a vision for philippine agriculture

Editor's Notes

Vol. XXVII No.6 November - December 2009 ISSN 0115-9097

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Agriculture remains a primary source of in-come for our ruralfolks. Farming remains tobe a major means of livelihood. However, mostof our farmers from the countryside still live inpoverty and there has been much concernabout threats to food security. This is the rea-son development of the agriculture sector hasalways been a priority of local and nationalplans and programs.

In this issue of the DRN, Philippine Institutefor Development Studies senior research fel-low Dr. Roehlano M. Briones explains the rea-son for pushing for productivity growth in agri-culture. Using a supply-demand model for thePhilippine agricultural sector, Dr. Briones pre-sents a ten-year projection based on patternsand trends rather than on numbers.

Results of Dr. Briones' projection emphasizethat input subsidy is not essential; in fact, it isan expensive instrument for promoting agri-cultural growth. He thus recommends goingback to basics: developing and disseminat-ing new technologies, varieties, and plantingmaterials; promoting research and develop-ment in agriculture; expanding education andextension programs; among others. He pointsto the "slow magic" of productivity growth thathas helped farmers in developing economieswhich can also help enrich our own farmersand emancipate them from poverty.

A vision forPhilippine agriculture

“Magtanim ay di biro, maghapong nakayuko. Di naman makatayo, di namanmakaupo…”

This has long been the song of the farmers since the days of ourgrandfathers. It still is. Much have remained the same in terms of themethods and the picture of the actors in the planting song. Many of

the farmers also remain to be among the poorest in Philippine society anddepend solely on farming as their only source of income.

Given this picture, there really is a need to improve the country’s agriculturesector to be able to uplift the lives of the millions of farmers whose livelihoodand survival are attached to it.

Improving the agricultural sector means increasing its production. Howdoes one do it? One way is to expand the farm area. The Philippines, however,is already approaching its agricultural land limits and thus, area expansionmay be out of the question.

Another way to increase production is through intensification whereinresource input per unit of land is increased. But given the country’s limitedresources, this manner would not guarantee additional profit because anincrease in production will likewise require an increase in cost.

So how would the agricultural sector be improved?In a Pulong Saliksikan (research seminar) recently held at the Romulo Hallof the NEDA sa Makati Building, Philippine Institute for DevelopmentStudies (PIDS) Senior Research Fellow Dr. Roehlano Briones looked at thevarious scenarios that could bring about the much-needed improvement inthe Philippine agricultural sector.

Photo by Valerie Frances L. Belizario

What's Inside

6 Rising above the turning point

9 Improving policies on internationallabor migration in ASEAN

11 Integrating the impaired: PIDSconducts survey of PWDs

D R ND R ND R ND R ND R N

DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS November - December 20092

Using the Agricultural Multi-Market Modelfor Policy Evaluation (AMPLE)1 in theanalysis of the future of Philippineagriculture under current and alternativestrategies for agricultural growth, Briones’conclusion found the scenario whichaccelerates productivity growth as the mostideal to bring about the increasedproduction and improvement of thecountry’s agricultural sector.

But what is productivity growth andwhat does it entail?Productivity growth involves theimplementation of policy and governancereforms that increase the responsiveness ofthe domestic economy to market signals. Inturn, these reforms boost the rate ofproductivity growth and include changes intechnology and infrastructure simultaneouswith the care of the country’s resource base,the environment.

It calls for increased funding of the researchand development (R&D) sector and tighter

linkages between extension systems underlocal government units (LGUs), on the onehand, and farmers, fisherfolks, and theprivate sector, on the other.

Focus on productivity growth calls for achange in mindset and in the traditionalthinking of aiming for food (rice) self-sufficiency and protecting the major import-competing sectors such as rice, corn, sugar,and meat. It instead calls for putting in placepolicies and institutions that will trigger andboost productivity rate, and sustain growthin agriculture.

