Building a Resilient Region

Stories from 15 Years of Philippines-Canada Cooperation

Collaborative Governance in Cities and Communities of the Western Visayas

Building a Resilient Region

ContributorsEvan Anthony AriasAlma BelejerdoLisa CavicchiaAndrew FarncombeAngeles GabineteJahazel GelitoFrancis GentoralBaltazar GumanaBenito JimenaNereo LujanCristina OctavioJose Roni PeñalosaJay PresaldoAndrea RobertsDr. Adrian SalaverDr. Joyous Jan SantosDr. Sally Ticao

Publisher

Canadian Urban Institute555 Richmond St. West, Suite 402PO Box 612, Toronto, OntarioM5V 3B1 CanadaTel: 416-365-0816Fax: [email protected]

Editing, Layout & DesignNereo LujanIan Malczewski

PhotographyCUI MIGEDC DILGDOT Municipality of Malay

Supporting OrganizationsMetro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council:

City of IloiloProvince of GuimarasMunicipality of LeganesMunicipality of OtonMunicipality of PaviaMunicipality of San MiguelMunicipality of Santa Barbara

Department of the Interior and Local Government - Region 6

Department of Tourism - Region 6

Municipality of Malay, Aklan Province

Published with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

Canadian InternationalDevelopment Agency

Agence canadienne de développement international © 2009 Canadian Urban Institute

Preface:Learning to Think and Act like a Region: A Philippine Metropolis Comes of Age 2

Iloilo City: Conserving a City’s Legacy for the Next Generation 9

Guimaras: The Role of Local Governments in Economic Development 13

Guimaras: Public-private Partnerships and Community-based Tourism 17

Iloilo City: Securing the City Through Community-based Policing 22Metro Iloilo: A Metropolitan Alliance to Improve Urban Health Services 25

Metro Iloilo: Managing Rapid Urban Growth through Integrated Land Use Planning 29

Metro Iloilo Guimaras: Metro-wide Investment Promotion 32

Guimaras: A Community Comes Together to Fight Poverty 35

Malay:Boracay’s War on Waste 42

Malay: Strengthening the Municipal Role in Health and Sanitation 50

About This Casebook

Urban centres in the Asia-Pacific region are rapidly growing. While it took London 130 years to grow from a population of 1 million to 8 million, Bangkok took only 45 years, Dhaka 37 years and Seoul only 25 years. According to the UN Habitat, by 2020, two-thirds of the urban population in Southeast Asia will live in only five mega urban regions, with Manila tying with Bangkok in the second slot of having the largest population by that time.

But it is in fact smaller cities that are home to half of the urban world. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), these smaller urban centres are expected to account for about half of urban population growth over the next decade. Although not as often in the news, it is these smaller urban centres – with fewer human, technical and financial resources and limited governance capacity to manage growth – that will need the attention of policy makers in the foreseeable future.

Managing rapidly growing urban centers is a big challenge to local governments in the Philippines, on whose shoulders rest the power and responsibility of addressing concerns on poverty, informal settlements, housing, jobs, water and sanitation, environment, crime and public safety, to name a few.

In 1991, the Philippine government passed Republic Act 7610 otherwise known as the Local Government Code (LGC). It transferred to local government units the power and responsibility to provide a range of basic services previously performed by the central government. This trend toward government decentralization and empowerment of local communities in local affairs deepened the roots of democracy in the Philippines.

However, local government units (LGUs) found themselves in limbo with the new law because they were unprepared for decentralization. They lacked the basic capacity, technical know-how and resources (financial, technical and human) to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate activities in an effective, autonomous and fully accountable manner.

Realizing the challenges ahead for the Philippines in making decentralization work, the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) launched in 1994 an innovative partnership program to help local authorities take on their new responsibilities and to advance the empowerment of communities in local decision-making. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), through its Canadian Partnership Branch, has provided a generous financial contribution to the project, as part of the Agency’s wider efforts to build democratic governance in the country.

The geographic focus of the project is the Western Visayas Region, one of the priority areas for intervention under CIDA’s Country Development Framework. CUI works

with several local and regional government units in the region, as well as with national level agencies with a local development mandate. The project has been anchored by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, through its Region VI office. The CUI has helped its partners in the region to imagine a sustainable future and then work towards it.

This casebook shares the experiences and lessons learned over fifteen years of CUI’s engagement with its partners in the Western Visayas. It will take readers through ten cases that demonstrate how the region recognized a problem or challenge it faced, brought stakeholders together through a process of civic engagement to determine a solution, establish inter-LGU alliances, and then harnessed the capacity of community members and the private sector to realize the region’s goals. Knowledge transfer from Canada and around the world – whether through experts, good practice sharing or professional exchange – drove the project’s innovations.

These cases serve as a model for how technical assistance, international expertise and local knowledge and resources can come together to make significant improvements to the lives of citizens in a developing world context. The projects presented here all have received significant support over the years from CUI. A special word of thanks goes to DILG and CIDA for having the vision to support this Philippines-Canada collaboration over many years and for the guidance in making it flourish.

Want More Information?For more information about CUI, please visit www.canurb.com or www.philippines.canurb.com. For more information about MIGEDC, please visit www.migedc.org.ph. For more information about DILG, please visit www.dilg.gov.ph. For more information about DOT, please visit www.tourism.gov.ph. For more information about the Municipality of Malay, please visit http://www.malaylgu.com/ or http://www.malay-aklan.gov.ph.

2 Building a Resilient Region

Standing amidst the stream of rural-urban commuters on Ortiz Pier, one can get a near perfect panorama of Iloilo city and its region. Look closely and you might even catch a glimpse into the past or perhaps a few hints about what the future holds for this rapidly growing city. This is the Philippines’ fifth largest urban region by population, and the second oldest settlement in the country. It is the undisputed commercial capital of the Western Visayas group of islands and centre of culture for the Ilonggo people. It is also home to one of Canadian Urban Institute’s longest running international partnership programs.

The City and its CountrysideIloilo’s port bustles with activity. Foreign-registered cargo ships mix with passenger ferries plying the Manila-Mindanao route. A harbour perfectly sheltered from open seas by the adjacent island of Guimaras, it is easy to understand why the Spanish conquistadores chose this place in 1855 as a hub of maritime trade. Immediately to the north, the city’s dense commercial centre crowds a narrow peninsula jutting out into the sea. Its heritage commercial buildings are monuments to the former mercantile era and the wealth that came with the once-flourishing sugar industry.

Poking above the skyline, the spires of churches, some built as early as the 1700s, are lingering proof of the country’s 400 years of Spanish rule. Nearby, grand mansions and old houses from another time display their unique blend of Asian and Hispanic architecture. They offer a stark contrast to the squatter settlements perched above the water’s edge along the harbour, a reminder that Iloilo, like so many other cities in Southeast Asia, continues to struggle with poverty.

Looking farther afield toward the horizon, one can see the outer reaches of the region. To the west, the dormitory municipality of Oton gives way to terraced rice fields, farming villages, and the majestic mountains of Antique. To the east and south across the narrow strait, rural Guimaras island rises green out of the sea, the pattern of its famous mango plantations visible on the hillsides.

Building the Regional CityBuilding the regional city is the theme of CUI’s program in the Philippines. Running uninterrupted since 1994, it is a

unique partnership with 11 local government units (LGUs) and their communities, both urban and rural, across the greater Iloilo-Guimaras region.

“We have all been learning to think and act like a region,” explains Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas as he speaks of the collaboration with the Canadians. “A decade ago, this region came to a collective realization that it was in trouble. We were in a constant state of crisis management. The issues we faced spilled from one local jurisdiction to the next – mounting traffic congestion, worsening air quality, inadequate potable water supply, deficiencies in solid waste management, environmental degradation and flooding, growing poverty and inequality. To move forward we knew we needed to come together.”

And come together is exactly what has happened. In February 2001, the core municipality of Iloilo City together with the four adjacent suburban and rural municipalities of Leganes, Oton, Pavia, and San Miguel established the Metropolitan Iloilo Development Council (MIDC). Following extensive consultation with regional stakeholders, visits by Canadian regional governance experts, and CUI-organized study tours to learn how metropolitan governance works in other places, the member councils opted for a voluntary, consensus-based arrangement that draws on some of the best features of Metro Naga (metro.naga.gov.ph) and Metro Vancouver (www.gvrd.bc.ca). The Philippines’ newest metropolitan arrangement was born.

PrefaceLearning to Think and Act like a Region: A Philippine Metropolis Comes of Age

3Building a Resilient Region

Learning to Think and Act Like a Region: A Philippines Metropolis Comes of Age

But building the regional city did not stop with the formation of MIDC. More recently, steps were taken to bring neighbouring Guimaras Province and its five rural municipalities into the regional family. Initiated in 2005, the Guimaras-Iloilo City Alliance (GICA) established a formal mechanism for urban-rural cooperation and linkages. Cemented through a memorandum of understanding, it was an impressive collaborative framework for the marketing of tourism, the region’s most promising economic opportunity, and for infrastructure development such as ports and roads that helped move goods in the important agro-industrial sector.

Metropolitan Governance ArrivesThe most recent step along the path to improved regional governance was the creation of the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC) in August 2006. As successor to MIDC and GICA, MIGEDC is an enlarged metropolitan body that brings into the regional family the Province of Guimaras as well as the Municipality of Santa Barbara, site of the new Iloilo International Airport that opened to commercial traffic in June 2007. Created through Executive Order No. 559 by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, MIGEDC is seen as a contribution towards implementing the nation’s regional development strategy and shaping the ‘Central Philippines Mega-Region’ as the nation’s tourist hub.The MIGEDC Roadmap 2010 is the new strategic plan for the region. It sets the region’s compass toward a sustainable future, emphasizing economic growth that benefits all citizens, environmental stewardship, development of community assets, equitable access to government services and a strong commitment to civic engagement and public-private-community partnerships.

Some of the priority tasks identified by MIGEDC for the next couple of years include preparing a regional growth management plan, creating a strategy for integrated regional infrastructure development, enhancing local economic development, improving LGU fiscal affairs and policy development functions, and generally responding to the national government’s 10-point agenda and mega-region economic development strategy.

Leadership for a RegionLeadership was what pulled Iloilo out from yesterday’s state of crisis management towards today’s optimism and collaborative action. As the long-time mayor of the region’s central city, Treñas has been the leading advocate of the urban-region-building process in Iloilo. But he has not been alone in his mission. He was joined early on by a legion of new-generation mayors and a governor from rural reaches of the region. What they have in common is a determination to do things differently and to leave this city region a better place for future generations. Many of these leaders have been irrevocably changed by their exposure to lessons from other places, having viewed first hand the experiences of Canada, Singapore, Australia and Malaysia through their involvement in the CUI program.

“It has been nothing less than a paradigm shift for us all,” notes Oton’s former mayor, Carina Flores. “Frankly it is liberating. Thinking in the context of ‘urban’ and ‘regional’, and no longer just ‘municipal’, has allowed all jurisdictions to trade in municipal decision-making freedoms for the

collective decision-making of MIGEDC when it comes to the big issues.”

Guimaras Congressman and past Provincial Governor Dr. Rahman Nava explains it a different way. “The boat holds strong symbolism of community in Filipino culture,” he says, reminding us of how the barangay, the modern-day village and neighbourhood unit, has its roots in the ancient nomadic boat communities that

sailed the archipelago. “Filipinos are very good at working collectively within our local communities, less so at a more macro scale. What we are doing here is drawing on one of our strongest legacies as a society, but this time we are building a community of a different sort -- an urban and regional community.”

Jumpstarting the EconomyBuilding a shared identity for the regional community has indeed been one of the major challenges faced by greater Iloilo. Focusing on defining the region’s comparative advantage, the region has just completed a new economic development strategy and a regional tourism action plan that benefited from civic engagement at many levels. “During our many learning tours overseas with CUI, what we grew to understand was that to succeed we need to compete in a globalized world,” notes Edwin Trompeta, the Department of Tourism’s director for the Western Visayas


Learning to Think and Act Like a Region: A Philippine Metropolis Comes of Age

Region. “So we opted for a culture-driven regeneration strategy. An ‘attitude’ was what we needed, and branding our city and our region was the first logical step towards this.”

Under the banner “Festival Capital of the Philippines”, the Iloilo region chose to jumpstart the local economy through its Dinagyang Festival. Literally meaning ‘to make merry,’ Dinagyang is a two-day, city-wide party started in 1968 that explodes onto the streets every January. It blends religious and pagan traditions, celebrating both the feast of Santo Nino and the pre-colonial tradition of the ati warrior through costume and dance. The success of this new approach has gone beyond expectations. Through a government-private sector partnership arrangement that saw the festival’s organization turned over to the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation, tourism arrivals have seen substantial jumps over the past five years.

With the festival as its main tourism product, the city region has gone on to construct a cohesive heritage tourism portfolio to draw visitors to a range of Ilonggo culture and local places. Promoting both urban and countryside experiences, the product invites visitors to experience on one day the richness of the central city’s energetic urbanity, heritage buildings and sites, while on the next to take in the pristine nature, serenity of farm and village life, and white sand beaches of Guimaras. The “Experience Iloilo Guimaras” marketing program, which is run out of the Iloilo City Convention Bureau, is a new cooperative arrangement of the national, provincial and local governments.

Rural Strategies for the City Region“Tackling poverty is one of our main goals,” stresses Angie Gabinete, Guimaras’ provincial tourism officer. “In an effort to ensure the new tourism benefits our poorest residents, we are really proud to have invested seed funds in several important pilot initiatives.” Centred on a coastal hamlet in

southern Guimaras, the Guisi heritage tourism project is an impressive community-run venture. Heritage and ecology are its themes. Staying overnight in a traditional cottage, tourists are offered a package that invites them to learn traditional methods of fishing and agriculture, understand marine resource protection, observe the restoration of the community’s colonial-era lighthouse, hike to the local cave, waterfall, mountain and white-sand beaches, and in the evening experience local barangay life, food

and culture alongside local residents. The Panindahan sa Manggahan is a farm market festival that is turning the island’s main public market, Alibhon in Jordan town, into a tourist attraction and a celebration of eating locally grown food. “Local farmers, fisherfolk, craftspeople and artists need to capitalize on our increasing tourism, and this allows them to showcase and sell their products,” Gabinete notes. And a tour guide program, coordinated through the recently established tourism information centre, is providing new livelihood opportunities for the island’s young people.

“Our tourism program is part of a much larger, quite sophisticated local economic development machinery on Guimaras. It’s something you won’t find in too many other rural areas of the country,” explains the Province’s senior planner Evan Arias with evident pride of accomplishment. Created in 2004, the Provincial Economic Development Office (PEDO) is a new super agency on the island that is working to strengthen the local economy, foster a supportive investment climate and fight poverty by creating livelihood opportunities. PEDO’s front office is the Guimaras Trade and Information Centre (GTIC). It serves as a one-stop shop for investors wanting to set up business in the island, a showroom of local products and services, and an incubator for small- and medium- sized enterprises complete with training facilities. A testament to the Province’s success, an initiative is now afoot within MIGEDC to create economic development offices (EDOs) in each of the member Local Government Units (LGUs), modeled on the Guimaras experience of stewarding community-based economic development.

Agriculture and fisheries are the other priority sectors for Guimaras. Thanks to a state-of-the-art research station and U.S. Department of Agriculture certification, the island is now exporting mangos -- its signature crop -- to North America and key markets in the Asia-Pacific region. Rice, coconut, cashew, kalamansi (limes) and copra



are other important crops. Surrounded by rich fishing grounds, the sea and its catch sustains life in 54 coastal barangays. “PEDO is doing a lot to support growth in these sectors,” continues Arias. “Our Agri-Fishery Development Program pays special attention to our marginal and small producers.” Today the program is working to strengthen agricultural cooperatives, develop new processing facilities, provide a common marketing system through GTIC and improve farm-to-market infrastructure such as roads, public markets and wharfs.

A Growth Management FrameworkTo achieve the city region’s economic renaissance, local leaders understand well that it cannot be realized without creating a liveable urban region. “If we are to have a sustainable city, we need good governance and coordinated, long-horizon planning and management across the whole region,” notes MIGEDC’s Executive Director José Roni Peñalosa. And this is what MIGEDC, and before it MIDC, have been pursuing, and with vigour.

One of the first acts of the new metro arrangement was to harmonize the land use plans of its five member municipalities. Formulated through a major participatory exercise, the Metro Iloilo Land Use Framework (MILUF) Plan is a regional growth management framework. It establishes six guiding principles: 1) complete communities with a full range of housing, employment and services, 2) compact development in the central city and around satellite towns, to combat sprawl and create a more sustainable, poly-centric urban structure, 3) green (forest, agricultural) and blue (coastal, estuary) zone protection, 4) transportation choices, such as mass transit, biking and walking, to minimize traffic congestion, 5) economic diversity, to promote investment and create jobs, and 6) social equity to put a priority on access to housing and basic services by the region’s poorest residents.

A similar process of plan harmonization took place in Guimaras during the mid to late 1990s. Following an island-wide participatory planning exercise that involved the province, five municipalities and 96 barangay

councils, Guimaras produced an integrated strategic plan. It is supported by a new land use plan, an economic development agenda and a state-of-the-art geographic information system.

A Devolution RevolutionCUI’s programming in the Philippines over the past 15 years has been undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian Partnership Branch (CPB) of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). With a focus on the Western Visayas, CUI has been supporting the country’s continued thrust towards decentralization of power to local governments and empowerment of local communities in decision-making. The tradition of strong central government power and control in the Philippines, which dates back to the beginning of the Spanish conquest, made an important reversal in 1986 with the advent of the People’s Power Revolution. This so-called bloodless revolution brought the country into its current era of democratic development. By 1991, a new Local Government Code (LGC) had been

passed, beginning the process of devolution of power to the local level and deepening the roots of democracy.

“What is happening in the greater Iloilo region is nothing short of a devolution revolution,” says Evelyn Trompeta, Western Visayas’ regional director for the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the national ministry responsible for overseeing the LGC’s implementation. Because the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras arrangement was a purely local initiative realized through strong local leadership, she explains, there is local pride and ownership in the alliance providing momentum and cohesion across political lines into the future. It is indeed testament to the power of the Local Government Code.

“The region’s pursuit of good governance is paying dividends,” Trompeta adds. “MIGEDC is now a preferred platform for implementation of national-level urban region projects. It has also attracted investment from a range of international development agencies.” Indeed, the metropolitan alliance has working international partnerships not just with Canada, but also with the Asian Development Bank, Australia (AusAID), Cities Alliance, Germany (GTZ), Japan (JICA) and UN-HABITAT.

A Collaboration with AustraliaIn 2006, CUI embarked on a new local governance project in the Philippines through a unique Australia-Canada collaboration that is on the leading edge of new approaches to harmonization and coordination

“The region’s pursuit of good governance is paying dividends.”



of official development assistance.

The Philippines-Australia Local Governance Development Program (LGPD) worked to enhance local economic development in the country. The program focused on helping local governments within a shared region work together. By promoting inter-municipal collaboration and resource sharing, LGPD aimed to address critical constraints to growing the economy, while taking steps to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development.

The project was funded by AusAID, which manages Australia’s official overseas aid program. In April 2006, the Government of Australia lifted restrictions on foreign participation in tendering, opening the door for CUI to join forces with Adelaide-based Coffey International Development Pty Ltd. to submit the winning bid.

Running from October 2006 to January 2008, LGDP worked closely with local area development partnerships (LADPs) in two pilot regions: the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC) and the Provincial Government of Bohol.

The Australian program was designed to build on the results flowing from many years of both Australian and Canadian development cooperation in the local governance sector. In addition to its work with the two LADPs, the AusAID program supported policy reform to help bring about improved regional cooperation in other parts of the country. It also facilitates donor coordination at the local level.

