers) data as well as generating maps, reports and graphs ideal for presentation and analysis of poverty attributes in the community. This has signifi cantly addressed the need for a simple yet powerful and free geographically-oriented database.

Meanwhile, the CBMS data presented in this report through tables, graphs, charts and poverty maps were processed using Stata, a general-purpose statistical software package

created in 1985 by StataCorp.

These softwares were provided for free to the 10 provinces which formulated their reports under this project.

G. CBMS Poverty Maps

The poverty map for each indicator shows the provincial map disaggregated by municipality.

A simple color scheme is used (green, light green, pink and red) to represent the four ranges of data for each indicator. Each indica-tor, however, used a different range relative to the provincial data.

H. Limitations of the Data

While observations are taken from the entire population, the user of the data presented in this report should bear in mind that the municipalities in two provinces (Eastern Samar and Biliran) were not able to collect their data over the same period. For instance, CBMS was piloted in a number of municipalities in Eastern Samar and Biliran in 2005 and was implemented provincewide in 2006. Moreover, due to some diffi culties, the CBMS census could not be carried out in 1 barangay in Romblon, and 2 barangays each in Camarines Norte and Eastern Samar.

Estimates on poverty and subsistence incidence may also be affected by under- and/or over-reporting of income or reluctance on the part of the respondents to reveal their true levels of income. As in other surveys, the CBMS enumerators may also have encountered interview non-response and item non-response.

Available in this series:

NATIONAL REPORT

• Philippines Progress Report on the Millennium Development Goals 2010

PROVINCIAL REPORTS

•Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals Using CBMS Data Province of Agusan del Norte

•Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals Using CBMS Data Province of Agusan del Sur

•Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals Using CBMS Data Province of Biliran

•Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals Using CBMS Data Province of Camarines Norte

•Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals Using CBMS Data Province of Eastern Samar

•Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals Using CBMS Data Province of Marinduque

• Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals Using CBMS Data Province of Romblon

•Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals Using CBMS Data Province of Siquijor

•Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals Using CBMS Data Province of Sarangani

Documents

MDGs Provincial Status Report 2010 Philippines Agusan Del Sur