World Bank studies show that in many Asiancountries, the productivity growth rate hasbeen 1–2 percent per year since the 1960s.These countries have invested in science,roads, human capital, and adoption of betterpolicies, making agricultural developmentpossible. As a result of productivity growth,their agricultural growth domestic product(GDP) grew faster than the global populationfrom 1980 to 2004.

While the Philippines includes productivitygrowth in its development strategy, this is notbeing prioritized in budgeting and marketpolicies. Most of its rice policies aim for self-sufficiency by 2013, when the country’s riceproduction would meet the citizen’s ricedemands.

The country’s current rice policies arebiased toward input support and priceintervention. One of the reasons for thisinsulation by the government of domesticagriculture is the sheer unpredictability andvolatility of the world market. World marketsare perceived to be heavily distorted byprotectionist and subsidy-oriented OECDcountries. In trade agreements, theliberalization of domestic markets may followas a given for foreign market access.

What has been the situation so far?The Philippines follows a boom-bust, rising-

1 The AMPLE model analyzes possible pictures of the future of Philippine agriculture under current and alternativestrategies for agricultural growth. It is a multisector partial equilibrium model with 18 production sectors covering crops,livestock, poultry, and aquatic products. It is capable of generating projections on output, area, consumption, imports,exports, and prices. It is also suitable for understanding the evolution of underlying economic fundamentals rather thanactually predicting market movements. The model likewise adopts features from other multimarket models and is solvedwith the Generalized Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS).

Productivity growth calls for increased funding of the research and develop-ment sector.

Photo: www.agriculture-ph.com

DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWS 3 November - December 2009

falling pattern. Agricultural growth duringthe post-war years was respectable andcomparable with fast-developing Asiancountries. This growth, however, sloweddown in the 1980s, speeded up again in the1990s, and then went even faster in the 2000s.These trends parallel that of overall GDPgrowth (Figure 1).

The Philippines’s agriculture products canbe classified into three broad categories:crops, livestock and poultry, and fisheries.The crops subsector can be furthersubdivided into the major crops: rice (palay),banana, coconut, corn, and sugarcane. Cropsand fisheries have followed the overalltrends of the agriculture sector, whereasgrowth in the livestock and poultry sectorslowed down in the 1990s and has beenunable to recover since then.

The major crops also followed a similarpattern, albeit in varying degrees. Palay wasaffected by the 1980s meltdown although theeffects were not that drastic and have beenmoderated. Growth, however, has yet toexceed 5 percent. The 1980s meltdown hada sharper effect on corn and coconut, whoserecovery has been very slow.

Likewise, sugarcane’s recovery has also beenslow. On the other hand, banana hasexhibited spectacular growth in the earlyyears, and its recovery from the 1980s slumphas been strong.

As mentioned before, the Philippines isaiming for self-sufficiency by 2013. By then,agricultural production must meet thedemand. The country is approaching self-sufficiency for products like pork, chicken,and corn.

However, this is being derailed by policychoices made by the government using therecent food crisis. On a positive note,agricultural productivity is increasing forcrops such as palay and corn. On the otherhand, coconut and sugarcane yield trendshave been erratic.

Aiming for sustained and increasedproductivity growthWhat is in store for Philippine agriculturein the future? Under what conditions can itachieve the much-needed improved andsustained growth that will truly make thecountry’s agriculture sector a haven forFilipino farmers?

Figure 1: Average annual growth, in percent, of agricultural GDP (constant 1985 prices)

Source: Bureau of Agricultural Statistics


As mentioned earlier, using the AMPLEmodel, Briones provided an analysis andpicture of what to expect for the agriculturesector given certain scenarios andassumptions. The following projections arepreliminary and represent an initialapplication of the AMPLE model toPhilippine agriculture.

Scenario 1, called “business as usual,” assumesthat current trends and policies shallcontinue. Nor does multilateral tradeliberalization materialize from internationalagreements. So what happens?