With Coffey International Development as the managing contractor of the program, CUI played the role of partnership advisor in the Metro-Iloilo Guimaras pilot region.

LGRC as Knowledge Hub in Region VIFor devolution to work in a country as regionally disparate as the Philippines, deconcentrated LGU support mechanisms are gaining in their importance for the promotion of good local governance and sustainable economic growth. The recent establishment of Regional Local Governance Resource Centers (LGRCs) within the

regional offices of DILG is a major advance in setting up such institutional support infrastructure.

Through its CIDA-funded program, CUI provides support to LGRC Region VI (Western Visayas) as it carves out its important new role in supporting decentralization. The Center is active in promoting a culture of learning as it becomes a purveyor of ideas, a disseminator of information, and an advocate of multi-stakeholder approaches. Connecting and convening stakeholders to advance integrated thinking on local challenges has become its important new role.

To help the LGRC in Western Visayas to bridge the digital divide, a website was launched (http://www.lgrc6.org.ph/) with support of CUI and other local civil society partners including Iloilo Code NGOs, Process Foundation and the region’s three main academic institutions, Central Philippines University, University of San Agustin and the University of the Philippines in the Visayas. The website is part of a program to pilot seven LGRCs across the country, spearheaded by DILG’s Local Government Academy (DILG-LGA).

Learning and Sharing Across Region VIWorking in conjunction with DILG and the Department of Tourism (DOT), CUI has been active in spreading its experiences and knowledge to other parts of the Western Visayas. One of the Institute’s most active partnerships has been with the Municipality of Malay. Mass tourism and rapid development on Boracay Island has created significant



challenges for land management and environmental protection and put strains on the island community’s health care system. To protect environmental health and livelihood of local residents while continuing to attract tourists to the ‘crown jewel’ of the Philippines tourism industry, Boracay’s leaders launched a number of programs to strengthen its environmental safeguards and improve its service delivery systems.

CUI has lent its support to these initiatives over the past decade. A first step was to lead Boracay stakeholders through a participatory process to prepare a sustainable development strategy for the island. This was supported by a carrying capacity analysis that drew attention to the early warning signs of an impending ecological crisis on the island and rallied decision-makers and the community around the need for managing change in a unique tourism destination.

This participatory planning activity, which took place in the late 1990s, led to a series of initiatives related to health and solid waste management. Through LGU capacity building, the Boracay Island Sustainable Health Services Delivery Project has helped improve the health and sanitation status on the island. It has helped improve solid waste management, strengthen public health services to residents, contract workers and tourists and raise the level of awareness of people through information and education campaigns. Steps were also taken to strengthen municipal ordinances and development control guidelines in an effort to improve the quality of the built environment and protect ecologically sensitive zones.

The experiences and lessons learned in Malay are now informing ongoing work related to sustainable tourism development in the MIG region.

Reawakening the Filipino Tradition of ‘Bayanihan’The most remarkable thing about MIGEDC is that it has provided a framework for turning good ideas into action. And partnership is at the heart of the development efforts in Metro Iloilo-Guimaras.

“We gleaned a lot from our studies in Canada,” says Cristina Octavio, MIGEDC’s Assistant Executive Director. “The strong Canadian commitment to collective action and building a healthy public realm in your cities has rubbed off on us. As you can see from what is under way here, Iloilo is really getting back on track to improve our public spaces, places and community and social infrastructure.”

Renewing the public realm is a defining theme of the Canadian Urban Institute’s work both in Canada and around the world. “The quality of urban life has been rooted

deeply in the quality and strength of its public realm,” observes CUI’s immediate past President David Crombie. “Education, healthcare, social services, public transit, arts and culture, energy resources, public safety and security, justice, libraries, environmental stewardship, roads, streets and public places have been the connecting tissues linking our individual private worlds and fusing one generation to another.”

Reawakening the Filipino tradition of bayanihan has been an overarching theme of MIGEDC. The term comes from the Tagalog words bayan (community) and anihan (harvest) and has its origins in the tradition of a community coming together for harvest and sharing in the fruits of their efforts. Today the term refers to communal effort in which shared challenges are overcome through community unity, cooperation and partnership. Putting it another way, David Crombie, CUI’s former President and CEO and former Mayor of the City of Toronto, says “we are imagining an urban future that challenges many of the conventions of 20th century industrial practice and yet recalls some forgotten wisdom.

Renewing the Public RealmIt is in the spirit of bayanihan that improvements to the public realm of the MIG region are being pursued. Over the past several years, MIGEDC and before it MIDC put in motion a series of impressive city-building initiatives. Some of the most important of these, which are explored in detail in this casebook, are the following:

• Metro Iloilo Health Alliance (MIHA) is the Philippines’ first inter-local health zone in a metropolitan setting. It was established to provide more equitable access to health services across the urban and rural municipalities of the MIDC area. The Alliance was in response to a critical shortage of health care resources and an uneven quality of health infrastructure, services, and expertise across municipal jurisdictions. In addition to providing a new framework for integrated health planning, MIHA’s main feature is a two-way referral system. This system allows patients to move seamlessly from community-level public health facilities (barangay health stations)

The Plaza Libertad is one of Iloilo’s most cherished public spaces



to the highest level of specialized institutional care and back, depending on patient need. Working with PhilHealth, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, the Alliance has paid special attention to establishing a financing scheme to guarantee access to those unable to pay.

• Iloilo Investment Promotion Centre. To ensure that Iloilo and the surrounding municipalities remain a preferred destination for investors, the region established the Iloilo Investment Promotion Center (IIPC) to promote Iloilo City and the province as an investment destination, to serve as a repository of information and services that caters to the needs of prospective investors, and to link government agencies at the national and local levels, the private sector, and existing and potential investors. In partnership with the Iloilo Business Club and industry associations, the IIPC has worked to streamline the investment process and to provide essential services to prospective and ongoing investors.

• Central business district revitalization. This important initiative is restoring the historic city centre, known as Calle Real, through improvements to the public realm and actions to bring back vibrancy to businesses in the area. It is designed to counter the area’s decline following the construction of new malls in outlying parts of the city. The goal is to one day make the old city a centrepiece of the local tourism industry. The restoration of the area’s impressive stock of heritage buildings is the starting point. In April 2000, the local government created the Iloilo City Cultural Heritage Conservation Council, which has completed an inventory of heritage structures and prepared new preservation policies and zoning. A package of tax incentives is driving private sector involvement in the restoration efforts. Other strategies being pursued are the gradual phasing-out of billboards, stricter enforcement of signs, consolidation of utility poles and lines, enhanced urban design guidelines, traffic re-routing and the introduction of pedestrian amenities.

• Metro Iloilo Safer Communities Project has placed a priority on bolstering the city’s long-established Community Oriented Policing System (COPS). Throughout the country, maintenance of local peace and order and the promotion of public safety at the neighbourhood and village levels rest with barangay tanods. Somewhat similar to the neighbourhood block watches of North America, these are groups of four to six civilian volunteers that patrol the streets, primarily at night, armed only with night sticks and direct communication links to police. The project is working with tanods on several fronts. It is helping to modernize their equipment and

facilities, providing training, and organizing study tours to inspire improvements. A new annual award recognizes outstanding community policing initiatives, approaches and leadership across the urban region.

• Improvements to key regional infrastructure. MIDC has put in motion a series of projects to improve several community assets of importance to the region. To address mounting garbage disposal problems and ward off imminent environmental and health problems, efforts are afoot to convert the Calajunan dumpsite to a sanitary landfill. Enhancements to the region’s public markets, both in the central and outlying town centres, will enhance food security, afford more opportunities for farmers from the rural reaches of the city region to sell their goods, and improve waste management and recycling. MIDC has also worked closely with national-level authorities during the planning and construction of Iloilo’s new international standard airport in nearby Santa Barbara, with an emphasis on ensuring the region’s network of arterial roads provides adequate access to the new facility.

A Regional Community, a Sustainable Urban FutureBack at Ortiz Pier, yet another pumpboat fills with maritime commuters on their way to Guimaras. In this nation of islands, this has been a part of daily life for centuries. As Governor Nava reminds us, these boats provide strong symbolism of the regional community building that is underway in Iloilo and Guimaras. This is a region in motion, a city in change. Looking toward the horizon, one can see a sustainable urban future in the making.


Walking through the streets of Iloilo City, one could be forgiven for thinking he or she had been whisked away in a time machine. While looming malls have risen in several corners of the city, they cannot overshadow the splendour of the colonial buildings that adorn the city’s commercial centre and its adjoining districts. These buildings are not only testimonies to the city’s rich cultural heritage, but are also tourism assets worthy of promotion.

However, these mute witnesses to the rise and fall of the Queen City of the South are of little interest to those who must struggle daily to put food on their tables and clothes on their backs. Jeepney drivers pay no attention to their elegance. Sidewalk vendors shut their eyes to their grandeur. Bargain hunters take no notice of their value.

To most residents, these buildings serve as mere backdrops for the clatter of traffic, the sweat of commerce, and the dust of shopping. Their splendour hidden behind cavalcades of billboards and signage, many of these buildings might understandably appear inconsequential to the average Ilonggo.

Upon closer look, however, Iloilo City’s heritage houses and buildings are treasures worth keeping, not only because of their cultural value, but because of their economic potential, too. The Iloilo City government, recognizing this potential, has embarked on a laudable program aimed at conserving the city’s heritage while simultaneously boosting economic development. By reviving business activities along the city’s central business district and preserving these historic structures, this program aims to increase economic activity by inviting tourists to explore the city’s colonial past.

But the program is not just about culture, tourism, and economic development. It is also about public-private partnerships, about a multi-stakeholder approach to planning, and about the use of innovative approaches to addressing complex and interweaving issues.

The Colonial PastBuilt during the sugar boom and located predominantly in the city’s Central Business District, these structures are not just symbols of opulence and luxury, but are also proof of Iloilo City’s economic, industrial, educational and cultural dominance during the mid-19th and early 20th centuries.

In 1855, when Iloilo City’s port was opened to world trade, the Queen City of the South was born. Serving as hub

for support services to the flourishing sugar industry in nearby Negros Island, Iloilo City became host to banks, social clubs, warehouses, machine shops, printing presses, retail shops, commercial firms, educational institutions and medical services.

Iloilo City’s population then was already sizable, notes historian Alfred McCoy in his book “Philippine Social History.” During the 1850s, it already had a population of 71,600, making it a city of the same size as Sydney (54,000 in 1851), Chicago (84,000 in 1856) or Buenos Aires (91,000 in 1855)1.

Before the turn of the twentieth century, Iloilo City already boasted electricity, telephones, telegraphs, railways, ice plants, automobiles, theatres, paved roads, and other

1 Alfred W. McCoy, Ed. C.DeJesus, Philippine social history: global trade and local transformations (Manila: Asian Studies Association of Australia, Ateneo de Manila University Press,1982)

Iloilo City Conserving a City’s Legacy for the Next Generation


Iloilo City: Conserving a City’s Legacy for the Next Generation

modern conveniences. It was also the home to the country’s first department store, first car assembly plant, first commercial airline, and first luxury liner. Proof of its early global dealings rested in the presence of foreign business houses and the consular offices of Spain, Great Britain, China, Japan, Netherlands and Norway.2

Even outside of the commercial district, Iloilo City’s distinguished history can be found. The famed cathedral of Jaro and its belfry across the street as well as the church of Molo symbolize the engineering genius of the Spanish friars. The academic legacies of the Ilonggos started with the tutelage of the Augustinians and other religious orders that opened a number of schools that still engage young minds today. Iloilo City’s mansions and historic houses stand with majesty as they display a unique mix of Asian and Hispanic architecture.

The decline of the sugar industry and the subsequent Japanese invasion not only doomed the city’s economy, but also left some of these structures in ruins. While nothing can be done to rebuild or restore those that were ravaged by neglect and bombs, those that remain can still be saved. Conservation efforts are a must not only to promote Iloilo City’s cultural heritage, but also to protect these heritage structures from destruction as they face pressures from new development.

Restoring PrideThese structures can be a source of pride for every Ilonggo, standing as reminders that their city was once an important economic anchor for the Philippines during both the Spanish colonial period and the American commonwealth era. As such, they can encourage everyone to strive for greatness.

Restoring the splendour of these structures, especially those found in the Central Business District, can also provide the local government with much-needed income from tourism. Iloilo City’s distinctive landscape, the unique architecture of its heritage structures, and its historical wealth can give tourists a very fulfilling visit. In countries like Malaysia and Thailand, cultural and heritage sites are a major attraction for their respective tourism industries.

Recognizing this, the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) sponsored in October 1998 a cultural heritage tourism workshop. CUI’s work was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). This workshop was attended by individuals from local and national governments, cultural institutions, universities, tourism-related businesses, and concerned citizens. The intent of the workshop was to introduce the audience to the concept of cultural and heritage tourism, to identify local cultural and historical resources, and to determine how they could be best marketed locally, nationally, and internationally.2 Regalado, Felix B; Franco, Quintin B. (1973), Griño, Eliza B., ed., History of Panay, Central Philippine University

After a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis for heritage tourism development in Iloilo City, the following recommendations were made:

• Have heritage and cultural tourism as the major thrust of local tourism planning;• Encourage an Iloilo heritage and cultural tourism focus within national tourism planning;• Create local capacities to develop and promote cultural and heritage tourism opportunities; and• Use the Internet as a more effective promotional tool.

Responding to the call for cultural and heritage tourism, in April 2000 the Iloilo City government created the Iloilo City Cultural Heritage Conservation Council (ICCHCC) by enacting the Local Cultural Heritage Conservation Ordinance. The council, composed of individuals from the arts and culture community, was envisioned to be a government body responsible for advancing cultural heritage conservation and promotion. It also addressed the call of the Tourism Sector Plan and the Environmental Management Sector Plan of the 1998-2010 Iloilo City Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) for a program on heritage conservation.

Preserving HeritageThe council was tasked to conduct an inventory of cultural heritage and legacy buildings and to develop and make known rules and regulations for their preservation. Through these strategies, the council aimed to address the need to preserve the city’s remaining heritage structures and to enhance the city’s tourism potential. Tourism is a potentially major economic driver for Iloilo City, generating investments and local government revenues as well as jobs for its people.

The main target of this conservation effort is the Central Business District, which consists of the streets of J. M. Basa, Aldeguer, Mapa, Guanco and Iznart. Declared as the Iloilo City Heritage Zone, the area is home to Art Deco-styled commercial buildings built between the 1920s and the 1950s. A catalogue of these buildings has already been prepared as an initial step in conservation planning.

The ordinance, which underwent some amendments in April 2001, states that all buildings in Iloilo City that are 50 years old or more are to be considered heritage or legacy buildings. Likewise, Plaza Libertad and the district plazas of Molo, Arevalo, Mandurriao, La Paz and Jaro were declared historical and cultural landmarks and could only be used for historical, cultural and fiesta celebrations. The ordinance mandates that the use, upkeep and preservation of these structures and landmarks as far as practicable shall always be the concern of the Iloilo City government.

Owners, administrators, lessees or any other people in charge of heritage or legacy structures are prohibited from undertaking any repair, rehabilitation or construction of any kind unless there is a favourable recommendation from



the ICCHCC. In the event that the repair or rehabilitation is urgent, building owners, administrators or lessees are mandated to make sure that the façade showing the architectural design of the buildings is retained, restored and preserved.

All businesses within the heritage zone are given incentives. These include exemption from payment of business taxes and building fees. Old investors as well as new ones can avail themselves of these incentives as long as they are in the heritage zone. These include the following:

• For every ten years of existence in the area, one year of exemption from business taxes but not exceeding three years.• For those putting up new businesses with a capitalization of at least P1 million pesos, 25 percent of exemption on business taxes for every P1 million for one year.• In case of preservation, reconstruction and restoration of legacy or heritage buildings, the owner is exempted from paying building fees while lessors are not required to pay business taxes for two years.

These incentives aim to revive business activities within the heritage zone which, prior to the onset of shopping malls, was the busiest area in Iloilo City. With challenges like shrinking business profitability, deteriorating commercial area and poor environment, it is feared that the Central Business District will have an untimely demise if nothing is done to rescue it. The revival of the area is expected to

spur more investments and create more jobs.

Conservation FrameworkTo achieve the goals of the cultural heritage conservation program, the council, with the assistance of CUI, prepared in 2001 the Iloilo City Cultural Heritage Conservation Framework. The document, completed following a multi-stakeholder strategic planning workshop, outlines the issues, goals and strategic actions for preserving and promoting Iloilo City’s cultural heritage in general, and the Central Business District in particular.Guided by the vision statement “Iloilo City: The Heart of Visayan Heritage,” the framework sought to

transform Iloilo City into a “culturally-vibrant community working for the preservation, development and promotion of its heritage.” Its goals and objectives are:

• To increase awareness and generate political support for cultural heritage conservation;• To enhance community awareness and public education of the value of cultural heritage; • To establish a sustainable organizational structure to coordinate the government and private sectors’ involvement in cultural heritage initiatives;• To strive for professional standards of coordination and cooperation among key stakeholders involved in cultural heritage conservation and promotion;• To formulate legislation and policies that promote heritage conservation (i.e., policies, zoning, urban design, etc.);• To provide incentives to property owners for revitalizing their heritage buildings;• To establish funding for conservation technologies.

It also gives particular focus to the Central Business District (CBD), which used to be an area rich in cultural, social, commercial and political development. With the establishments of new malls in the city, however, the CBD has faced many challenges, including shrinking business profitability, deteriorating commercial area, and poor environment. This reflects the city’s economic health, local quality of life and community heritage of trade and commerce. The framework thus sought to:



• Improve urban design and planning for the CBD;• Increase business activities by improving downtown products and services;• Attract investments for the CBD; and• Ensure effective management of the CBD’s preservation efforts.

The CBD Preservation Framework aims to strengthen the downtown area’s position as a special heritage zone for socio-economic and cultural development. Its strategies include the preparation of ordinances that will call for the gradual phase-out of big billboards and the regulation of signage, the enforcement of environmental standards to enhance urban design and structures, traffic re-routing, and the introduction of pedestrian amenities.

To invigorate the business vibrancy of the CBD, the framework exposes key stakeholders to best practices in CBD revitalization and implementing business improvement practices. It also intends to organize a “heritage watch” to monitor compliance of the CLUP and of the city’s zoning ordinance. Demonstration and partnership projects are also sought to encourage participation in cultural heritage conservation and promotion.

Taking ActionWith financial assistance from the Ford Motor Company Conservation and Environmental Grants, the ICCHCC completed the first phase of the Iloilo City Downtown CBD Heritage Buildings Catalogue Project, producing a progress report in September 2002. Considered an initial step in conservation planning for the city’s oldest business centre, it aimed to generate baseline information on the city’s heritage buildings in the downtown CBD, which could then be applied to the planned heritage conservation and

economic revitalization activities for the area.

The Catalogue Project also promoted public awareness and participation in the protection and preservation of the city’s heritage buildings and sites, and encouraged public-private partnerships in community development through the project’s multi-stakeholder approach in project planning and implementation.

The catalogue project was undertaken by the council in cooperation with the Arki Club of the University of San Agustin, Department of Architecture, and the Business Research Class of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas College of Management. The City Environment and Natural Resources Office and the City Tourism Office provided logistical support.

The project resulted in the profiling of buildings, which include the measurement of nine lots and 16

building areas. A total of 31 sketches of building elevations and ornamentations were also made. It also yielded six architectural drafts of buildings’ perspectives, front elevation drawings of 20 buildings, and spot details showing ornamentations from 22 buildings. Photo-documentations were also undertaken of facades and building ornamentations.

Among the buildings surveyed include the 1922 S. Javellana Building on the corner of J.M. Basa and Guanco streets; the 1925 S. Villanueva Building on the corner of Aldeguer and J.M. Basa Streets that used to house the International Hotel, the first hotel in Iloilo City; another S. Villanueva Building on J.M. Basa Street built in 1927; the 1927 Cine Palace, now the Regent Theater Building also on J.M. Basa Street; and the Elizalde-Ynchausti Building built in the 1930s also on J.M. Basa Street.

The ICCHCC, in partnership with ABS-CBN Television Network, has also produced a 10-minute video on cultural heritage conservation in Iloilo City to promote awareness and generate public support for preservation efforts. The video is shown occasionally on local cable TV programs. It has also become a promotional tool for cultural heritage tourism in Iloilo City.

ICCHCC has also been working closely with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Filipino Heritage Festival Inc. for the annual hosting of the National Heritage Month, held every May following a proclamation by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The celebration is held to raise the consciousness of Filipinos with respect to their patrimonial heritage and the need to preserve it. By the end of January 2009, the ICCHCC was completing



the final draft of the Implementing Rules and Regulations for Local Cultural Heritage Conservation Ordinance for adoption of the Iloilo City council.

A related activity is the “Pretty Plaza, Banwa Gwapa” contest, the annual search for the most beautiful plaza within the various local governments of the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC). Banwa is Hiligaynon (the language in Metro Iloilo-Guimaras) for “town” and gwapa is “beautiful.”

The contest aims to encourage local governments to invest in the public realm and at the same time preserve the cultural significance of plazas to communities. When Spanish colonizers came to the Philippines, they enacted a policy known as reduccion, in which they mandated that towns be built around a central plaza. The plaza’s central purpose was interaction, providing a paseo (promenading area) during the day and an adelance (night market) at night.

It is in these plazas where the Filipino tradition of pakikipagkapwa, a holistic interaction with others, was nurtured, resulting in the laudable practices of pagtutulungan (mutual self-help) and kawanggawa (charity).

“Pretty Plaza, Banwa Gwapa” is not just a competition but also a venue to learn lessons and improve the management of public spaces.

Boosting the EconomyReviving the Central Business District (CBD) to encourage investments in the area can provide a boost to the city’s economy, but this is just one factor that may spur growth and development. By and large, it is the city’s positioning as a cultural destination that will eventually serve as an impetus of economic advancement as far as tourism is concerned. Heritage buildings, old houses and churches, historical spots, festivals and food, all of which can be found in Iloilo City, provide a perfect cultural experience for tourists.

The experience of Vigan City in Ilocos Sur province provides a clear picture of what Iloilo City can hope to achieve once it develops its cultural tourism potential. Considered the best-preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial city in Asia, it implemented the Vigan Heritage Conservation Program in 1995 when it was still a second class municipality with a budget of P24 million (US$500,000). In 1997, it became a first class municipality with a budget of P54 million (US$1.1 million). In 1999, when it became a UNESCO world heritage site, it had a budget of P63 million (US$1.34 million). In 2001, after it became a city, it had a budget of P134 million (US$2.84 million). In 2002, its budget as a heritage city was P141 million (US$3 million).

Iloilo City can very well increase its revenue base, by

projecting itself as a cultural tourism destination and by providing more economic prospects for its people in the form of employment and livelihood opportunities. Of late, at least five new hotels opened in the city, bringing the total number of hotels with first class, standard, and economy accommodations to 17. Complementing these hotels are accredited tourist inns, pension houses, resorts, restaurants, shopping centres, handicraft stores, and antique dealers all over the metropolis. In 2004, Iloilo City visitors reached 292,924 domestic tourists, 28,730 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and 15,176 foreign tourists.

With structures and policies already in place, thus ensuring the program’s sustainability beyond changes in political leadership, Iloilo City’s cultural heritage conservation efforts will surely bear fruit for a proud people. By the time the economic benefits have trickled down to the everyday citizens, all pedestrians, both local and visiting, will value both the economic and cultural contributions of Iloilo City’s unique heritage.


Guimaras may have been caught flatfooted when an oil spill devastated its shores in August 2006, but it was quick to find its way out of the crisis. The environmental disaster wrought havoc on the island-province’s tourism and fishing industries, heavily affecting the towns of Nueva Valencia, Sibunag and San Lorenzo. The two other towns – Jordan and Buenavista – were less affected, but likewise felt the impact of the declining market confidence in fishery products caught in Guimaras waters.

However, the oil spill’s impact on the island’s economic drivers was cushioned by the maximization of fund assistance from the various agencies that poured into Guimaras in the wake of the disaster and through the coordination of all economic development efforts in the province. These tasks fell on the shoulders of the Provincial Economic Development Office (PEDO), the department responsible for harmonizing all economic activities and for providing technical and administrative support to municipal governments in the area of trade and investment, tourism, enterprise development and cooperative development.

PEDO’s vision is “to make Guimaras the preferred tourism and investment destination for agriculture, fishery and tourism in the country.” PEDO’s mission, on the other hand, is “to provide strategic direction, leadership and action to strengthen the Guimaras economy to support the province’s poverty reduction goals.”

PEDO was created in 2003 when the provincial government under then Gov. Felipe Rahman Nava reorganized the entire provincial administrative structures through Resolution No. 042, or the “Proposed New Plantilla Positions Structure of the Provincial Government of the Province of Guimaras.”

Poor but RichWhen Guimaras became a full-fledged province in 1992, it was likened to the proverbial “poor man sitting on a mountain of gold.” Among the major problems that local government officials faced then were poverty, the lack of employment opportunities for its people and the absence of investments to bring much-need revenues for local governments.

At that time, the island’s poverty incidence based on the food threshold was 75 percent, meaning that 75 percent of its people could not afford the minimum food requirement to sustain their well-being. Most of the island’s labour force was employed in nearby Iloilo City, a highly urbanized city 15 minutes away by boat. In 1990, Guimaras had an unemployment rate of 15.4 percent, much higher than the regional (Western Visayas) and the national rates of 11.7 and 8.5 percent, respectively.

Moreover, investments were limited to small-scale

ventures, which were not enough to create jobs for the unemployed. There were no funds available for basic services to address the needs of the poor. It was not surprising to find Guimaras in the so-called “Club 20,” that infamous list of the 20 poorest provinces in the Philippines as identified under the Social Reform Agenda of then President Fidel Ramos.

Despite this grim picture, there was a lot of optimism for Guimaras, given its great potential. The 60,457-hectare island has a rich fishing ground that sustains its 96 coastal and inland villages (barangays). It is endowed with a variety of tourist spots and other attractions like cultural festivals and landmarks. It is also considered the mango capital of the Philippines, producing big, sweet mangoes that travel as far as the United States. And development planners proclaim it as the island to watch in light of plans to put up free-trade zones and industrial-tourism estates in Guimaras.

The RealizationTurning the optimism for Guimaras into reality has been a great challenge for local governments. Development and capacity-building assistance started to pour in. In 1994, the provincial government, with the assistance of the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI), embarked on a strategic planning and implementation process to respond to the needs of the new province. CUI’s work in Guimaras was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

The program, which involved all three levels of local governments, non-governmental organizations and civil society, aimed to develop the capacities of local governments to promote sustainable development practices and community involvement in local decision-making.

Through community-based planning using a grassroots, gender-oriented bottom-up approach that involved communities and stakeholders from across Guimaras, a number of realizations were made. Stakeholders found that there was a lack of proper coordination of provincial resources for the delivery of tourism, trade and investment promotion and employment on the island. Economic development efforts of the national government agencies and the provincial and municipal governments were

GuimarasThe Role of Local Governments in Economic Development

“When Guimaras became a full-fledged province, it was likened to the proverbial ‘poor man sitting on a mountain of gold’.”


Guimaras: The Role of Local Governments in Economic Development

uncoordinated, resulting in duplication in the content of some programs and services, little impact on poverty reduction, and slow growth in investment.

The ProposalThus, the Guimaras Economic Development Strategy – one of the major outputs of the CUI’s program – proposed the creation of an office to coordinate economic development efforts to maximize human and financial resources to effectively achieve economic goals and targets. This was also stressed in the Guimaras Medium Term Provincial Development Plan (MTPDP) of 1998-2004, which identified inadequate access to resources, basic services and economic opportunities among the major problems besetting the people in Guimaras, particularly so-called poverty groups such as farmers, fisherfolk, urban poor, cultural minorities and other marginalized groups like children, women, persons with disabilities and the elderly. Such inadequacy was due to the low level of new investment in agriculture, industry and services, a condition that contributed to poverty in the province.

The creation of this office sought to address the following:

• Uncoordinated economic development efforts of different local and national agencies

Concerns were raised regarding the uncoordinated organizational arrangements for economic development efforts. Several national and provincial government departments, agencies and municipal governments were involved in facets of an economic development program, but there was little or no coordination of these efforts.

As a matter of fact, economic development in the Province of Guimaras had advanced mainly due to a variety of economic development programs and projects implemented by government, non-governmental organizations and business groups. Approximately a third of the annual total internal resources allotment was being allocated for various economic projects, aside from the grants provided by the national government and international agencies.

Numerous cooperatives and people’s economic development organizations had emerged over the years, providing increased economic assistance to citizens. Some of these programs have similar objectives and strategies and employ similar structures and mechanisms with some duplication in the content of programs and services. This was attributed to the absence of an efficient coordinating

body at the provincial government level that determined modes of complementation and coordination.

• Absence of an Investment Promotion Unit at the provincial level to take charge of investment promotion initiatives for the province

The absence of an office that was primarily mandated to implement economic initiatives to maximize the resources and potential of Guimaras had been limiting the development of the economic sector. Considering the need to effectively coordinate all initiatives particularly on local economic development, the concept of creating a department under the provincial government was proposed. Such a unit was envisioned to function as the primary office mandated to coordinate and implement all local economic development activities focusing on tourism development, cooperative development, investment promotion, and business and enterprise development. It was mandated to implement economic initiatives to maximize the resources and potential of Guimaras, thereby boosting the development of the economic sector.

Legal BasisWith this common idea of creating an office for local economic development, the next question for Guimaras was: Does it have the power and resources to create such an office? Republic Act No. 7160 - otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991 - allows every local government unit in the Philippines to design and implement its own organizational structure and staffing pattern based on its priority needs and service requirements. It likewise illustrates local economic development as an important local government function and pushes for a system of sound local governance based on the principles of openness, accountability, efficiency and equity.



A number of legal provisions in the code were vital to Guimaras’ ability to create PEDO. The code allowed Local Government Units to enter into joint ventures and other cooperative arrangements with non-governmental organizations; to design and implement their own organizational structure and staffing patters; to formulate long-term, medium-tem and annual socio-economic development plans and policies; and to formulate local investment incentives to promote the inflow and direction of private investment capital.

The AnswerCUI then assisted Guimaras in completing a proposal for the creation of the Provincial Economic Development Office (PEDO). In 2003, the provincial government of Guimaras reorganized its structures and this offered an opportunity for the creation of PEDO for the purpose of fostering a supportive and competitive investment climate in Guimaras. Proposed positions and structures were created and the new set-up was approved, taking effect in January 2004. Specifically, PEDO has the following mandate:

• Retain and expand existing business in agriculture, fishery and tourism;

• Attract new investments in priority sectors of agri-tourism, agriculture and fisheries;

• Manage provincial government enterprises and ensure effective business support policies and services;

• Benchmark progress in Guimaras and best practices nationwide; and

• Strengthen the entrepreneurial capacity of cooperatives, associations and groups.

The StructurePEDO is headed by a Department Head who reports directly to the governor. Key staff members are in charge of the various sections of tourism promotion, investment promotion, employment and enterprise management. The office is tasked to build partnerships and linkages with other provincial departments, municipal governments, national government agencies and the business sector to implement various economic projects and programs. The partnerships are governed by Memoranda of Agreement (MOA) and managed by PEDO.

With 11 employees, PEDO has three divisions: Tourism Development, which is in charge of tourism planning and implementation, monitoring, evaluation and promotion and marketing; Cooperative Development, which takes care of cooperative, farmer and fishermen organization development and training, linkage building and networking and technical assistance to cooperative management; and Trade, Investment and Employment Promotion, which is in

charge of investment promotion, trade and development, networking and marketing employment assistance, enterprise planning and business development, support services development and management, as well as resource mobilization.

Working in partnership with the business sector and provincial and national government stakeholders involved in economic development, PEDO is likewise mandated to promote economic development for Guimaras, serve as link between the provincial government, the municipalities, national government agencies, and the private sector in economic development, and provide leadership and strategic direction in the realization of Guimaras’ economic development potential. Its role is to serve as enterprise manager of provincial enterprises and as facilitator, planner and monitor of local economic projects and activities.

PEDO’s mandate is also to manage and operate the Guimaras Trade and Information Center (GTIC), a showroom of all Guimaras products and services that also serves as a one-stop information centre for tourists, investors, existing businesses, and business associations responding to investment inquiries with data and advices. It also works with site selectors to promote new investment in Guimaras, conducts training sessions, and provides business development services. GTIC supports small entrepreneurs in trade and investment promotion, provides business and economic information, promotes Guimaras tourism and expedites investment generation for the island.

The InnovationThe Provincial Economic Development Office is not among the departments officially listed in the Local Government Code of 1991, but considering that the law allows every local government unit in the Philippines to design and implement its own organizational structure and staffing patterns based on its priority needs and service requirements, the province of Guimaras opted for the



creation of PEDO after thoroughly assessing its conditions.

Transferability and SustainabilityThe creation of PEDO was embodied in Resolution No. 042, series of 2003, by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (or Provincial legislature) of Guimaras which approved the “Proposed New Plantilla Positions Structure of the Provincial Government of the Province of Guimaras.” The same was subsequently approved by the provincial governor and took effect on January 2004. Its creation worked within the framework of the Local Government Code of 1991 and, as such, can be replicated by any other local government unit in the Philippines.

A 2007 study by the International Labour Organization noted: “... Guimaras also referred to the (Local Government Code) to convert the island into a province, investing in an intensive and extensive consultation process with key officials and technical and support staff from the provincial, municipal and barangay levels. It mobilized relevant line

government agencies operating in the province and various private sector stakeholders, reorganized the Provincial Local Government Unit (PLGU ) towards service efficiency, established a Provincial Economic Development Office (PEDO) to coordinate all the economic concerns of the province, and instituted employment-oriented functional units (under the PEDO).”

Thus, the creation of PEDO illustrates that local economic development is an important local government function and that a system of a sound local governance based on the principles of openness, accountability, efficiency and equity should be pushed. With a staffing pattern and corresponding budget allocated year after year, PEDO is here to stay in Guimaras, having already become part of the provincial structure.

With PEDO around, the economic future of Guimaras is being charted along the right path, helping surmount challenges like the oil spill of August 2006.


Columnist-architect Augusto Villalon said that one of his most prized memories from his visit to Guimaras was his time spent with a driver named Cristobal Gonzaga, a resident of San Miguel village in Jordan Town. Cristobal not only drove Villalon, one of the Philippines’ foremost cultural writers, around the island-province, but he also told stories about the places he took him.

Villalon, who writes a column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, later learned that Cristobal was among those trained as a guide through an award-winning public-private partnership program for tourism development. The program was piloted in Guimaras, an island in the heart of the Philippines around the size of Singapore, after it became a full-fledged province in 1992.

“My great surprise in Guimaras was discovering people like Cristobal, who give community tourism the respect it deserves. They take visitors to see their home province with pride and dignity, leaving guests with an enjoyable experience and great memories of the place,” Villalon wrote in his piece, “A day in Guimaras.”

Villalon is not the only visitor who has noticed how tourism, particularly community-based tourism, has become everybody’s business in Guimaras. Over the years, thousands of tourists have visited Guimaras and left with memories of its natural beauty and its people’s unique culture, thanks to a close collaboration between the government and the private sector.

Villalon’s article appeared in his newspaper’s May 5, 2007 issue. Amazingly, ten months before, Guimaras made the

same newspaper’s headlines as the victim of the worst environmental disaster in the country’s history: an oil tanker spill off the eastern coast of Guimaras on August 11, 2006, which dumped about two million litres of bunker fuel into the sea. The tragedy wreaked havoc not only on the island’s marine reserves and the livelihood of its coastal residents, but also on the tourism industry that had anchored its growth on the island-province’s pristine beaches and unspoiled diving spots.

The Promise of TourismPrior to that tragic day, Guimaras was known foremost for its sweet mangoes and its vast mango orchards, its numerous resorts, its religious sites and its local festivals. It was not a surprise, then, that when Guimaras became a full-fledged Philippine province 14 years before the oil spill, tourism was seen as a major industry that could bring development to the province.

In fact, the province’s Medium-Term Provincial Development Plan (1999-2004) identified tourism as the cornerstone of its economic development. The rationale for this choice was obvious: the 60,457-hectare island is teeming with tourism potential – from pristine beaches and scenic landscapes to colourful festivals and rich cultural traditions. In short, tourism promises a lot for Guimaras.

The oil spill could have dampened every hope Guimaras had for tourism, what with its beaches stained with slick. But the despair was only short-lived. As soon as clean-up operations ended, the island’s tourism industry began to

bounce back.

A Strong FoundationIndeed, the tourism industry in Guimaras was built on a strong foundation – the foundation of public-private partnerships, or P3s. Simply put, the government, the private sector and communities in Guimaras came together to collaborate in planning, developing, marketing and implementing the province’s tourism initiatives.

The P3 concept came to the forefront of the tourism agenda after the 5 municipalities and 96 barangays of Guimaras created their respective strategic plans for economic development. Through these plans agriculture, fisheries and tourism were identified as the economic drivers for the province. But then there were great challenges. The tourism industry was in

Guimaras Public-private Partnerships and Community-based Tourism


Guimaras: Public-Private Partnerships and Community-Based Tourism

disarray when Guimaras province was born; there was uncoordinated development, low community awareness, low capital investments and tourism products were generally of poor quality.

To address these issues, industry players employed four approaches -- participatory planning, marketing and promotion, community-based initiatives and tourism support services. And in all these strategies, close collaboration between the provincial government and national government agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and communities was witnessed.

Through participatory planning, stakeholders came together to draw up a tourism master plan, develop new programs and install monitoring and evaluation systems for the tourism industry. Helping Guimaras with these tourism development efforts was the Canadian Urban Institute, with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency. To market and promote Guimaras as a destination and as a tourism investment hub, new festivals and events were organized, promotional materials were developed, and there was full participation in trade fairs and exhibits.

In community-based initiatives, community-tourism awareness campaigns were launched to educate the people about the impacts of tourism as well as the benefits they could derive from tourism programs. This resulted in full community participation in festivals at various levels and programs. A public market day festival was introduced in Jordan town while in Nueva Valencia a community-based heritage tourism project has been gaining ground. These new events and destinations were complemented by home-stay projects.

To support the tourism industry, the provincial government helped set up guest assistance centres and turned these over to the municipalities for management. The Guimaras Trade and Information Center (GTIC) was opened to provide members of the Guimaras Producers and Processors Association with a venue to showcase their products. Organizations like the Guimaras Resorts Association and the Tour Guides Guild of Guimaras were strengthened and now provide training assistance and capacity-building support.

Repeating the ProcessFast forward to the height of the oil spill – industry players simply repeated the process to survive the crisis,

particularly for tourism.

A multi-stakeholder participatory planning process was conducted to develop a framework for rehabilitation, which called, among other things, for the restoration of the natural assets of Guimaras. Promotion and marketing activities were conducted, which included tourism exhibits and assemblies as well as international tourism forums.

Community-based initiatives included introduction of new programs geared towards rehabilitation like the Salvacion Tourism Promotion and Development Support Project and the Guisi Community-based Tourism Rehabilitation Support Project that gave birth to the Guisi Discovery Quest and the Sibiran Festival.

To support the industry, the provincial government launched the Guimaras Responsive and Efficient Approaches for Tourism Enhancement and Development (GREATED) Initiatives which trained tourism front-liners and service providers through various applied seminars that improved their capabilities in providing efficient and quality services to their clients.