Growth in agricultural gross value isprojected to slow down. Growth will be ledby the crops subsector, followed by livestockand poultry, with aquatic products lagging.Vegetables and other crops are projected topost strong export performances. For mostcommodities, imports are predicted toincrease, with the possible exception of rice,cassava, and sugar.

The trend of rising consumption of rice isexpected to halt and mildly reverse, as retailprices increase. The same goes for mostother commodities. Agricultural growth isheaded for a slowdown. Demand growthcontinues, but is met by higher domesticproduction and imports.

Now, what happens if trade negotiations takeplace and are successful? At the same time,

if the world market is opened up to thePhilippines?

Under this Scenario 2 or the market accessscenario, growth of the agricultural sector issuppressed, particularly aquatic products,although there is a slight acceleration in thegrowth of crops and meat. For the crops,market access would probably lead to adecline in output. However, outputincreases are projected for mango, banana,and coconut, as major export crops benefitfrom market access.

The effect of market access on noncrops willhardly be felt and may even be negative.Export growth under reform is notnecessarily faster than under market access.Growth in imports under market access islikewise stronger than in the first scenario.Expanded market access is generally notfavorable to domestic producers, and onlymildly favorable to consumers.

Briones then presented a third scenariowhere there are no trade agreements eitherlike in scenario 1. However, policy andgovernance reforms are implemented, tariffsare reduced to a uniform rate of 10 percentin 10 years, and the expenditure programaccompanied by institutional reforms iscarried out to accelerate productivity growth.

How would Philippine agriculturefare under these conditions?Implementing the policy and governancereforms will increase the responsiveness ofthe domestic economy to market signals.These reforms will also boost theproductivity rate, possibly doubling the ratesof these in the first scenario. Rapidproductivity growth under an aggressivereform scenario, even when combined withtrade liberalization, is generally favorable forfarmers, based on improved outlook onproduction, exports, and food consumption.

What do these imply in terms of thecountry’s national developments t ra tegy?Renewing the country’s nationaldevelopment focus on acceleratingagricultural growth is no doubt a step towardthe right direction as shown by the results ofthe AMPLE model simulations.

In the first scenario, the trend of rising consumption of rice isexpected to halt and mildly reverse, as retail prices increase.

Photo: www.pinoyherald.org


And while the country’s national strategy hasdelved on this in recent years, the fullrealization of the potentials has beenweighed down by the traditional thinkingrelated to promoting food self-sufficiencyand protecting domestic markets.

Growth via improvements in agriculturalproductivity should be the highest priority.Productivity growth has contributed greatlyto the recovery of the agricultural sector inrecent years. It can do more for the country ifthe needed reforms are in place for a fasterand more sustained growth of agriculture.These reforms, as noted earlier, includechanges in technology and infrastructurewhile at the same time, taking care of thecountry’s resource base—the environment.

Agricultural development in the countryrests mostly in the hands of R&D institutions,which have remained underinvested.However, increased funding is not the onlything needed for the improvement of theR&D sector. Reforms in R&D governanceand budget allotment are also called for. Aclear delineation of the roles of various R&Dinstitutions should also be made, as severalof their functions overlap and conflict witheach other.

Linkages with farmers and fisherfolks, LGUs,and the private sector must also bestrengthened. This should be combined witha reorientation of the bureaucracy towardclient- and performance-based planning aswell as with a refocusing and reprioritizationof budget and expenditures. Technologicalchange must also be supported by a strongproduct services system. Ground-levelservices and extension must be supportedby the government, especially for small-timefarmers and fisherfolks. In order to be ableto reach out to these farmers and fisherfolks,LGU involvement must be increased.

Briones likewise recommends the swiftimplementation of the land reform program

to give farmers incentives for adoptingtechnological changes in agriculture.Policymakers should recognize the hugerole informal rural organizations play indeveloping Philippine agriculture.