By making it easy to achieve the ends of all these undertakings, public-private partnership made everyone in Guimaras co-owners of these initiatives, turning them into proud inhabitants of an island-province teeming with tourism potential.

It is no wonder, therefore, that visitors like Augusto Villalon can meet a Cristobal Gonzaga or any similar community leader as soon as they arrive at Guimaras.

Results and GainsThe oil spill of August 2006 interrupted the tourism momentum in Guimaras, but it did not stop the province from furthering its tourism drive. In fact, the oil spill brought out the best in Guimaras with respect to public-private partnerships for tourism development.

Indeed, figures indicate a steady increase in foreign and local tourism arrivals from 2001 to 2005. For example, the total arrivals in 2001 were recorded at 78,777. This increased by 38.91 percent the next year to 109,429, and the following year it again jumped by 13.31 percent to 123,998. By 2004, the increase was registered at 10.19 percent with 136,632 arrivals and went up further to 181,915 in 2005, an increase of 33.14 percent.

The island of Guimaras offers visitors picturesque beaches and idyllic island escapes.



With increasing tourism arrivals come increasing tourism receipt figures. But what was noticeable was the continued increase in tourism receipts in 2004 (24.03 percent) and 2005 (28.38 percent), even after the provincial government of Guimaras trimmed down its budget allocation for tourism by 1.50 percent and 12.98 percent, respectively. In 2003 for example, the provincial government allocated a budget of P2,337,000 (US$50,000) for tourism, an increase of 10.03 percent from the previous year’s allocation of P2,124,000 (US$45,000). Over this period, tourism receipts increased by 21 percent from (US$2.25 million) to P128,320,500 (US$2.72 million).

By 2004, the budget allocation for tourism was trimmed down to P2,302,000 (US$48,800) but despite that, tourism receipts went up to P159,150,000 (US$3.38 million) or by 24.03 percent. The following year, the budget allocation was further trimmed down by 12.98 percent to P2,003,250 (US$42,000) but tourism receipts still went up by P28.38 percent to P204,312,500 (US$4.34 million).

After the infamous oil spill in the third quarter of 2006, tourism arrivals went down by 4.91 percent to 172,985. Guimaras tourism suffered more in 2007 when arrival figures went down further to 156,423, a 9.57 percent decline. Rehabilitation interventions gained in 2008, with the tourism industry starting to recover with a slight increase in tourism arrivals of 1.29 percent, or to 158,441 from the previous year.

The provincial government of Guimaras increased its budget allocation for tourism in 2007 by 58.46 percent, or P3,040,000 (US$64,500), from the previous year’s budget in response to the oil spill. While tourism arrivals registered an increase from 2008, tourism receipts were still low, a 6.46 percent decrease from the previous year.

Empowering EffectsAs numbers reflect results, tourism development in Guimaras can also be seen via its empowering effects. Communities in Guimaras have learned to plan and manage their own tourism projects and activities. Municipalities and barangays have also developed their own cultural, historical and environmental festivals. Even market vendors succeeded in launching their own activity with the Panindahan sa Manggahan (Market Fair Day) in a bid to highlight the terminal market as a tourism destination.

Home-stay programs in Guimaras have been providing cultural opportunities for tourists to learn about the culture and rich heritage of the island. Farmers’ and fishers’ groups have been formed not only for agriculture and aquaculture productivity but also to support tourism-related activities. Industry groups have been organized, among them tour guides, drivers, pumpboat operators, resort owners and

producers and fishermen. All of these have meant more capable tourism front-liners.

The experience of the Guisi Community-based Heritage Tourism Project in Nueva Valencia showcases how communities can effectively and efficiently manage a tourism project once their capacity to do so has been developed. Thanks to modest financial assistance from the provincial government, many lessons on inn-keeping, organization, tourism and events management, guest assistance and handling, and marketing from eco seminars, workshops and study tours, the people in the coastal hamlet of Guisi successfully operate a tourism venture that generates income both for the province and for themselves.After Guimaras was hit by the oil spill, the Guisi community partnered with the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the United Nations Development Fund in launching the eco-tourism tour package dubbed the Guisi Discovery Quest, thus enhancing the tourism experience in the community that made Guisi a buzz-word among excursionists and eco-

tourists. Guisi boasts a white-sand beach and a Spanish-era lighthouse.

DOT provided facilities for rappelling and snorkelling so these services could be made available to guests. Select community members were trained to serve as instructors. Mountain bikes were also provided and a team from the community was taught how to fix them in case of breakdown, while another team was taught proper rowing techniques. In partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), another select team was trained on food preparation and food handling. Of late, community members organized the Sibiran Festival as a vehicle to revive the traditional way of fishing with the use of fish-friendly fishing gear to ensure and maintain the ecological balance of the area.



Proceeds and ProfitsFrom these community initiatives, members derive extra income. Under the Guisi Discovery Quest for example, a one-day tour for a minimum of five people costs P999 (US$21) each and includes use of mountain bikes, snorkels and other snorkelling gears, use of boats, an environmental fee for the cave, services of guides, and snacks and lunch. Visitors can also add P120 (US$2.50) each if they want to experience rappelling or P50 (US$1) each if they want to visit the mangrove area.

Since the Guisi community-based heritage tourism program was launched, it has already accommodated 3,148 guests, deriving an income of P313,448 (US$6,700). In 2004, it earned P35,060 (US$745) from 211 guests, from which the Barangay Dolores Tourism Council (BDTC) that manages the project received only P765 (US$16), with the rest going to community members. In 2005, the project generated P51,827 (US$1,100) from 248 guests, with the BDTC retaining only P895 (US$20). By 2007, its income remarkably increased by 308 percent from the previous year. The project earned an impressive P95,965 (US$2,037) with the BDTC getting a share of P4,145 (US$88). From January to July in 2008, the project had already earned P107,014 (US$2,270).

Structures for SustainabilityEven before the oil spill struck Guimaras, organizations were already established to sustain the gains of the Public-Private Partnerships in Tourism Development in Guimaras. These include the creation of the Provincial Economic Development Office (PEDO) whose mandate is to support the promotion and marketing of the provincial tourism program. PEDO also spearheaded rehabilitation initiatives for tourism, creating opportunities for resorts to promote and market their destinations and assisting communities to develop local festivals and events.

Municipal Tourism Offices - which regulate tourism activities at the municipal level - and Barangay Tourism Councils - which help implement community-based projects - were strengthened and made fully functional. Tourism legislation was enacted to provide support mechanisms for programs and projects.

PEDO and the local tourism councils have been effective in cushioning the adverse impact of the oil spill among communities, and have even quickly responded to the disaster by mobilizing coastal residents in clean-up drives and in planning and implementing rehabilitation programs for tourism ventures in affected villages.

Galing Pook AwardBecause of its outstanding accomplishments, this initiative, packaged and named Public-Private Partnerships in Tourism Development in Guimaras, was awarded a Galing Pook Award in 2004 as one of 20 models of excellence in good governance in the Philippines. The

Galing Pook seeks to recognize and replicate outstanding Philippine best practices in governance that have effectively addressed pressing problems in their respective communities with innovative solutions.

Lessons LearnedThe award was not surprising considering the valuable lessons the project can share. For one, it is evident from the Guimaras experience that, for partnership to effectively work, local governments need to play a lead role and must have a clear framework, strategy and action plan. In other words, they must plan their work and work their plan.

But for this plan to succeed, communities and private sector collaboration must be maximized. Partnerships are most effective when economic, environmental, social and cultural issues and solutions are interwoven.

Lastly, it is clear that education and training are a must to turn stakeholders into partners for development. Capacity-building and tourism awareness programs have borne fruits in Guimaras through community members like Cristobal Gonzaga, a driver who represents what the island’s tourism experience can truly offer.

Summing up his brief visit in Guimaras with good words about Cristobal, columnist Augusto Villalon wrote, “Because of people like him, I plan to go back to Guimaras to see everything I did not experience in the one day that I spent there.”

“Public-private partnership made everyone in Guimaras co-owners of these initiatives, turning them into proud inhabitants of an island-province teeming with tourism potential.”


In the Philippines, the maintenance of local peace and order and the promotion of public safety rest primarily not with the local police, but rather with members of each community who monitor each and every village, particularly at night. Armed not with guns but with nightsticks and flashlights, they protect their villages either on foot or on pedicabs, or if the village is affluent enough, in their own patrol car. They know almost everyone in the community, and they are on-call 24 hours a day.

These individuals belong to a volunteer group called Barangay Tanod (community police officers), a concept that evolved from the ronda system instituted during the Spanish colonial regime where able men in the community were tapped to patrol the village during the night as a means of deterring assemblies by dissenters and criminals. Each evening, they took turns in making their ronda (Spanish for rounds) of the village in pairs until daybreak, starting and ending in full circles at the garrita – a small hut serving as their gathering and resting place. Initially, the ronda system was instituted by the authoritarian Spanish regime during the colonial period, implemented not just as a deterrent to crimes but also to prevent Filipinos from talking to each other.

In 1977, President Ferdinand Marcos institutionalized the

ronda system under Presidential Decree No. 1232, which instructs every barangay to organize Barangay Security and Development Officers, or more popularly known as the Barangay Tanod, whose main tasks include intelligence information gathering, neighbourhood watch and medical and traffic assistance, among others.

The Local Government Code of 1991, boosted the barangay tanod, recognizing it as an indispensable

instrument in barangay government, particularly in its role in the maintenance and protection of peace and security and in the promotion of public safety, and mandated that they be granted honoraria and state insurance benefits.

Sadly, most barangay tanods are poorly equipped and untrained to respond to the call of duty, defeating their purpose of being at the forefront of the peace and order campaign. In most cases, they must settle for passive tasks like being traffic aides and parking attendants during the day, and vigil guards during the night, an open admission that they cannot do what is expected of them because they lack equipment and training. Further, community support is wanting.

Only barangay tanods in posh villages are lucky enough to make their rounds in patrol cars, and arm themselves with pepper spray, zapsticks, walkie-talkies and electric lanterns. Also fortunate are those whose barangay captains gain the favour of the mayor or the congressman, earning for the community police, patrol cars, uniforms that banner the names of politicians and other equipment.

Recognizing ResourcefulnessThe sad fate of most barangay tanods is also felt in Metro Iloilo, where there are 277 units representing its villages, most of them operating on the meagre support of the barangay and sometimes relying on donations from the private sector and minimal assistance from the municipal or city governments. Interestingly, some of them rendered impressive service even with a measly budget, employing resourcefulness and building community rapport to make their units effective and efficient.

Highlighting the innovation and efficacy of these units is not only a way of honouring the proficient ones but also of inspiring and encouraging others to reach for such competence. It is also a means of earning barangay council and community support for the tanod, increasing

Iloilo CitySecuring the City Through Community-based Policing


Iloilo City: Securing the City with Community-based Policing

appreciation of their role in the peace and order campaign and establishing a network of information essential to public safety.

To improve the services of the barangay tanod through capacity building and improvement of facilities, equipment and systems, the then Metro Iloilo Development Council (MIDC) launched the Search for Model Barangay Tanod, a project that ran from 2003 to 2007. The last two years of the program were under the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC) which replaced the MIDC after the latter was expanded to include Guimaras and the town of Santa Barbara in Iloilo.

The project aimed to recognize the role of barangay tanods in deterring crime and terrorist activities and in maintaining peace and order through the visibility of uniformed men and women in the community. Managed by the Public Safety and Security Committee (PSSC), its components included basic and advanced training, study tours, improvement of facilities, equipment and systems, promotion of partnership with other government agencies, business and non-governmental organizations and soliciting added barangay council support for their respective barangay tanod.

Because of its outstanding features, the program was adopted by CUI’s long standing partner, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) into a national search for the outstanding barangay tanod. To avoid duplication, the MIGEDC Public Safety and Security Committee transformed its program into the annual search for the Model Public Safety and Security Offices and Officers, which now include categories for the police, fire bureau, jail officers and rescue volunteers, among others.

Consistent WinnersBack to the outstanding tanod contest however, a consistent winner was the tanod unit of Barangay M. V. Hechanova in the district of Jaro in Iloilo City, which plays host to three subdivisions and at least 4,026 villagers from varied social strata. It has rich subdivision dwellers, middle-class families and poor squatters. With an area of about 80 hectares, the number of commercial establishments has mushroomed in the barangay (village) to address consumer needs.

It is a relatively peaceful community but Barangay Captain (village chief) Perla Guinea admits that there are a few cases of domestic squabbles, petty crimes and disturbances, especially from rowdy teenagers who engage in occasional brawls. On a few occasions some students have been involved in theft and robbery.

But by and large, the peace and order situation in Barangay M. V. Hechanova remains at a desirable level. “Our tanods have been very diligent and efficient in their guard duties because they know that the barangay council has been very supportive of them,” Guinea beams.

The barangay’s yearly appropriation ordinance affirms Guinea’s statement. In 2003, the barangay council of M. V. Hechanova allocated P123,000 (US$2,600) for the monthly allowances of its 18 tanods, and P16,000 (US$330) for their uniforms, supplies and other operating expenses. By 2005, the monthly allowance allocation increased to P143,400 (US$3,000) while uniform and other expenses rose to P25,867 (US$540).

The monthly allowances for the tanod commander also rose and on top of these increases, they were also given health insurance benefits.

Equipment was also provided to them including a patrol car, motorcycles, radio transceivers, nightsticks, handcuffs, pepper spray, flashlights and first-aid kits. The tanod outpost in the area has a detention centre where they can


Iloilo City: Securing the City with Community-based Policing

temporarily detain transgressors before they are turned over to the police. They recorded a number of crime fighting accomplishments and assisted the police in various drug-bust operations.

Proactive ResponseIn Barangay Aganan in Pavia town in Metro Iloilo, the barangay tanod unit is noted for its proactive response to the peace and order campaign. Being resourceful, they used heavy-duty beam lights that can reach across spans of rice fields during pursuit and patrol operations. Because Pavia is a major exit point from Iloilo City, the tanod outpost is equipped with an AM radio for monitoring of reports on criminal activities. When a suspect escapes the city either through the northwestern (Jaro district) or southern (Mandurriao district) exits, tanod members can easily set up a blockade to make an arrest.

The unit has four bicycles and seven pedicabs serving as patrol vehicles. Tanod members also have rubber boots that enable them to patrol watered rice fields. They have raincoats to protect them from rain and standby sandbags in the event that the Aganan River, which separates the flood-prone village from the town proper, overflows during heavy rains in the mountains. First aid and disaster preparedness were among the various capacity development trainings that they have attended.

Because of the hard work and competence of the tanods of Barangay M. V. Hechanova, the relatively well-off homeowners at Gran Plains Subdivision stopped hiring the services of private security agencies in 2000 to secure the area. It is now the tanods that have been posted to guard the gates of the subdivision.

Because of an attentive scheduling program, the Tanod Outpost in the subdivision is well-staffed, at times with as many as six tanods. “The visibility of the tanods in the area made our barangay relatively peaceful.”

Community InvolvementAside from conducting nightly patrol, the tanods are

also involved in the barangay’s cleanliness and tree-planting programs and in providing safety assistance to pedestrians and security services during community events like parochial fiesta and school activities. The village’s Parish Pastoral Council and the Gran Plains Subdivision Homeowners Association, Inc. commended them for their efficiency.

Aside from Gran Plains Subdivision, Barangay M. V. Hechanova also hosts the San Isidro Village, the Jalbuena Subdivision and a portion of the Phase 3 area

of Alta Tierra Village. The tanods, mostly in their 50s, also patrol these areas regularly, especially during the evening. Individually, the tanods in Barangay M. V. Hechanova have received a number of citations and recognitions, some of them given as early as 1994.

To further empower the tanods, they have been sent to attend seminars and workshops on various topics, among them training sessions on basic security measures for barangay tanods, on search and rescue

operations, on illegal drugs, and on bomb and explosives safety. These seminars are given by the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and the barangay council.

The diligence and efficiency of the barangay tanods of Aganan and M. V. Hechanova can be attributed to the support provided by their respective barangay councils, and to their personal development as a result of their attendance in trainings, seminars, and lectures on various social issues.

While a lack of finances continues to be a problem, this does not deter the barangay tanods from performing well. Aside from making maximum use of their budget, resourcefulness, and capabilities, these tanods have the encouraging support of their partners in local governments, national government agencies and the private sector.

Notably, both tanod units of Aganan and M. V. Hechanova have also been consistent winners in the DILG’s annual search for outstanding barangay tanods, proof of the consistency of their exemplary performance brought about by strong local partnerships for the promotion of public safety and security.


The enactment of Republic Act 7160, also known as the Local Government Code of 1991, saw the devolution of health services from the national to local governments. Initially, this was viewed as a welcome development as it had the potential to give local governments a direct hand in addressing their citizens’ health concerns. Health issues differ from one municipality to another, and it was hoped that relegating health services management to local governments would improve responses to diseases and other health-related matters with targeted programs.

Further, procurement of medicines became localized, meaning that municipalities were able to acquire only those medicines that were most needed by their population. This was not always the case; a popular story still circulates about how the Department of Health (DOH) once sent boxes of anti-malaria drugs to a town where there had never been any history of the disease!

But devolution only transferred the responsibility for health to local governments, not any corresponding funding. Unprepared local governments had to pay for the salaries and benefits of about 70,000 health workers and finance the health centres and hospitals under their jurisdiction. Unsurprisingly, the quality of health services declined. The upgrading of health facilities and infrastructure had to be set aside and local governments had to suspend much-needed training sessions for health personnel.

Without a sufficient budget for health services, local governments found themselves in a quandary as to how to effectively respond to the health needs of their constituents. Fortunately, the Local Government Code of 1991 also allowed local governments to pool resources and collaborate together to address common problems, including health. This was strengthened further when, in 1998, a concept for an inter-local government health system based on Inter Local Health Zones (ILHZ) was proposed as a mechanism to foster greater collaboration and coordination for health.

In the same year that the ILHZ concept was born, an initiative to design an inter-local government cooperative arrangement among Iloilo City and the adjacent municipalities of Leganes, Oton, Pavia, and San Miguel was launched, culminating in the signing of a memorandum of agreement that created the Metro Iloilo Development

Council (MIDC) on February 9, 2001, (later to be expanded into the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC) to include the island-province of Guimaras and the municipality of Santa Barbara, Iloilo).

The MIDC initially agreed to collaborate on six areas: Economic Promotions, Infrastructure Development, Land Use and Management, Public Safety and Security, Environmental Management and Basic Services Delivery. Committees were created to take charge of each area. With MIGEDC’s establishment, two new committees were added – tourism development and special projects development. Under the Basic Services Delivery Committee are sub-sectors, which include Education, Housing, Social Welfare, Water and Sanitation and Health.

The Referral SystemThe decline of the quality of health services following devolution can be attributed to various reasons, including understaffing (despite high expenditures on personnel), a critical lack of operating expenses, and decaying infrastructure. One program that was introduced to address these problems was the Health Referral System.

In its wider context, this includes referral from the community level to the highest level of care and back (two-way referral system). Within the health facility (hospital or health centre), there is also an internal system among the hospital departments or the health personnel involved. This system involves not only direct patient care, but support services as well, such as knowing where to get transport services to move a patient from one facility to the other.

Metro IloiloA Metropolitan Alliance to Improve Urban Health Services


Metro Iloilo: A Metropolitan Alliance to Improve Urban Health Services

The health referral system, therefore, is a two-way relationship that requires cooperation, coordination, and exchange of information between the primary health facility and the first referral hospital during the referral and discharge of the patient from the hospital. It is also an organizational structure for coordinating, linking, and possibly transferring care for medical problems from a generalist to specialist, or from a specialist to another specialist.

However, a weak referral system wastes scarce health resources through the duplication of services. Inappropriate services, delayed referral, and poor referral communications also increase the rate of ailments and deaths. In Metro Iloilo, problems plagued the referrals of patients from the municipal level to the tertiary hospitals.

Thus, the Basic Services Delivery Committee of the MIDC saw the need to develop a functional two-way referral system. The two-way referral system occurs when a patient needs expert advice, when a patient needs a technical examination that is not available at the health centres, when a patient requires a technical intervention that is beyond the capabilities of the health centre or when a patient requires in-patient care.

The AllianceTo generate, mobilize and tap essential resources for sustainable hospital and public health services within the Metro Iloilo region, the Metro Iloilo Health Alliance (MIHA) was created, with the five mayors and the chiefs of the two referral hospitals – the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) and the West Visayas State University Medical Center (WVSUMC) – signing a memorandum of agreement to establish it on May 12, 2005. The Philippines’ first metropolitan inter-local health zone, MIHA was created and strengthened through the support of the Canadian Urban Institute, with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency.

In this arrangement, the WVMC and the WVSUMC serve as the main point of referral for hospital services from the community, private medical practitioners, the barangay health stations (BHS), and the rural health units (RHUs). Through these hospitals, patients can get tertiary care such as laboratory and radiological diagnostic services, in-patient care, and surgical services sufficient to provide emergency care for basic life threatening conditions, obstetrics, and trauma.

To serve as the operations manual of the MIHA, the committee came up with an Integrated Health Plan, a consolidation of the individual health plans of all member local governments to ensure that the MIHA would be responsive to the needs of the entire population. The Integrated Health Plan entailed the adoption of a unifying vision and mission and a situation analysis of external and internal environmental conditions that affect the Metro Iloilo region. It also required clear definition of the roles of each level of service and facility, including other stakeholders,

through the discussion of organizational structure, relationships, and coordination mechanisms.

The plan contains strategies to institutionalize and strengthen the referral system. It went through several revisions as experts and stakeholders of the MIHA were invited to comment and give their suggestions. The collaboration was primarily to generate co-ownership for the plan and ultimately foster a collective commitment in carrying out its implementation.

MIHA is being managed by the MIHA Board, which serves as its unifying, policy and decision-making body. It is composed of the mayors of the local governments under the alliance, the chiefs of the two referral hospitals, the Iloilo City health officer, health representatives of the four municipalities, a representative of a non-governmental organization (NGO), representatives of the city, and municipal councils of the local governments, and two administrative officers. MIHA’s head is the chairperson of the Basic Services Delivery Committee, who is assisted by the chiefs of the two hospitals and the four other mayors as vice chairpersons.

MIHA initially operated on a budget allocated to the committee, which was part of the P100,000 (US$2,100) contribution of the five local government units that composed the MIDC. They also agreed to contribute P25,000 (US$530) each for the support of MIHA. Subsequent contributions based on health plans and activities will be discussed and agreed upon by the board of directors.

But with the establishment of MIGEDC, the annual allocation for MIHA operations was temporarily set aside until a new board could be reconstituted. However, the so-called “hibernation” of the MIHA board did not affect what it had put in place, such as the referral system that has been “sanctified by usage” by health care providers in the region. In fact, it has become a self-sustaining system, continuously working with or without specific budgetary allocation.

Inter-Local Health ZoneMIHA functions similarly to the Inter-Local Health Zone (ILHZ), a health care program initiated by the Department of Health (DOH) in which individuals, communities, and all other health care providers in a well-defined geographical area participate together in providing quality, equitable, and accessible health care with inter-local government partnership as the basic framework. But unlike the existing ILHZs, MIHA has two core referral hospitals instead of one.

The first inter-local health zone in the Philippines in a metropolitan setting, MIHA members are also part of other ILHZs established by the DOH, which thus gave their constituents “the best of both worlds” in health care. Patients from the municipal level can be referred to any of the core referral hospitals, either within the DOH-established ILHZ or MIHA.



Pavia is with the cluster that also consists of the towns of Cabatuan, Maasin and Santa Barbara with the Ramon Tabiana Memorial District Hospital in Cabatuan as the core referral hospital. Leganes is with the Central Inter-Local Health Zone, which has the Iloilo Provincial Hospital in Pototan town as the core referral hospital. Oton is with the Southern Inter-Local Health Zone, with the Don Pedro Trono Memorial Hospital in Guimbal town as the core referral hospital. San Miguel is with the Aleosan Inter-Local Health Zone, the cluster composed of Alimodian, Leon and San Miguel, with the Aleosan District Hospital in Alimodian as the core referral hospital.

Health FinancingTo ensure that quality health care is not compromised despite the inability of many of its constituents to pay for it, MIHA has adopted a health financing scheme through the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). The alliance intends to enroll its constituents in the national health insurance program to guarantee that their health needs are immediately addressed. The scheme involves improving program benefits, expanding its membership base, and then using benefit-spending to leverage effective quality care. It also allows for cost recovery in the hospital and RHUs through a reimbursement scheme and capital fund, which can be spent to further improve health services in both facilities.

Information SystemMIHA seeks to establish an Integrated Alliance Health Management and Information System to address one weak area in the establishment of ILHZs, which is health information and management. This is being done through a computerized network and community-based health data board that uses the results of the Minimum Basic Needs (MBN) Survey and makes it responsive to local planning, monitoring, and referral and disease surveillance. MBN Surveys are done to find out the basic needs of a Filipino family for survival, security and empowerment, MBN being defined as the minimum criteria for attaining a decent quality of life. MIHA would therefore invest in equipment such as telephones, computers and printers, software, and training of personnel involved in the information system, based on the results of the MBN Surveys.

Promoting Effective and Quality Health CareSupporting the MIHA program, in 2008 the MIGEDC’s Basic Services Delivery Committee launched the annual search for the model municipal health station to promote effective and quality health care among municipalities, which now include the five towns in the island-province of Guimaras and the town of Santa Barbara in Iloilo, a new addition to the Metro Iloilo circle. Dubbed “Sentro Obligado,” the program sought the development of efficiency among health personnel. Aside from honouring

outstanding health stations and health workers, the program was also a vehicle for documenting best practices in health service delivery.

Key ConcernsMIHA, as part of its management strategy, conducts regular reviews and assessments of the following:

• The health situation and the identified prevailing health problems that need to be addressed as soon as possible.• The management service output and extent of coordination of all BHSs, RHUs, the City Health Office, district health centres, and the two hospitals – WVMC and WVSUMC.• The existing human resource capabilities including Community Volunteer Health Workers (CVHWs) and the Traditional Health Birth Attendants.• The facilities according to availability and functionality in accordance with Sentrong Sigla and PhilHealth accreditation. (Sentrong Sigla is a quality assurance program that seeks to improve health services delivery by providing seals of excellence to health centres that have met the Department of Health standards.)• The procurement system of essential drugs, in terms of price, quality and conformity to the National Drug Formulary of Republic Act No. 6675 or the Generics Drugs Law – which seeks to promote, require and ensure the production of an adequate supply, distribution, use and acceptance of drugs and medicines identified by their generic names – through the MIHA Therapeutic Committee.

MIHA implements the Sentrong Sigla standards and “Center of Wellness” of the DOH focusing and working toward improved quality of services. Finally, MIHA encourages partnership and networking among local



governments, national government agencies, state universities and colleges, communities, and non-governmental organizations, or people’s organizations working within the alliance.

Monitoring and EvaluationTo continuously improve its functions, MIHA implements a regular monitoring and evaluation process to assess its work and find room for improvements. MIHA is evaluated based on the following:

• Services meet the needs of the population.• Services are efficient, fast and streamlined.• Services are accessible, both physically and financially.• Personnel are friendly and courteous.• Services are equitable.• There is inter-local government cooperation.

Surveys, focus group discussions, formal and informal interviews and personnel performance evaluations were also done.

Results and ImpactDirect Benefits. Due to accessibility, convenience and a higher level of health care, patients coming from the municipal level are usually referred either to WVMC or the WVSUMC instead of the core referral hospitals in their respective DOH-established ILHZs. This proved beneficial to the residents of Metropolitan Iloilo considering that they immediately get much-needed quality medical attention with expediency. The PhilHealth financing scheme that is a major component of MIHA guarantees that low-income residents can avail themselves of quality health care services.

Linkage Building. The key players involved in MIHA include local health officers as lead persons, local chief executives and other government officials to ensure the institutionalization of the system and funding, community health workers as leaders and conduits of communication, community members as partners in development, non-governmental organizations as policy-making contributors, the private sector as patrons and donors, and the Department of Health (DOH) for

technical leadership on local health systems.

Efficiency in Health Care Services. Through the referral system, MIHA sees that there is no duplication of health services and under-utilization of primary and secondary government hospitals, thus making the delivery of services efficient. On the other hand, the availability of appropriate services, on-time referral and improved referral communications result in increased effectiveness.

Transferability and Sustainability. MIHA showcases how inter-local government cooperation on health can work. Legal provisions governing inter-local government cooperation can be applied to any cluster of local governments, and therefore can be replicated anywhere. The memoranda of agreement that created both the MIDC and, later, MIGEDC and the MIHA, guarantee the continued operation of the alliance even with changes in leadership in national and local governments due to elections.

In the long run, MIHA can bring about:

• Quality hospital and RHU services• A functional referral system• Integrated health planning• An established health information system• Well-developed human resources• Financially viable or self-sustaining hospitals• Integrated public health and curative hospital care• Strengthened cooperation between local governments and the health sector


The oil spill that hit Guimaras in central Philippines in August 2006 displayed both the fragility of the environment and the fact that nature is not constrained by political borders. The disaster not only affected the island-province, but the neighbouring provinces of Negros Occidental and Iloilo as well.

City-region building acknowledges the multiplicity of other kinds of borders - ecological, social and environmental - through the management of their overlapping spaces. Thus, when the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC) was created a few weeks after the oil spill, the Metro Iloilo region of six local governments and the province of Guimaras were included in its jurisdiction. MIGEDC was formally established by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo through Executive Order No. 559, signed on August 28, 2006, and was designed to help address the area’s emerging problems brought about by rapid urbanization and the spatial development challenges of tourism and economic development.

The creation of MIGEDC was inspired by earlier initiatives, particularly the Metro Iloilo Development Council (MIDC) that was formed by Iloilo City and towns of Leganes, Oton, Pavia, and San Miguel on February 9, 2001, and the Guimaras-Iloilo City Alliance that was similarly established on May 22, 2005. Merging these two regional alliances, along with the urbanizing town of Santa Barbara, gave birth to the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras region.

In 2005, MIDC already saw a need to shape the region’s growth and development. This prompted the council to formulate a regional growth management strategy, which eventually led to the preparation of the Metro Iloilo Physical Framework Plan (MIPFP), a document that served as the overall policy framework for planning and development decisions within and across the five local government units.

The plan became a tool with which to manage growth to enhance the quality of life for residents across the urban region. Due to the urgency of the problems that were being experienced in Metro Iloilo and given the need to make the region viable as an economic, industrial, commercial, cultural, and political centre of the country, the preparation of the plan was given top priority, and was eventually completed in 2006.

A New Region EmergesBut just as the MIPFP was adopted, the oil spill struck and MIGEDC was established. As a region, Metro Iloilo-

Guimaras felt the need for a similar growth management plan. The resulting plan, called Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Integrated Spatial Development Framework (MIGISDF), was so named so as not to be confused with the nature and purpose of other regional, provincial, city municipal and other development plans.

Now that MIDC has become MIGEDC, the concepts and ideas of MIDC, particularly in spatial development, have not been totally forgotten. In fact, most spatial concepts in the MIGISDF derive from the Metro Iloilo Physical Framework Plan (MIPFP). During the process of preparing the spatial plan for Metro Iloilo-Guimaras, other plans were taken into consideration and integrated into the MIGISDF.

Some of these were the MIGEDC Road Map 2015, Issues Paper and Metro Iloilo Strategic Plan 2006-2010. These documents were produced out of the Local Governance Development Program (LGDP), an initiative that was funded by the Australian Government through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and was implemented by Coffey International Development, an Australian development specialist group, in association with the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI).

CUI, through its Canada-Philippines Partnership Program for Good Urban Governance funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), had assisted the erstwhile MIDC in preparing the MIPFP. The formulation of the plan involved a six-step process – the review of existing municipal and city comprehensive land use plans;

Metro IloiloManaging Rapid Urban Growth through Integrated Land Use Planning


Metro iloilo: Managing Rapid Urban Growth through Integrated Land Use Planning

information gathering, analysis and mapping; sectoral consultations and reports; initial public consultation; preparation of a draft metropolitan plan; and final public consultation and approval of the plan.

Developing the FrameworkIn satisfying the need to come up with an ideal spatial plan, MIGEDC must be consistent with plans individually prepared by their member local governments and their regional alliances. These plans include the draft of the Sta. Barbara Comprehensive Land Use Plan, Guimaras Physical Framework Plan, and the Comprehensive Land Use Plan of Iloilo City. MIGEDC had also completed the MIG Integrated Regional and Urban Infrastructure Plan and the Tourism Strategy Action Plan, which were vital for preparing the MIGISDF.

Furthermore, in the light of the Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1 issued in 2007, these plans and frameworks must be synchronized with the plans of the National Government Agencies (NGAs) with respect to existing processes and procedures. The circular – jointly issued by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the National Economic Development Authority, the Department of Budget and Management, and the Department of Finance – calls for harmonized planning, investment programming, budgeting, revenue administration, and expenditure management. It has been hailed as a landmark policy on local development processes.

The processes of developing the MIGISDF involved the following:

• Orientating stakeholders on the Planning Context following the JMC process;• Reviewing various plans and framework using the JMC process;• Integrating assessments and plans using the JMC process;• Conducting workshops to validate and complete the rest of the plan sections;• Preparing GIS based maps to highlight issues and strategic frameworks;• Preparing Issues Paper to present key opportunities and challenges; • Reviewing the MIGEDC Roadmap; and• Writing a MIGISDF draft.

The final draft of the MIGISDF will go through the same approval process as the MIPFP. The spatial framework shall be reviewed by the stakeholders, presented to the MIGEDC Executive Council and the respective LGU members will adopt the framework once it is approved.

The Need for a FrameworkA survey of cities in the Philippines conducted by the Asian Institute of Management in 2002 ranked Iloilo City as the most competitive mid-sized city in terms of local economy in the country. Just like any developing city, Iloilo experiences both the positive and the negative

consequences of urbanization, as do the adjacent municipalities. Urban sprawl, for instance, has left adjacent municipalities in land use conflict, and some agricultural lands have become threatened because of residential expansion. Real estate development in Iloilo City and in the four adjacent municipalities has never been so aggressive because of the growing demands for housing.

Many residents of Leganes, Pavia, Oton, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, and Guimaras commute to Iloilo City for education, employment or business, among other reasons. People from these municipalities contribute to the observed higher daytime population density in the city compared to its night-time population. Issues ranging from traffic management to road quality to the availability of public infrastructure have been noted as requirements for supporting the needs of the population through effective public service delivery.

The population in the region will reach more than 1.2 million in 2023, approximately twice the population in 2000. Most of the members of the regional population are young citizens, thus MIGEDC needs to understand the issues affecting this age group, such as employment, education and housing. Servicing the demands of a young population will affect the economic, physical and social development of MIGEDC for the next fifteen years, but concerns for the conservation of natural resources still remain a challenge for sustainable urban growth. In due time, the young population will also age, thus MIGEDC must be able to prepare its environment for the safety and convenience of future seniors.

Rapid population growth, dramatic changes in production and consumption patterns and massive rural to urban migration have all contributed to environmental degradation in the MIG region. Unless environmental degradation is arrested, the growth rates necessary to reduce poverty will not be sustained and the Millennium Development Goals will not be achieved.

It has become clear that the increasing populace and dynamism of Iloilo City call for integrated growth and expansion management strategies with neighbouring municipalities. A combined effort among the seven concerned local governments to shift current policies to encourage investment and development in designated urban centres can help address this need.

Supporting a VisionThe MIGISDF 2008-2023 supports the metropolitan vision to create “[a] highly liveable region of God-loving and educated people working together for a progressive, self reliant, and sustainable community” by improving cooperation and partnerships between the member LGUs in the management of social, economic and natural environments of Metro Iloilo-Guimaras.

The MIGISDF illustrates how the residents of Metro Iloilo-Guimaras want their community to grow and change in the


Metro Iloilo: Managing Rapid Urban Growth through Integrated Land Use Planning

future. It describes the community’s collective vision for the sustainable management of the public realm and shared community assets like air, land and water resources, and sets goals for economic development, effective transportation networks and community well-being. As a developing region, Metro Iloilo-Guimaras needs strong direction in order to avoid the potential negative impacts of uncontrolled development on the quality of life of its residents.

Using current data and land use policies from the seven local governments, the MIGISDF was designed to provide a flexible and adaptable mechanism for guiding the future physical form of Metro Iloilo-Guimaras. It presents an indicative spatial lay-out of the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras for the next fifteen years. The local government members should consider the goals and objectives of the spatial framework in formulating or updating their respective comprehensive land use plans and other specific development plans. In a way, the integrated spatial development plan will serve as a guide or link among these plans to have a more collaborative approach in facing the challenges and opportunities of urbanization.

Understanding land uses through quantitative data is not the foundation of this framework, but rather identifying the characteristics of land uses and providing schemes for their locations. The allocation of land uses presented in the spatial development framework maps serves as a model providing possible solutions to issues of land use in Metro Iloilo-Guimaras, and as a guide in operationalizing and managing the physical growth of the region. MIGISDF does not conflict with the regional plans; rather it integrates them in the entire framework through concepts, options and strategies.

The creation of the MIGSDF involved a number of workshops and consultations in order to come up with community-generated solutions for developing the region. Thus the interpretation of some metropolitan characteristics may vary from the perception of the planners, local officials, consultants, and other stakeholders.

Each local government has a certain rate of economic or physical development. They have their own physical, cultural and legislative factors to consider. Thus, the strategies in the MIGISDF were addressed in such a way

the local government units could easily adopt them and create their own specific programs and policies.

The MIGISDF presents how land – the basic economic resource – should be used efficiently and effectively, so as to capitalize on the various strengths of the seven local governments, and to successfully manage potential conflicts between adjoining land uses. Essentially, it sets a framework to ensure that urban growth occurs in an orderly manner, and decisions are not made on an ad-hoc basis.

The MIGISDF has been prepared with regards to the plans and policy frameworks of the national and provincial authorities, as well as global objectives. The plan will thus be submitted to the relevant agencies for integration into the wider development planning system.

Links with Regional PlansThe MIGISDF adheres to the principles in the National Framework for Physical Planning (NFPP) as well as the Regional Physical Framework Plan for Western Visayas (Region VI), which state that land use and related planning activities shall be undertaken within the context of the principles that support the allocation and use physical resources such as land and water with due regards to their sustainability.

What makes MIGISDF unique is that unlike other land use plans associated with a formal political jurisdiction, strategic documents like the MIGISDF are encouraged among local governments but not mandated. The framework has distinct ways of presenting its objectives, strategies, and preferred roles. MIGISDF has also given a new meaning to the word “region”. Though a mandated regional plan covers the whole region as its scope (in this case, MIGEDC is within the official region of Western Visayas), MIGISDF uses the term “region” to refer only to the seven local governments of MIGEDC

(i.e. a city, a province and five municipalities). Thus, the land use plan produced by these LGUs through their collaborative relationship does not conform to any standard categories of plans in the Philippines, such as a regional or provincial plan.

Indeed, the uniqueness of the MIGISDF was also brought about by the fact that MIGEDC is a unique alliance. It groups together varying types of communities – a highly urbanized city, rapidly urbanizing municipalities, and a peri-urban island-province – into one to be developed under one spatial framework. And the MIGISDF may just be a small step for MIGEDC, but it is a giant leap for the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Region.