Also very important to agriculturaldevelopment is the improvement ofirrigation and road systems. Possibleinvestments in agricultural infrastructuredevelopments have been channeled to theimprovement of rice production. Thus,LGUs lack funds to initiate irrigationimprovement projects. Studies show thatmany irrigation projects are carried out byprivate corporations and are thereforelimited only to private fields. Publicirrigation projects are stronglyrecommended.

All these changes, however, will not matter ifthe environment, the resource base, cannotbe sustained. Intensifying and expandingagriculture is eroding away the naturalresources. Climate change is making theoutlook for agricultural development evenbleaker. Therefore, investments aimedtoward preserving the country’s naturalresources should be made.

If agricultural innovation can be called “slowmagic,” so can productivity growth be ingeneral. And while its effects are slow andeasily overlooked, a disadvantage since manypolicymakers are looking for tangible resultsand quick fixes, the potential of productivitygrowth is great. It has been proven to preventpopulation collapse and assuage hunger. Ithas worked to a great effect on developedcountries. The “magic” of productivitygrowth has made farmers in thesecountries independent, content, and freefrom poverty. Productivity growth can alsodo the same for the Philippines. It canmake the country prosper once again. Itcan work its magic as long as the rightpolicies and institutions are in place tounleash it. NPI

Productivity growth has been proven to prevent population collapse and assuage hunger. It has workedto a great effect on developed countries. The "magic" of productivity growth has made farmers in thesecountries independent, content, and free from poverty. Productivity growth can also do the same forthe Philippines.


In the same vein as Niccolo Machiavelli’s“Never waste the opportunities offeredby a good crisis,” the 2008 global finan-

cial and economic crisis can be used as aplatform to address structural problems inPhilippine economy.

These and more were some of the pointsraised during the national forum and dia-logue on the “Impact of the Global Finan-cial and Economic Crisis on the Philippines”held on October 29, 2009 at the Asian Insti-tute of Management Conference Center inMakati City.

Rising above the turning point

Philippine Institute for Development Stud-ies President Dr. Josef T. Yap, in his macroperspective presentation during the forum,reported that the main outcome of the crisisis that there has been an economic slowdownafter the 7.1 percent growth, which was thehighest in 31 years, in 2007. The growthslowed down to 3.2 percent in 2008 and slidin 2009. This slowdown after 2007, however,is not largely due to the crisis. While the cri-sis had indeed contributed to this, the maincause of the slowdown in 2008, though, wasthe rise in average inflation.

But, at the same time, unemployment ratehas been fairly stable. Remittances in pesoterms have also actually been increasing.Despite the initial worry of having negativeeffects on unemployment as well as on re-mittances, the crisis had not seemed to havehad a major impact on these and the unem-ployment rate has remained relatively stable.

Another cause of the slowdown, accordingto Dr. Yap, is the wearing off of the impact ofelection spending and the public reconstruc-tion program in 2007. Over the long term,too, medium- to long-term structural factors,structural problems of the Philippineeconomy, low investments, poor infrastruc-ture, and weak institutions impede the Phil-ippines’ economic growth.

Based on the above, Dr. Yap’s first main mes-sage for the forum is that the impact of theglobal crisis on the Philippines was not asadverse as compared with other East Asianeconomies. And ironically, the structuralproblems such as the dichotomy betweendomestic manufacturing and exports (whereour exports have very little value-added and

"Crossroads to the development are often marked by turning points mani-fested through crisis. How a country handles its crisis will spell the differencefor its future. After all, during crisis often comes the best of minds and action.Let us take on then this challenge for recovery and hopefully the Philippineswill overcome and rise above this turning point and eventually meet the MDGsby 2015." ~Dr. Jacqueline Badcock, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resi-dent Representative

Photo by Mar ia Gize l le G. Manuel


so despite the 30 percent decline in nomi-nal exports in dollar terms in the past threequarters, the unemployment rate has notreally been affected) actually helped shieldthe economy from the harsher effects of thecrisis. His analogy for this is that “if you don’tfly high, you don’t land hard.”