Over the past few decades, local governments in the Philippines have been doing their best to attract investors. The logic is simple -- investments generate much-needed taxes for local governments and create jobs for their residents. And a rapidly-growing urbanizing region like Metro Iloilo needs both taxes and jobs to survive the challenges of poverty, poor service delivery and inadequacy of infrastructure, among others.

The partnership arrangement that led to the birth of the Metro Iloilo region following the establishment of the Metro Iloilo Development Council (MIDC) in 2001 has inspired its own strategy to attract investors – one also marked by partnership. It is this partnership that led to the creation of the Iloilo Investment Promotion Center (IIPC), the body tasked to promote Metro Iloilo as an investment destination. It also serves as a repository of information and services that caters to the needs of prospective investors, and as a link between various government agencies at the national and local levels, the private sector

and existing and potential investors.

The IIPC was born following the advent of information communication technology, especially with rise of call centres, where agents handle telephone calls on behalf of a client. Clients include mail-order catalogue houses, telemarketing companies, computer product help desks, banks, financial service and insurance groups, transportation and freight handling firms, hotels, and IT companies.

In June 2004, investors scouted for sites in Iloilo City for call centres, made courtesy calls with the Office of the Mayor, and sought assistance from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on how to open a business in

Iloilo City. The city government found it difficult to handle the concerns of the investors because there was no office that could provide all the information that they needed. This prompted Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas to call for a meeting with DTI where a task force was created to look into how to address the problem – the aptly named Task Force on Economic Promotions (TFEP).

Replicating CebuIt was the TFEP that recommended the creation of a one-stop shop which would serve as the entry point for new investors as well as a repository of information for those who were already in place. It was modeled after the Cebu Investment Promotion Center (CIPC), which has played an invaluable role in promoting Cebu as a prime investment hub in the country. Acknowledged as a pre-eminent investment promotion agency in the Philippines, CIPC has serviced over 1,000 prospective locators since 1994 and has since transformed Cebu’s economy into a thriving mix of industries and commercial ventures. It also helped

develop a burgeoning furniture-making industry, making Cebu the furniture capital of the Philippines.Learning lessons from CIPC, the TFEP then involved not just groups from Iloilo City like the Iloilo Business Club (IBC) and the Iloilo Hotels, Restaurants and Resorts Association (IHRRA), but also stakeholders outside of the city. This move brought in the provincial government of Iloilo and the then Metro Iloilo Development Council (MIDC), which was later expanded to become the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC). The Canadian Urban Institute (CUI), which was assisting the MIDC then, was also asked to bring more inputs to the planning table. CUI’s work was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

The task force and representatives of the provincial government of Iloilo, MIDC, and CUI began planning what would be the proper mandate and organizational set up of the IIPC. What followed was a series of workshops and seminars to prepare stakeholders to come up with the project’s action plan. Together, these organizations crafted an agreement that was endorsed by the respective legislative councils of the local governments involved. The Iloilo City Council, for its part, had already passed a resolution authorizing Mayor Jerry Treñas to sign the memorandum of agreement.

Nevertheless, with the private sector already amenable

Metro Iloilo GuimarasMetro-wide Investment Promotion


Metro Iloilo Guimaras: Metro-wide Investment Promotion

and highly supportive of the idea, the Iloilo Investment Promotion Center (IIPC) was inaugurated on May 12, 2005, marking the “starting line of the race towards local economic development,” as the IIPC slogan declares.

Kicking OffHoused at the DTI regional office in Iloilo City and complete with the necessary office facilities, the Center invited the executive director of the CIPC to share the Cebu experience, discussing the challenges Cebu faced, and how these challenges were met. The lessons learned were vital in launching the Center’s operation.

Likewise, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) also provided input on investment incentives and explained the process by which an area could become accredited with PEZA. PEZA is an investment promotion agency that grants fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to developers of economic zones, export producers and information technology service exporters. It was then that the task force started to identify other institutions that could be involved in the project.

With a total budget of P930,000 (US$20,000) provided by the then MIDC, IIPC was launched with the following objectives:

• To establish a focal source of information and services related to investment in order to have just one common official set of data;

• To strengthen the network between and among government agencies both national and local, private sector and other offices concerned with investment; and• To establish a reliable and user-friendly data banking system to be readily available to existing and potential investors.

It also has the following functions:

• Set-up and maintain a database program on investment;• Facilitate and provide investment promotion services;• Formulate and undertake investment marketing programs;• Provide a venue for policy intervention in creating a more conducive business environment; and• Establish linkages with appropriate organizations and agencies.

Early SuccessesIIPC’s first spin-off institution was the ePLDT Ventus, a wholly owned subsidiary of ePLDT Inc, which opened a 1,600-square metre, 300-seat call centre in Molo district in December 2004. ePLDT Inc. was so impressed with the help of the IIPC that even after the initial

opening of the call centre, ePLDT Ventus has continued coordinating with IIPC on other concerns, including their expansion program.

But while the Center was officially launched in May 2005, IIPC’s ad hoc structure had earlier assisted companies interested in doing business in Iloilo City. During the period of June 2004 to June 2005, IIPC assisted at least 20 potential investors, conducted roundtable discussions with the academe on investments, and hosted job fairs for call centres in Iloilo City. By 2007, there were already six call centres in Iloilo City with over 1,000 seats and employing at least 1,500 personnel for their 24-hour operations. Various factors had forced some to transfer to other cities, but new ones have subsequently opened.

In 2008, IIPC assisted at least 12 companies hoping to set up shop in Iloilo City, of which six were in the call centre business, three in real estate, and another three in facilities development. IIPC had also facilitated the conduct of a focus group discussion (FGD) among students by one call centre firm.

Competitive AdvantagesHaving a highly-educated labour force is one of Iloilo City’s competitive advantages. Most individuals in the labour force are graduates of some of the country’s leading universities, like the University of the Philippines in the Visayas, Central Philippine University, St. Paul University, University of San Agustin and the West Visayas State University. Skilled workers are products of technical and vocational schools, and the government-run Technical Education for Skills Development Authority (TESDA), as well as skills upgrading programs occasionally sponsored by private organizations. It is also home to the Western Visayas College of Science and Technology (WVSCT), one of the leading technical schools in the country.


Metro Iloilo Guimaras: Metro-wide Investment Promotion

Iloilo City has available managerial staff, vocational-technical schools producing skilled workers, and regional training centres. It also has available land that is suitable for factory and office buildings at competitive prices, public utilities at reasonable rates, and financial institutions, adequate transport infrastructures, and shopping and recreational facilities, among others. Its local governments are also receptive to investors. The Iloilo Fishing Port Complex has modern cold storage facilities.

The large number of financial institutions in the city and province make banking convenient for businesses, not to mention the presence of competent legal, accounting and auditing professional service firms. It also has adequate shopping and recreational facilities, and is proximate to the sources of indigenous raw materials. Likewise, the peace and order situation is ideally desirable.

Wearing Different HatsDuring its initial year, a Technical Secretariat headed by the DTI provincial director who serves as its executive director ran IIPC. It was housed at the DTI office, with two personnel detailed to run its daily operations. An Executive Committee was created from among the members of the Board of Advisors, which was composed of representatives of local governments, national government agencies and private sector organizations.

With a functioning structure and a clearly defined mandate, it was easy for IIPC to wear different hats while speaking the same message. This was proven following the creation of the multi-sectoral Iloilo Economic Development Foundation (ILED), with IIPC serving as its marketing arm. This happened because most of the people coming from the public and private sectors that composed IIPC’s Board of Advisors also became ILED’s trustees, which includes the city mayor, the provincial governor, the provincial director of the Department of Trade and Industry, and the chairpersons of the Iloilo Business Club, the Iloilo Visitors Convention Bureau, the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation and the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, among others.

Late in 2008, the DTI began to implement Republic Act No. 7470, the national law that mandated the creation of National Economic Research and Business Assistance Centers (Nerbac) in the various regions and provinces of the country. Nerbac is a pioneering project providing a single entry point for investors on comprehensive and highly integrated business support by pooling government

resources in a One-Stop Express Business Center, reducing red tape, and improving effectiveness and efficiency in government services.

The Nerbac program has three components – licensing, knowledge management and investment promotion. Nerbac is managed by a governing board, the composition of which as far as Iloilo is concerned is almost the same as the board of trustees of ILED and the board of advisors of IIPC. Because IIPC was already a functioning body, it was decided that it should serve as Nerbac’s investment promotion arm in Iloilo. Nerbac Iloilo’s governing board includes the city mayor, the provincial governor, the DTI provincial director, the chairpersons of ILED and the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, among others.

Lasting StructureThe rapid change in programs and responses to economic challenges showed one thing – IIPC has become a lasting structure for investment promotion. While it can be likened to a child with various foster parents, moving from one home to another, it has still performed its tasks sustainably. It has become not just a centre working for the promotion of Metro Iloilo as an investment destination but also a venue where plans and programs are shared and harmonized for local economic development.

A functional body with a working plan for action, a budget contributed by local governments and equipment provided by private organizations, IIPC has thus become a sustainable product of partnership among stakeholders for local economic development in Iloilo.


When you arrive at the seaside village of Dolores in Nueva Valencia town in Guimaras, you quickly forget the long and bumpy ride from the wharf in the capital town of Jordan. The main destination in this village is the small hamlet of Guisi where about 80 families reside. While climbing to a ridge overlooking the western coast of the island, all your distractions melt away to the sound of waves crashing against the island below.

Guisi was not spared from the oil spill that hit Guimaras in August 2006, although the impact of the disaster to the area was minimal, thanks to a north-east blowing wind and a quick and effective response from residents, who built

improvised spill booms that prevented wayward slicks from coming ashore. As news of the oil spill jolted Guimaras, the people of Guisi immediately knew what to protect first – the white-sand beach that is the pride of the community and the source of its reputation. Without delay, villagers

launched their outriggers and were on the lookout for black stains of oil threatening to tarnish the hamlet’s jewel, quickly removing slicks and fending off the worst environmental disaster to hit the Philippines.

Responding collectively during times of crisis is not new to the residents of this fishing village. A few years back, they also rose as one against what they have been trying to individually overcome for decades – poverty.

Life in Guisi was difficult then. Fishing and charcoal production, the main sources of livelihood for residents, were not particularly promising. The fishing catch had been declining due to a combination of intruding large

commercial fishing vessels and rampant illegal fishing practices. Blast fishing was also rampant, destroying coral reefs that serve as spawning grounds of fish. Traditional fishing methods simply could not compete with such modern techniques. The diminishing forests and the legal restrictions imposed on cutting tress also put a stop to charcoal production.

Fishing used to give a family 300 pesos a week (US$6.40) while charcoal production fetched 200 pesos (US$4.25). Both amounts diminished, prompting residents to seek work elsewhere or to develop other means of livelihood. One family, for example, opened a bakery, but the purchasing power of their poor neighbours wasn’t enough to sustain the business.

Compensating the poverty that grips families in Guisi is the wealth of nature found in its environs – a captivating white-sand beach, clean and pristine waters, a scenic landscape and a rich cultural and historical heritage.

Guisi has been described as a perfect outdoor destination. Its beach is ideal for swimming and canoeing; its forested hills invite everyone for an exciting mountain-trek; its cave tempts the adventurous to explore its depths; and its waterfall showers with fun. One can also experience the people’s indigenous culture that has remained intact, tracing back to the 1860s when the first settlers of Guisi arrived from neighbouring Iloilo.

Making the place more fascinating is a Spanish lighthouse known in naval manuals as Faro de Punta Luzaran. One of the 70 lighthouses built across the Philippines from the 1860s to the 1890s as part of the colonial government’s project to light the maritime coasts of the archipelago, it guides ships cruising over Panay Gulf.

Guisi was selected to host the lighthouse because it is visible from the islands of Panay and Negros and from the open sea on the western side of the country. The area also served as a stopover point for sugar and log-loaded ships plying the Iloilo-Caguayan route during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Spanish lighthouse, which is no longer functioning but is still standing, had a beam that could reach 22.5 kilometres. Its rotating prism, which reflected and beamed the kerosene-fuelled light, was powered by gravitational force. In the 1990s, the Philippine Coast Guard constructed a new lighthouse to replace the dilapidated one, this time, powered by solar energy. They now stand side by side like twins separated at birth, one a guiding light to the future, the other shedding light on the stories of the past.

Guisi Discovery QuestTwo years after the oil spill hit Guimaras, an innovative

GuimarasA Community Comes Together to Fight Poverty


Guimaras: A Community Comes Together to Fight Poverty

project known as Guisi Discovery Quest was launched that features affordable tour packages for visitors, including rappelling, snorkelling and a mangrove tour, among other activities. These activities are offered in two packages, a half day or a whole day, and each offers a different experience for the tourist, ranging from tranquil relaxation to extreme adventure.

The half day tour is mainly made up of mountain biking, boating, caving and snorkelling activities, with mangrove tours and rappelling activities included in the full day tour. The activities end after an hour or two of snorkelling as visitors pedal back to the lighthouse to freshen up and rest. From the lighthouse, visitors can also enjoy the previously undiscovered wonders of Guisi beaches, or the lush wilderness trails leading to the majestic Panluron Falls.

The project, designed by the Department of Tourism with funding from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is not a brand new project, but one built on the gains of the much earlier Guisi Community-based Heritage Tourism Program, a component of the Guimaras Heritage Tourism Project initiated five years before the oil spill.

Deemed the people’s ticket out of poverty, the Guimaras Heritage Tourism Project was launched in November 2001 and was designed to develop and implement a community-based economic enterprise employing multi-stakeholder and participatory approaches. It intended to promote the natural, agricultural, religious, historical and cultural heritage of the place to local and foreign tourists. Tourism

had been identified as the cornerstone of the economic development of Guimaras.

This project traces its inception back to 1996 when the provincial government of Guimaras, with the assistance of the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI), implemented a series of activities to equip stakeholders with the capacity to formulate economic development initiatives and implement projects geared towards poverty reduction. An economic development strategy for the island was prepared, which identified three priority sectors – agriculture, fisheries and tourism. CUI’s work in Guimaras was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

To test the acquired capacity of stakeholders in implementing projects, demonstration projects were implemented. In the area of tourism development, the provincial government introduced the Guimaras Heritage Tourism Project that called for the establishment of an environmentally sensitive and cooperative form of community economic development endeavour. Guisi was

selected as the site for such a pilot project.

Specifically, the Guimaras Heritage Tourism Project aimed to:

• Enhance the abilities and increase the awareness of stakeholders in developing and managing local economic enterprises;• Develop and implement a barangay and excursion tourism project;• Promote public/community involvement and encourage transparency and accountability;• Develop/formulate and implement tourism policies and related legislation; and• Improve service delivery and reduce poverty of local communities.

Project ComponentsPublic Education and Organization. Following the

implementation of the Guimaras Heritage Tourism Project, the provincial government conducted a series of tourism awareness seminars to educate communities as well as other stakeholders on the economic benefits that could be derived from tourism in order to gain their support for and commitment to tourism-related projects, and to turn them into effective tourism leaders. These seminars also provided stakeholders with a clearer picture of the importance of the tourism industry and familiarized them



with the island’s attractions, products, services and activities and special events. A municipal project task force for the heritage tourism project was created in October 2002 by the municipal government of Nueva Valencia to formulate plans and programs as well as to advocate for the passage of tourism and related legislation.

Policy Formulation. Legislation and policies were introduced to support the operation of the heritage tourism project. These included the creation of the Barangay Dolores Tourism Council and the Barangay Ecological Solid Waste Management Committee, a ban on the gathering of corals in the shoreline of Dolores, a proclamation of the Dolores mangrove area as the site of a community-based forest management project, the strengthening of the Municipal Tourism Council, and the adoption of the Area Specific Tourism Master Plan of Guimaras, and several others.

Capacity Building. In November 2003, a group of municipal and provincial government personnel participated in a study tour to Samal Island in Davao del Norte where a community-based tourism program had been making several gains. This exposed them to approaches on how to manage the project and make it sustainable, and made them realize the benefits that the community could derive from a similar endeavour. Their learnings from the study tour, which was organized by CUI, were echoed in the Community-Based Heritage Tourism Project Management Workshop conducted the following month. The workshop sought to equip villagers – the Barangay Dolores Tourism Council (BDTC), barangay officials, students, teachers, fisherfolk and other members of the community – with basic knowledge in inn-keeping, organization, management of tourism facilities and events, guest assistance and handling, as well as marketing. This enhanced their awareness of their roles, responsibilities and relationships in the implementation and management of the project. The BDTC was named the project management team of the community-based heritage tourism project.

Enhancement of Support Services. A fund of P350,000 (US$7,400) from the provincial government of Guimaras led to the construction of a one-room heritage cottage to accommodate tourists in the area. It is equipped with a bathroom, a kitchen, and lighting facilities. It was subsequently turned over to the BDTC for management. The BDTC also raised cash and material donations from private organizations and individuals amounting to P32,135 (US$680) for the improvement of the cottage, which include

the construction of a mess hall and two toilet facilities, tables and the landscaping of the cottage grounds. It also purchased mats, water containers, lamps and other basic items

Generating Partners’ Support. The development of the Guisi Community-Based Heritage Tourism Project was a result of the contributions of various partners. Departments under the provincial government of Guimaras lent their expertise to answer the various needs of the project. The Provincial Tourism Office provided direction, framework and initial funding and staff to develop and implement the project. The Provincial Engineers Office was responsible for the construction of the heritage cottage and the installation of the water system. The municipal government of Nueva Valencia and its offices collaborated with their provincial counterparts. National government agencies like the Department of Tourism, the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources extended interventions on matters related to their mandates. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) gave skills training to residents in inn-keeping and

food handling, among others.

A Novel ApproachThe Guimaras Heritage Tourism Project is an innovative way of attacking the problem of poverty. Here, one can find a community that developed – in a participatory manner – its own local economic enterprise to directly benefit from it. It shaped a community that is aware of its assets, capable of managing them, and committed to sustaining the

The old lighthouse at Guisi still has stories to tell.



initiative that provided them with livelihood opportunities when their traditional sources of income could no longer provide enough support.

The BDTC, which was named the project management team, has since been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It originally offered a tour package for a group of five at a rate of P1,175 (US$25) per person, which includes accommodation at the heritage cottage and meals for two days, and services like boating and carroza (carriage) rides, as well as a cultural

presentation. Guides are also available for those who want to go mountain trekking and spelunking1.

BDTC records showed that from October 2004 to August 2005, the project generated an income of P86,887 (US$1,845) from group tours that benefited 42 families who were tapped to supply catering and other services to guests. School children who perform during cultural presentations also earn small fees charged to tourists.

Fisherfolk belonging to the Katilingban sang mga Magagmay nga Mangingisda sa Dolores (Dolores Small Fisherfolks Association of Kamamado) augment their income by offering boating services and hands-on experiences for guests in traditional fishing methods using nets as well as hook and line. Kamamado members have also become committed protectors of the environment as they serve as watchdogs of the coastal waters and marine resources of Dolores, having signed an agreement with the provincial government for such purpose. Members of the barangay tanod (community police), for their part, serve as guides in mountain trekking and cave exploration, and earn extra funds from such duties.

The partnership forged among local governments, national government agencies, non-governmental organizations and community members brought maximum results not only in terms of economics but also in terms of preserving the historical and cultural heritage of the place. Settlers have started to conduct research and compile historical accounts from older members of the community and made an initial 1 Exploring caves.

request to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) for the restoration of the Guisi lighthouse and the preservation of their culture.

Guisi, according to oral accounts, was peopled starting in the 1860s when Eping Geonanga, a fisher from Guimbal town in Iloilo province, was attracted to the richness and unspoiled natural resources of the place. He brought his family to the area and since then, other fishing families from the nearby islands of Panay and Negros and from as far as Romblon and Masbate started to settle in Guisi,

which was then called Baybay. Isolated as they were and with little outside influence, the people have preserved many of their culture and traditions.