Nonetheless, even as these structuralproblems shielded the Philippine economy,as reflected in the country’s dual economy,and thereupon did not really impact thePhilippines at heart, Dr. Yap’s secondmessage noted that the government can stilluse the crisis as the platform to address thesestructural problems, in particular in termsof coming up with social protection programsand policies that will be able to integrate themarginalized sector—the chronic poor whoremain poor despite any change ormovement of the economy—into themainstream economy.

On this note, Dr. Yap discussed the domesticpolicy responses to the crisis, which in fact,did not really address the structuralproblems. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinasloosened monetary policy following thesignal from other economies. Also, thegovernment announced a fiscal stimuluspackage which included an increase inbudget allocation from 4.5 percent in 2007to 5.7 percent in 2008 and 26.1 percent in2009.

This provided the context for Dr. Yap’s thirdmessage which focused on the fiscal problemsthat emerged even after fiscal stimulus pack-ages such as the Economic Resiliency Plan(ERP) and the Comprehensive Livelihoodand Emergency Employment Program(CLEEP)had achieved modest success.

Dr. Yap also emphasized concerns about thecountry’s declining tax efforts because itwould affect the country’s chances of achiev-ing the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs). As mentioned above, the 2008 cri-sis did not affect the poor that much, but

there is still a need to implement programsin order to uplift the poor’s situation andthese are related to the MDGs.

Dr. Yap emphasized the importance of policymeasures in the form of fiscal reforms toincrease the Philippines’ chances of achiev-ing the MDGs, as well as to address the infra-structure needs of the country. He also talkedabout social protection where coverage,funding and targeting of social protectionshould be looked at with emphasis on socialinclusion. He further discussed regional andlocal rebalancing which will pave the way forincreased investments and opportunitiesfrom the region where Small and MediumEnterprises (SMEs) will be part of new pro-duction networks.

Meanwhile, looking at the impact onhouseholds, PIDS Senior Research FellowDr. Celia M. Reyes’ presentation focused onoverseas employment and remittances andthen on local employment. Using datagathered through the Community-BasedMonitoring System, Dr. Reyes reported thatsome Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)were retrenched or suffered wage cuts inaffected countries. A large portion of theretrenched workers used to work in SaudiArabia and most of them used to work as pro-fessionals (e.g., nurse, medical technician,architect, computer programmer, and engi-neer). But total overseas employment andremittances increased.

Locally, there was no widespreadunemployment but there were some sectorsthat were affected, particularly the export-based sectors. Most of the individuals wholost jobs used to work as service workers andshop/market sales workers. Those who lostjobs reported that the major reason for thejob loss is that the firm where they used towork was incurring losses. For some workingas plant and machine operators and assem-blers, they were not retrenched but they wereaffected through reduced wages, workinghours, and benefits.

The 2008 crisis did not affect the poor that much, but there is still a need to implement programs inorder to uplift the poor’s situation and these are related to the MDGs.


Life, however, goes on for those affected; andthese households coped by seeking addi-tional sources of income such as doing addi-tional work or looking for work abroad. Theyalso tapped various fund sources such asborrowing money, using up savings, and sell-ing or pawning assets to smooth consump-tion. Another way was to shift children fromprivate to public school while for some, chil-dren were totally withdrawn from school.

To mitigate the impacts of the crisis, variousgovernment programs were initiated. Theseare: CLEEP; Pantawid Pamilyang PilipinoProgram (4Ps); emergency loan for SocialSecurity System members; Pag-ibig specialshort-term loan for displaced workers; 6-month pay package for laid off electronicworkers; and National Food Authority (NFA)rice access program.

The coverage of the abovementioned pro-grams, however, was limited and not allhouseholds in the lowest income quintilewere able to access the programs. Moreover,there were some rich households who ben-efitted from the programs. This brings to thefore the issue of targeting when it comes toimplementing social protection programs ofthe government. The lack of readiness toquickly put in place mitigation programs also

reflects resource constraints as well as insti-tutional and logistical constraints.