To attract tourists to the area, the project is being promoted through the media, both local and national. Pilmap, a travel magazine, had a story on the project in its March 2004 issue. Two television programs from the giant networks ABS-CBN (Magandang Umaga Bayan) and GMA-7 (Lovely Day) also ran separate features on the community initiative.

CUI, the provincial government of Guimaras and the municipal government of Nueva Valencia jointly published a full-colour tourism brochure on Guisi to inform the public what it is all about. An activity sponsored by the project brought reporters and editors from national and regional media to the area who in turn wrote stories that brought the project to the attention of their respective audiences.

However, after the oil spill, visitor arrivals in Guisi declined by 42.74 percent in 2006. Income generated also went down by 54.71 percent from P51,827 (US$1,100) in 2005 to P23,475 (US$500) in 2006. But by 2007, Guisi experienced a remarkable increase of 895.07 percent in visitor arrivals, bringing the income generated to P95,965 (US$2,000), or an increase of 308.80 percent.

Its Value The beauty of having a community managing its own economic resources is that it must ensure that the shared assets will continue to provide for the community’s needs, creating a safeguard against the self-destructive over-



exploitation that can plague tourist areas. Furthermore, community members also want to get the most out of the investments that they and their partners provide for the project. Volunteerism also shines best in such an endeavour. Community members would also advocate for the establishment of structures and the formulation of policies that encourage the project’s economic and environmental sustainability.

From 1996 to 2005, the Guimaras Heritage Tourism Project had an allocated budget of P900,000 (US$19,000), the bulk of which went to training activities and was mostly assumed by the provincial government, which invested 95 percent of the budget. While the municipal government of Nueva Valencia and the barangay council of Dolores provided a small share of P20,000 each, they also provided volunteer workers, which helped a great deal in implementing the project.

Perhaps most valuable was the way in which the project surpassed expectations. During the tourism awareness and appreciation campaign, the project intended to reach only half of the population of Barangay Dolores, or 942 people, but it turned out that it reached the entire village and 518 others from neighbouring villages, municipal government personnel and people’s organizations. In terms of community mobilization and involvement, 292 people were involved and actively participated in environmental management activities, even though only 250 were targeted. The project also aimed to train 50 beneficiaries on project management and operation as part of its capacity building component, but reached 78 instead. In tourism project assessment, policy ordinance formulation, and market planning, 418 were reached compared to an initial target of 350.

The heritage cottage is fully operational and is equipped with several facilities. Constructed with funds from the provincial government, community members volunteered for carpentry jobs while other residents donated cash and construction materials like hollow blocks, cement, lumber, and sand and gravel to ensure that construction did not encounter delays and other problems. The project also encouraged transparency with its use of a multi-stakeholder approach in planning and management. Organizational procedures and systems have been established not only for the Barangay Dolores Tourism Council as the project management team but also for support groups like the Kamamado and the Nueva Valencia Producers Association (NVPA), the group that produces

delicacies and crafts that serve as souvenir items for tourists when they visit Guisi.

The project also promotes gender equality and youth participation, having solicited the active participation of women and young people in environmental and cultural activities. The BDTC is chaired by a woman, who is also the principal of the Dolores Elementary School. Likewise, women are involved in project management and operation. Partner organizations like the NVPA are mostly comprised of women.

Its ImpactsThe implementation of the Guimaras Heritage Tourism Project has not only produced results but also made an impressive imprint on the community in a number of ways:

Institutional Empowerment. The Municipal Task Force for the Implementing Heritage Tourism Programs and the Barangay Dolores Tourism Council were created by virtue of an executive order and resolution, respectively. The creation of both groups was necessary for the implementation of the Guisi Community-Based Heritage Tourism Project. The BDTC has been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, enabling it to legally operate as an organization, as has the Nueva Valencia Producers Association. The provincial government of Guimaras forged an agreement with the Iloilo City government to form the Guimaras-Iloilo City Alliance (GICA) to institutionalize cooperation between the two local governments to promote tourism and economic development. GICA eventually evolved into the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC).



Cultural Preservation. The project helped people appreciate their culture and history, realizing that these can become tools for poverty reduction and thus encouraged them to preserve their cultural traditions and historical landmarks. Children and adults memorized cultural songs and perfected dance steps so these could be showcased to guests. They also documented the community history from oral accounts and other secondary sources. Traditional fishing methods take centre stage during experiential activities. The quaint barrio life is being conserved as it has formed part of Guisi’s tourism product.

Environmental Protection. The people of Guisi have also made environmental protection their foremost concern. Its

pristine environment and clean coastal waters are part of its total tourism product and the residents have been very active in activities geared towards environmental protection like coastal clean up, tree planting and re-greening, beautification and solid waste management. The Barangay Ecological Solid Waste Management Committee of Dolores has since been strengthened to arrest any garbage problems. Environmental policies have been introduced, like the ban on gathering coral along the shoreline of Dolores and the proclamation of the Dolores mangrove area as the site of a community-based forest management project.

Economic Empowerment. As described in earlier parts of this chapter, the Barangay Dolores Tourism Council (BDTC) generated an income from group tours which benefited families who were tapped to supply catering and other services to guests. School children who perform earned small fees ; fishers augmented their income by offering boating services and hands-on experiences for guests; and members of the barangay tanod (community police) served as guides in mountain trekking and cave exploration, and earn extra funds from such duties.

Transferability and SustainabilityThe implementation of the Guimaras Heritage Tourism Project has been documented. Programs like the tourism awareness campaign, study tours and management workshops can be easily replicated in other areas with natural, cultural and historical heritage features. Policies enshrined in executive orders, resolutions and ordinances can inspire similar strategies. The creation of councils and legal documents governing cooperation and the registration of organizations are applicable elsewhere in the Philippines and perhaps elsewhere.

Awareness campaigns are done almost everywhere on every issue – from combating the spread of diseases

to launching a new government program. Raising the awareness of people on the economic benefits of tourism may be easy, but Guimaras fashioned its campaign by building tourism front-liners who must always remember the 3As – Attract, Assurance, and Account. These mean attracting tourists by improving tourism products, destinations and events, assuring them of safety and security, and making everyone accountable to every visitor by making their stay on the island a worthwhile experience.

Study tours to areas where a community-based heritage tourism project is making waves, including Guisi, can be easily organized. While situations can be unique from one area to another, Guisi was inspired by Samal Island off Davao City where a community-based eco-tourism program had been established. The experiences of both Guisi and Samal can provide other local governments and communities with knowledge on how to develop and manage a local tourism enterprise. Similar management workshops can be organized and national government agencies can be tapped to serve as partners in similar undertakings.

The Local Government Code of 1991 provided local government units with the power to legislate and create offices, local development councils and special bodies that can assist them in formulating policies geared towards poverty reduction, cultural preservation and environmental protection. Their compositions can be similarly fashioned. The tourism program of the province of Guimaras, which features strong public-private partnership, was established within legal frameworks, making it replicable. Community organizations can be set up and registered with the proper government agencies to make them functional beyond the domain of politics so that even though governors or mayors come and go, these organizations will continue to operate.

Challenges and the FutureOne challenge in the implementation of the Guimaras Heritage Tourism Project is “process fatigue” felt by some stakeholders considering the time that participatory planning requires to produce a multi-stakeholder plan of action. To note, the project’s conceptualization started in 1996 but was only turned over to the community in January 2004. “Process fatigue” can weaken the interests of others and drag out the process all the more. Another is the wait-and-see attitude of some community members that can spread to others if their concerns are not addressed.

However, the transparency in program implementation, the strong partnership that propelled it, and the policies and structures that made it survive the odds bring a lot of promise to the community, thus exacting commitment and dedication from them to work for its success. This commitment and dedication is the same that the people displayed when they responded to challenge of the oil spill. By and large, it has been a program “by the people, for the people and of the people” of Guisi.

“The implementation of the Guimaras Heritage Tourism Project has not only produced results but also made an impression on the community.”


Stay beautiful! That is the obligation of Boracay Island off the coast of the municipality of Malay in Aklan province, Philippines, to those who benefit from the fortune that it brings. In the past 12 years, 4.322 million local and foreign tourists have visited Boracay spending P79.445 billion (US$1.67 million) on the small island. Billed as “The Crown Jewel of Philippine Tourism,” the 1,038-hectare island is a major income generator not only for Aklan but also for the country as a whole, bringing in an average of P6.6 billion (US$126 million) a year.

But as tourists descend on the island by the thousand, they leave behind mounting garbage problems that have made Boracay’s obligation to stay beautiful difficult to achieve. In 2001, the island produced an average of eight tons of garbage a day during the peak tourist season, which runs from December to May, and five tons a day during the off season. By end of 2004, the figure had risen to 10 tons and seven tons a day during these respective seasons. In 2008, the figure hit a remarkable high of 19.1 tons day.

Of the total volume of garbage generated each day in the island, 12.1 tons comes from hotels, restaurants and shops, 6.1 tons come from households and the rest comes from institutions and public spaces such as the streets and the beach. During the high season, at least 30 percent of Boracay garbage is recyclable. The 70 percent that is not recyclable is shipped to a dump on the mainland of Aklan, where there is a 6.1 hectare landfill along the boundaries of Malay and Buruanga towns.

As the volume of garbage generated each day on the island steadily increases year after year, effective solid waste management has also become an escalating challenge for its stakeholders, particularly for the local government and for business owners. And that challenge has become more demanding because of the fact that Boracay has become the country’s most popular tourism destination, known in the international tourism circle for its four-kilometre sugar white beach.

Tourists and GarbageThe problem of solid waste in Boracay began when the first tourist came to the island, throwing away the first empty junk food wrapper on the beach or a shampoo sachet out a resort window. As tourists grew in numbers, the piles of garbage rose. This prompted the Department of Tourism (DOT), which then had supervision and control over the

island, to recommend measures to stem the worsening garbage problem through the 1990 Boracay Island Master Development Plan (BIMDP).

The next year, however, Republic Act 7610 or the Local Government Code was passed, passing the responsibility of managing tourism areas and facilities to municipal and city governments. In Boracay’s case, this meant the municipality of Malay, Aklan. This Act also transferred the task of enforcing environmental laws on cleanliness, sanitation, solid waste management and other environmental matters to local governments. The guidelines that the DOT completed would have to be adopted by local ordinances to be enforceable.

Despite this Act, the DOT continued to play an active role in Boracay, especially in ensuring that the island’s environmental integrity was preserved. In 1996, the DOT partnered with the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) to promote sustainable development practices in Boracay through community-based initiatives that would help to ensure the economic well-being of the people while at the same time maintaining the island’s attractiveness. CUI’s work in Boracay was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

What followed was a series of initiatives intended to implement mechanisms and structures that would carry out sustainable plans and programs. CUI’s intervention in Boracay followed similar steps to those of a previous initiative in Guimaras province. These steps included the organization of a project steering committee, assessment

MalayBoracay’s War on Waste


Malay: Boracay’s War on Waste

and planning for solid waste management, municipal strengthening and management improvement, organization and strengthening of the municipal and the barangay solid waste management boards, capacity development and implementation of demonstration projects.

In 2000, Republic Act No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 was passed, providing a legal framework for a systematic, comprehensive and ecological solid waste management program in the Philippines. The Act aimed to ensure the protection of public health and the environment and underscored, among other things, the need to create the necessary institutional mechanisms and incentives to do so, and to impose penalties for acts in violation of any of its provisions.

The law required the establishment of materials recovery facilities (MRF) in every barangay or cluster of barangays to serve as temporary storage for recyclable or reusable

waste. It also mandated the creation of ecological solid waste management boards in every local government, the task of which is to prepare, submit and implement a plan for the safe and sanitary management of solid waste generated in their respective areas of geographic and political jurisdiction.

Creating PartnershipsIn Boracay, solid waste management falls on the shoulders of the Municipal Ecological Solid Waste Management Board (MESWMB) of Malay, Aklan, which is headed by the Municipal Mayor. Boracay stakeholders are active members of the board, having previous involvement with the Boracay Solid Waste Action Team (BSWAT), a multi-stakeholder task force organized in November 1997 to serve as champion in the campaign against garbage.

BSWAT was created following an action planning process that was called for after reports erupted in 1998 warning that the island’s waters were already contaminated with coliform bacteria. BSWAT formalized the good relationships and encouraged cooperation among the local government, national government agencies, non-governmental organizations and the community. The group acted as an advisory body and as the implementing arm of the local government on issues concerning solid waste.

BSWAT’s creation was one of the offshoots of the first Boracay Stakeholders Workshop, which produced inputs to a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis, and an agreement on the need for a consortium to manage the island and on this

body’s preliminary role. The workshop also resulted in the creation of a Project Steering Committee (PSC) composed of key officials in the local government of Malay, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the private sector, led by the Boracay Foundation, Inc. (BFI). The PSC was tasked to oversee plans and programs for sustainable development in Boracay, particularly on solid waste management.

The PSC then met to examine the issues, challenges, and prospects for solid waste management on the island. A Solid Waste Management Workshop was the starting point for full implementation of municipal ordinances on zero waste management. Since then, an action plan and a zero waste management implementation strategy to address the solid waste problem using participatory and strategic approaches have been developed.

The “Zero Waste Management Program” sought to change attitudes among waste producers and to improve solid



waste practices on the island. It featured seminars on solid waste management, workshops on composting, and meetings of garbage collectors and beach cleaners to raise awareness about garbage disposal problems.

This program was conceived after it became clear that municipal ordinances involving solid waste were poorly implemented. For example, most, if not all, establishments and residents did not segregate solid waste at source. Recycling and other solid waste management techniques were also not strictly implemented. Further, there were no intense information campaigns to encourage and inspire residents and business owners to adopt systematic solid waste management.

From BSWAT to SWM BoardWith the new national law on solid waste management, BSWAT had to give way to the Municipal Ecological Solid Waste Management Board (MESWMB), through which CUI’s assistance continued, working within its framework by organizing and strengthening it and its barangay counterparts. A review and assessment of the town’s solid waste system was done, eventually resulting in the completion of a 10-year Ecological Solid Waste Management Plan, which the municipal government started to implement in 2002.

This also led to the revival of the selda system and to training a team on conducting information and education campaigns. The selda, or cell, system is a volunteer concept where one selda leader is in charge of monitoring waste segregation activities and solid waste disposal

of 20 households. Selda leaders, who received training on solid waste management, were likewise tasked with undertaking information and education campaigns for their cell members. The system has encouraged village folk to help address garbage problems.

Key officials also attended workshops on Organizational Improvement and on Project Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation. Two municipal sanitary inspections were sent to attend a Solid Waste Management Characterization Workshop to increase their knowledge on how to conduct solid waste characterization. Seventeen staff also attended the Project Monitoring and Impact Evaluation Workshop, which equipped them with knowledge and skills to conduct impact monitoring of various local government initiatives.

Eight municipal staff attended two study tours to Cebu City, Bohol and Mindanao that exposed them to the experiences of other local governments in environmental management. Another study tour to Singapore exposed the Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator to its experiences in urban planning, economic promotion, tourism development, ports management, transportation management and environmental management.

Organizational improvements were also introduced. These included regular weekly staff meetings, which served as a venue for progress reporting and planning for the weekly activities of the local government unit, and the implementation of a regular communication campaign on municipal government activities using a radio station in Boracay.

Demonstration ProjectTo show how partnership works, the Boracay Island Solid Waste Management Project began its implementation in 2004 as a

demonstration project that aimed to reduce waste disposal by 25 percent. It had three objectives:

• The implementation of an Information and Education Campaign (IEC) to increase the level of awareness and participation of stakeholders in solid waste management.• The improvement of the local government’s collection and disposal system performance by providing functional facilities, training, and exposure to other areas with best practices on solid waste management and by providing sufficient supplies and other logistics.• The strengthening of solid waste management mechanisms in collaboration with the private sector and national government agencies by reorganizing and strengthening the capabilities of the MESWMB and its barangay counterparts.

The government-community collaboration that had been

Creative recycling is an important component of Boracay Solid Waste Management.



built over the years in Boracay was reflected in the partnership approach to the implementation of this project, which brought together municipal and barangay officials, national government agencies like the departments of health, environment, tourism and local government, and non-government organizations like CUI, BFI, Boracay Federated Chamber of Commerce, Boracay Land Transport Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Kiwanis Club of Boracay, and the Rotary Club of Boracay.

The implementation of the demonstration project received internal and external support to ensure that it attained its objectives. The municipal government earmarked money to fund activities like training, orientations and forums, publications, and monitoring. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the DOT acquired equipment while the barangays provided human resources for the construction of materials recovery facilities. CUI facilitated orientation programs for members of the solid waste management boards.

Building from Previous GainsThe project was also built on the gains of previous initiatives on IEC, capacity building, and partnership building.

During BSWAT days, one of its many mandates was to take charge of the information and education campaign (IEC). It teamed up with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in coming up with IEC materials on solid waste management, which were prominently posted in every room of resorts in Boracay. It also launched waste segregation campaigns and co-sponsored a radio program dubbed “Bantay Boracay (Boracay Watch).”

On capacity building, key local government officials benefited from various training sessions, attended workshops, and went on study tours to build their capacity in discharging their functions. Coaching sessions were also beneficial to them, while case study materials on solid waste management were compiled to infuse new knowledge into efforts to address the garbage problem. The private sector also received training and information on solid waste management. These contributed to the effective execution of programs and projects on solid waste management.

The municipality also received funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) through the Local Government Support Program (LGSP) to build the municipality’s capacity with respect to recycling and zero waste management. Canadian consultants facilitated training workshops and public awareness activities on solid waste management issues and recycling for school children, resort owners, church leaders and workers.

A workshop was also conducted to equip stakeholders with the necessary tools, methods and techniques to implement

the Environment Monitoring and Evaluation System (EMES). The EMES incorporates a set of indicators that helps stakeholders and key players anticipate and prevent problems. The Boracay EMES works to ensure the soundness of future decisions and activities of Boracay’s stakeholders and end-users, based on the principle of ecological and socio-cultural harmony.

The chair of the Municipal Special Task Force, created in 1998 to assist in the implementation of laws and ordinances pertaining to environmental projects and tourism, participated in a study tour to Canada to learn about responsible tourism development, environmental management, local governance, and economic development.

Members of the BSWAT also went on a study tour to Manila, Bulacan, and Olongapo in 1999 to observe various solid waste management initiatives, which provided them with knowledge on waste reduction, reusing, recycling and composting. They intended to duplicate or improve upon the efforts of other local government units in addressing their own garbage problems.

Inspiring ResultsInterventions on the solid waste management process in Boracay yielded inspiring results. The greatest of these results was the five-year unified ecological solid waste management plan for the island which was adopted by the three barangays (village-level of government) that comprise it – Balabag, Manocmanoc and Yapak. Indicative of the empowerment of the three barangays, the unified plan was deemed an urgent measure for the island because of its unique qualities as compared to the rest of the municipality, namely its rapid urban growth brought about by mass



tourism.

This unified plan employs the so-called 4Es of Ecological Waste Management strategy – Education, Engineering, Enforcement and Entrepreneurship. Developed using a multi-stakeholder approach, the plan incorporates earlier initiatives on the island that were found effective and sustainable in addressing the garbage problem and reinforces them with further innovations.

The education component calls for a massive information and education campaign on solid waste and building the capacity of the barangay SWM boards and community volunteers on how to resolve the garbage problem. In engineering, the plan prescribes the conversion of the island’s open dumpsite to a sanitary landfill, establishment of materials recovery facilities, road network development and acquisition of equipment, among others.

To enforce environmental laws and ordinances, a compliance monitoring team was organized while a municipal auxiliary police force was established and deputized. Penalties and fines for violators would be strictly imposed while those who upheld the law and those who properly practiced ecological solid waste management would be rewarded with citations and awards. The schedule for regular reviews of municipal ordinances on solid waste management was also set.

The entrepreneurship component recommends networking with junk buyers where recyclables can be sold, upgrading and increasing garbage fees to fund solid waste management programs, and ensuring compliance by households, resorts and business establishments with laws and municipal ordinances. Livelihood projects anchored on recycling and composting were also encouraged. A multi-sectoral monitoring team is now functioning on the island and private partners are already purchasing recyclables to reduce the volume of garbage that goes to the landfill.

Strategically, the three barangay captains sit as members of the Municipal Ecological Solid Waste Management Board of Malay, which counts among its members several non-governmental organizations and civic groups based on the island, like the Boracay Foundation, BCCI, the Kiwanis Club of Boracay, and the Rotary Club of Boracay. The membership of the island’s barangay captains in the MESWMB gives them an opportunity to articulate their concerns on solid waste to the board as well as to echo their respective barangay’s discussions and decisions that have transpired at the municipal

level. Normally, only the chair of the Liga ng mga Barangay – the municipal federation of barangay captains – sits on the MESWMB.

Compliance with OrdinancesThere is now higher compliance with solid waste management ordinances in Boracay, particularly Ordinance No. 185, which requires everyone to segregate their waste, hoisting a “no segregation, no collection” policy. While a survey showed that the island produces 19.1 tons of garbage a day, only 28 percent of this waste is shipped to the mainland’s landfill, while 35 percent is sold to the 10 junk buyers found in the island, who in turn bring it to Manila, Cebu or Iloilo City. There, the junk buyers are able to sell recyclables such as plastic bottles, plastic containers, metal, steel, aluminium cans, bottles and broken glass, worn out batteries and copper.

There is a prevalent practice among homes, resorts and business establishments of recovering recyclables and selling them to buyers of factory-returnable items like aluminium cans, tins cans, PET bottles and glass bottles. Likewise, 37 percent of the total garbage produced on the island becomes compost for gardens in resorts and areas devoted to cash crop production.

Boarding houses where many of those who sought work on the island are staying have also been complying with the ordinance that requires them to provide garbage receptacles in every room, and they have been complying religiously with garbage disposal schedules. The ordinance penalizes erring boarding houses either with the revocation of their license and permit to operation, or through fines, imprisonment, or both.



Partners’ supportA strong partnership was established with the tourism business sector, particularly with the Boracay Foundation Inc. (BFI). To support the solid waste management program, the group unveiled its own Environmental Management Plan, which outlines a vision for self-regulation and self-monitoring, and forwards the concept of “good housekeeping” to its members. BFI is a non-stock, non-profit association composed of at least 70 resorts and business establishments. Organized in 1996, it works closely with the local government of Malay as well as with civic groups and associations on the island on solid waste management.

Under the plan, each BFI member identifies an ecological officer from among its employees to be trained in solid waste management. That person is then tasked to see to it that guests, clients and employees of the resort or business establishment practice waste segregation, sorting and the recovery of recyclables, and that the resort or business establishment complies with the collection schedule set by the municipal government.

The ecological officer is also in charge of the information and education campaign in the workplace. Good housekeeping calls for freshwater and energy conservation, and for hotels to monitor the practices of their personnel and guests to assure that unsuitable or harmful substances – like oils and fats, paints, thinners, solvents and other poisonous chemicals that could harm the biological process – do not go into the sewers.

Recognizing Good Work BFI began other initiatives aimed at addressing the solid waste problem. Of late, a notable endeavour was the island-wide search for the Best Ecological Solid Waste Management (ESWM) Practitioners 2005, which it launched together with Smart Telecommunications, Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Central Office, DENR-Environmental Management Bureau-Region 6, the travel company 7107 Life and the local government of Boracay.

The search aimed to strengthen the implementation of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Law of 2000, foster multi-sectoral and community participation in keeping Boracay clean, sustain the efforts of the barangays in waste management and encourage others to practice solid waste management. It feted an outstanding barangay in

ESWM, an outstanding barangay captain, an outstanding selda leader, and an outstanding eco-house. Cash prizes ranging from P10,000 (US$200) to P30,000 (US$600) were given to the winners of the contest.

The award evolved from an earlier initiative dubbed Galing Boracay Awards on Excellent Eco-waste Project, launched in 1997 by BFI together with the municipal government of Malay, CUI, the Department of Tourism, DENR and the LGSP-CIDA. Projects cited included those on composting, recycling and effective solid waste segregation.

The local government, for its part, has its own award-giving program known as Magaling, an acronym for Malay Gawad Alkalde sa Linis at Ganda (Malay Mayor’s Award for Cleanliness and Beautification), which recognizes urban and rural barangays as well as elementary and high school campuses in the municipality that excel in solid waste management practices. Integrating the three major environmental programs of the government, it aims to provide the institutional mechanism to effectively manage the environment by granting awards and incentives to barangays and public schools that perform well.

The project aims to assess the performance of the barangays in areas of cleaning and greening as well as in forest, coastal resource, and solid waste management, to recognize outstanding performance, and to provide a venue to mobilize barangays and schools for solid waste management. To ensure sustainability, a quarterly assessment is conducted and an unannounced assessment is done once every semester. The search was conducted across the whole municipality, but, within the urban barangay category, the three barangays of Boracay,



the poblacion (town proper) and the port village of Caticlan (the jump-off point to Boracay) competed against each other.

The establishment of the award systems in Boracay not only encouraged others to achieve their solid waste management goals, but it also served as a rallying point over which the garbage issue could be discussed. It also served as a venue for the private sector to provide support to solid waste management programs, and at the same time to act as a mechanism ensuring the continuity of the program.

Other AccomplishmentsTo strengthen the Boracay Island Solid Waste Management Project, the municipal government assigned 35 staff members to work on it, all of whom had received training to increase their understanding of solid waste management. Equipment for collection and disposal was acquired, which included three trucks and six push carts. To comply further with the ecological solid waste management law, a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) was constructed in the island’s dumpsite area. A shredder machine was also acquired to complement the MRF.

The project conducted orientation programs on the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 for resort owners, which increased their level of participation in the Municipal Ecological Solid Waste Management Program on the island. A Project Impact, Monitoring and Evaluation Workshop was held for project implementers. A dialogue with the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) regarding ecological solid waste management plan implementation was undertaken to solicit support from EMB. As a result, the office assigned an Ecological Solid Waste Management Coordinator to Boracay Island.

Challenges and SolutionsThe solid waste management project in Boracay encountered a number of challenges along the way; however, these problems also served as learning experiences for the local government unit and other stakeholders on how to improve the delivery of services to target beneficiaries. Learning from other experiences, stakeholders proposed solutions to ensure that programs were carried out effectively and efficiently. Some solutions to challenges also revealed the strong partnership that was established among stakeholders.

A major challenge that was identified early on in the project was the lack of financial resources to fund solid waste management initiatives, compounded by a relatively minimal garbage fee that the municipal government charges from resorts and business establishments. The most that the town can charge, as prescribed by its municipal revenue ordinance, was a garbage fee of P1,200 (US$25). This generated insufficient funding, resulting in the lack of equipment and machines for solid waste

management purposes. There is also no funding allocation for selda leaders to make them more functional.

In 2004, for example, the municipal government earmarked P2 million (US$42,000) for solid waste, but its revenues only reached P1.5 million (US$31,000). To generate funds to fill this budget gap, an environmental fee of P50 (US$1) per tourist was imposed starting in January 2006. From this, Malay was able to generate an income of P17,586,660 (US$ 366,000) in 2006, P22,776,390 (US$475,000) in 2007, and P24,883,850 (US$ 518,000) in 2008.

In the meantime, the local government established linkages with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private organizations to acquire assistance. DENR, for example, provided a P500,000 (US$10,000) grant to the island’s solid waste management program. A hotel and a senator donated dump trucks for garbage collection. In 2008, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) started reassessing the island’s garbage problem to come up with a master plan on solid waste management in Boracay.

Another challenge was how to make the implementation



of the garbage segregation policy, both at the source and in the collection system, consistent. The municipality has a “no waste segregation, no collection” policy, and some hotels had religiously observed this. However, even if garbage was being segregated, garbage collectors would just dump it altogether in the collection trucks, rendering the pre-collection segregation practice useless. Continuous training and orientation on solid waste management was provided to garbage collectors to help them understand the waste segregation process.

An innovative move was the designation of ecological officers among resorts and business establishments who are members of the BFI. Trained in solid waste management, the ecological officer personnel is tasked to see to it that guests, clients and employees of the resort or business establishment practice waste segregation, sorting and the recovery of recyclables, and that the resort or business establishment complies with the collection schedule set by the municipal government.

Such cooperative endeavours show that Boracay stakeholders have moved beyond the divisive environment that used to reign on the island and have become a cohesive and collaborative community. There was a time when resorts and business establishments were in conflict with the DOT over policies and disagreements were a constant occurrence. But this has since been replaced by strong partnership following a series of workshops, dialogues and forums where differences were resolved and compromise solutions to problems besetting the island were reached.

LessonsThe Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 prescribes guiding principles on solid waste management. These include:

• There is no single management and technological approach to solid waste management. An integrated

solid waste management system will best achieve solid waste management goals.• All elements of society are fundamentally responsible for solid waste management. Those who generate waste must bear the cost of its management and disposal• Solid waste management should be approached within the context of resource conservation, environmental protection and health, and sustainable development.

The partnership that was built in Boracay to address solid waste management issues fulfills these guiding principles. By having a partnership mechanism, communities could be active participants in addressing solid waste problems if they were only given a venue for participation and turned into champions of ecological solid waste management.

Partnership has also harmonized the solid waste management activities of various groups, resulting in the effective and efficient delivery of services to a unique constituency like Boracay. Easy exchange of information and the smooth flow of communication within the partnership structure encouraged transparency and accountability.

What now sustains solid waste management actions in Boracay is the capacity that was built amongst its stakeholders. It was an investment that yielded a high return, particularly on how projects and programs have responded smoothly to new policies and changes in political leadership. Plans that were conceived during earlier administrations have easily become policy documents for subsequent structures and leaders.

It was also evident that municipal leadership sets the tempo of activities for solid waste management. Without the full support of the local leader, action plans could not move forward. When, for example, it was recommended that the municipal solid waste management board should be reorganized, the municipal mayor responded positively. Making a champion on solid waste management out of the local leadership can spell the realization of project goals.

Given its limited financial and human resources, the municipality of Malay focused on small and calculated actions rather than on big, complex strategies. This showed that local governments can effectively carry out plans and programs if they work within their capacity, while constantly strengthening it. Stretching resources beyond their limits will do no good for local governments.

While the volume of garbage in Boracay was not drastically reduced overnight, its experience in addressing the problem of solid waste showed that partnership – and the eventual building of structures and mechanisms to institutionalize it – can work wonders for a seemingly irreversible phenomenon, and eventually balance the contrast between beauty and garbage.


Billed as the jewel of the Philippine tourism industry, Boracay Island off Malay town in the central Philippine province of Aklan attracts hundreds of thousands of local and foreign tourists every year to its white sand beach. But the advent of tourism brought more than beachcombers to Boracay; it also brought about overdevelopment, creating a number of environmental and public health problems. Poor sanitation, deteriorating water quality and overcrowding bred parasitism, diarrhoea, malnutrition and lung infections. Cases of sexually transmitted diseases flourished as well.

Profit-driven tourism promotion has continued to be the prime concern of almost everyone in Boracay. Despite the huge volume of tourists descending on the island every year – and the figures are still going up – the number and the trend were not enough to convince resort owners that something needed to be done about the problems associated with overdevelopment. As such, not only the health of the island suffered, but also that of its long-time residents who share the island and its health services with the newcomers who now make up the majority of the population.

Health service delivery on the island had either been poor or inadequate for various reasons, ranging from lack of funds and poor capacity of service providers to deliver the expected services to lack of public participation and low level of awareness. Consequently, there had been a high number of cases of upper respiratory infections, pulmonary tuberculosis, diarrhoea, bronchitis and severe anaemia due to poor diet, unsanitary and unhealthy habits and congestion.

To make matters worse, Boracay’s groundwater had been contaminated by sewage coming from resorts and homes as well as leachate from solid waste, rendering it unsafe for households that did not have potable water connections and collected drinking water from wells. By the end of 2003, only 53 percent of the 2,701 households were serviced by the water system on the island. Aside from sewage contamination, seawater intrusion was induced by the overdrawing of water by resorts.

The need to improve and sustain the health service delivery system in the three barangays (villages) on the tourist island gave birth to the Boracay Island Sustainable Health Services Delivery Project (BISHSDP) in 2002. Specifically, it aimed to improve the health and sanitation status on Boracay Island, provide adequate health services to residents, contract workers and tourists, and to raise

the level of awareness of people through continuous information and education campaigns.

BISHSDP was supported by the Canadian Urban Institute, which had partnered with the Municipality of Malay (the local government that covers the island of Boracay) to raise its capacity to take action to improve the island’s environmental health. CUI’s work was supported with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency.

Raising the ConcernThe concern for the island’s health status was raised a year before, when participants in a forum saw the need to urgently address worsening health problems in Boracay. Consultations were held with barangays, organizations, and other concerned citizens to raise the awareness of barangay officials, health service providers, volunteers and organizations about the situation. Several forums followed, resulting in the establishment of mechanisms for planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation, which laid the foundation for the project to improve health and sanitation on Boracay.

Kicking off the project’s implementation was an assessment of the health service delivery mechanisms of the municipality of Malay. This included a review of its health programs and projects, an analysis of gender concerns, and an assessment of its capacity to implement programs and projects. Health indicators were identified, the local government’s strengths and weaknesses were categorized, and the opportunities and threats of the project were summarized. Policy recommendations were made in accordance with the spirit of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals.

To provide stakeholders with knowledge of the various processes that could lead to the improvement of health

MalayStrengthening the Municipal Role in Health and Sanitation


Malay: Strengthening the Municipal Role in Health and Sanitation

service delivery, various health service delivery best practices were introduced through case studies, study tours and resource sharing. Capacity building activities, which targeted local officials, medical technologists, health workers and other sectors, included training, seminars and workshops in the areas of planning and management, project development and proposal writing, health care

financing and project monitoring and evaluation. Three top local executives – Malay Mayor Ceciron Cawaling, Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator Alma Belejerdo and Municipal Health Officer Dr. Adrian Salaver – were sent to the Asian Institute of Management to learn about programs on Health Care Strategic Management, Health Care Service Delivery Management and Health Care Financial Management. They became familiar with concepts and practices on creating health strategic plans, generating policies on customer satisfaction, and measuring and improving the financial health and performance of health care institutions.

Program ComponentsTo carry out the BISHSDP, four program components were introduced – Information and Education Campaigns, Human Resources Development, Facility and Health Service Improvements, and Environmental Sanitation Enhancement. All these were likewise geared towards building a strong partnership among health stakeholders on the island.

Information and Education Campaigns sought to increase the level of awareness and participation of all stakeholders in the program by encouraging them to take care of their health through availing themselves of services and through participating in programs and projects needing community

support. Ongoing activities included the production and distribution of information and education materials such as brochures, flyers, installation of signboards, radio plugs, advocacy to barangay officials and organizing barangay assemblies and dialogues.

Additional staff and volunteers were hired and trained to augment personnel requirements. More barangay nutrition scholars and barangay health workers were recruited.

Facility and Health Service Improvement sought to make the three Barangay Health Stations conform to the standards of Sentrong Sigla (Center of Wellness) and provide them with the necessary equipment, instruments, medicines and medical supplies. Sentrong Sigla is a program by the Philippines Department of Health that seeks to provide a seal of excellence to health facilities that have met quality standards. The Barangay Health Stations health service delivery processes were also improved to make them more efficient and effective.

Environmental Sanitation Enhancement sought to address the problem of the lack of access to potable water and the absence of sanitary toilets in some low income families’ homes on the island, including helping to improve sanitary conditions. Toilet bowls were provided to communities while public toilets were constructed. There is ongoing periodic water analysis and chlorination so that

potable water is safe for the communities.

Organizational InroadsThe project made a number of organizational inroads after it advocated for support from different sectors on the island, including from the local governments of Aklan, Malay and the three barangays on the island, national government agencies like the Department of Health and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and civil society organizations like the Boracay Foundation and the Boracay Chamber of Commerce and Industry. A multi-stakeholder Project Steering Committee was established to oversee the project’s implementation.

The Boracay Island Health System Development Plan was drawn up to guide local actions on health service delivery, assigning responsibilities and setting budgets to achieve its goals. The plan was a product of a strategic planning workshop where participants agreed to a vision dubbed HAPI Boracay, short for “Happy and People-Inspired Island.” Likewise, a Health Program Implementation Review (HPIR) is now conducted annually to monitor and evaluate the project on top of the regular weekly meeting between midwives and barangay health workers.

The Municipal Health Office (MHO) of Malay became fully functional following the upgrading of facilities and acquisition of new equipment. An MHO extension office


Malay: Strengthening the Municipal Role in Health and Sanitation

was opened in 2004 in Barangay Yapak, just across from the Don Ciriaco Señeres Tirol Memorial Hospital, which is also equipped with a dental clinic – the only municipal health office with a dental facility. The MHO in Boracay also has a birthing clinic.

Meanwhile, the Barangay Health Station of Yapak was improved and funding has already been secured for the Barangay Health Station of Balabag. A school-based youth centre was established and the number of health volunteers has increased.

The operating, emergency, labour and paediatrics rooms at the Don Ciriaco Señeres Tirol Memorial Hospital in Boracay have likewise been improved. Equipment was acquired over the past years, which included an anaesthesia machine, a defibrillator, a generator, an air-conditioner, stretchers, an electrocardiograph (ECG) machine and an ambulance.

Legislating for SanitationMalay has a solid waste management ordinance requiring homes and businesses to observe waste segregation and other sound garbage disposal practices, prescribing penalties for violators. In 2008, the Malay municipal council also passed an ordinance prohibiting the raising of pigs, after the Municipal Health Board identified pig manure as a top source of sanitation problems in Boracay. Another ordinance was passed requiring boarding houses to provide garbage receptacles to all their occupants.

The municipal government has also approved an appropriation ordinance that allocated funds to hire six

health monitors to assist the town’s three sanitary inspectors in implementing health and sanitation ordinances. Funds were also allocated to the improvement and expansion of the MHO extension office in Boracay, whose laboratory was recently upgraded to a higher standard as set by the Department of Health.

Meanwhile, MHO nurses have continuously received training to equip them with new knowledge and skills, particularly in health service areas most needed in Boracay. Midwives were also trained in newborn screening.Medical technologists in the MHO have undergone HIV/AIDS training and an HIV/AIDS screening and testing laboratory was established to respond to a disease rampant in many mass tourism areas.

Increased ConsciousnessInformation and education campaigns on HIV/AIDS and on adolescent reproductive health were also launched, among them a regular forum on reproductive health and a radio program dubbed kaMALAYan, coined after Malay and the Tagalog word “kamalayan,” which means “consciousness.”

A yearly orientation on HIV/AIDS is given to businesses every time they seek the renewal of their business permits, with special focus on those operating spas and tattoo parlours, where the risks are highest. Food handlers are also required to attend sessions on food safety and food sanitation.

With increased health consciousness, the number of households with potable water connections rose to 97.95 percent by the end of 2005 from 53 percent in 2003. There has also been progressive allocation of funds by the barangay and the municipal governments for health care. A trust fund for social hygiene concerns and adolescent reproductive health was also established. The MHO produced hepatitis vaccines using the Philippine Health Insurance System (PhilHealth) Fund and sold them at cost.

The influx of tourists may have proved stressful for the fragile Boracay Island, but through the initiatives launched by the BISHSDP, there is hope that at least some of the negative effects of this stress have been identified and addressed.

A health station on Boracay Island

Building a Resilient Region

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