During the panel discussion chaired by Pro-fessor Solita Monsod of the UP School ofEconomics, one of the panelists, Prof. GaryB. Olivar, also Presidential EconomicSpokesperson, suggested to have moreresearch about the rate elasticity of differenttypes of taxes (income, VAT) across differenttaxpayer groups (corporate, individuals).The classic tradeoff in terms of timepreference can be discerned in this area too:lower marginal tax rates now that will lead tohigher total tax collections tomorrow as tax-payers prosper and the economy grows dueto low-tax environment.

Former Party Representative Etta Rosales, onthe other hand, commented that the ERP ofthe government is a failure because it isinadequate, debt-inducing and transient.She noted that a big portion of the P330 bil-lion package is not actually direct stimulus.She then focused on an alternative way offormulating an economic stimulus packagewhich would be based on a rechanelling ofdebt service in a debt moratorium scenarioor at least via selective repudiation of ille-gitimate debts.

Meanwhile, Dr. Rosario G. Manasan, PIDSSenior Research Fellow, pointed to real con-cerns about the revenue-to-tax ratio that hasgone down. She said that however good theGDP-to-debt ratio looks at present, it caneasily change depending on the deficit. Thedeficit increase is essentially a goodindicator of the stimulus; however, it is notbecause the deficit was incurred by anincrease in expenditures but because of adecrease in revenues.

Overall, the panelists agreed that the Philip-pines needs to improve on its national target-ing system to avoid problems on mistargetingand misrepresentation in reaching out to theintended recipients of government programs.It is important to offer the chronic poor effi-cient and quality programs that will help alle-viate them from poverty rather than to createprograms that become hubs of redundancyand inefficiency. MAG

During the panel discussion, former Party Representative Etta Rosalestalked about an alterntive way of formulating an economic stimulus pack-age while PIDS Senior Research Fellow Dr. Rosario G. Manasan pointed toreal concerns about the revenue-to-tax ratio.



International labor migration has been thefocus of many studies worldwide. In fact,it is increasingly becoming an important

component of development. In thePhilippines, 10 percent of gross domesticproduct is attributed to remittances from itsoverseas workers.

There are, however, some problems relatingto international migration in the Asia Pacificregion, as cited by Dr. Aniceto Orbeta, seniorresearch fellow at the Philippine Institutefor Development Studies (PIDS) anddirector of the Migration in ASEAN Project.

In his presentation during the meeting titledDifferent streams, different needs andimpacts: managing international labormigration in ASEAN, Dr. Orbeta shared thatat a personal level, exploitation and reportsof abuses diminish or offset the benefits oflabor export. At the aggregate level,overdependence on international migrationand remittance flows may become a threat tolong-term development.

Dr. Orbeta emphasized that internationalmigration is no longer just a national orbilateral issue as it has become both amultilateral and a local issue. Countries inthe region are experiencing a wide range ofproblems in managing labor migration flows.These problems require differentmanagement procedures as these would havedifferent impacts on households.

For instance, in Cambodia, Mr. Lun Pide ofthe Cambodia Development ResourceInstitute pointed to the huge inflow ofCambodian irregular migrants to Thailand

Improving policies on internationallabor migration in ASEAN

(90% in 2006) in particular. Citingweaknesses in policy and regulations as wellas in enforcement, Mr. Pide reported thatthis irregular migration results inexploitation by employers, trafficking, andorganized crimes, among other problems.

Indonesia, on the other hand, is among thefastest growing countries in terms of migrantworkers. Ms. Palmira Bachtiar, researcher atthe SMERU Research Institute, reportedthat migrant workers’ major destinations areArab countries and Malaysia. The migrantsare mostly low-skilled workers and come fromthe informal sectors. She pointed to therelevance of decentralization in her countryas there is diversity of needs and cost ofdelivering government services to its workers.

The other presenters of their respectivecountry cases were Dr. VijayakumariKanapathy of Malaysia, an independent

International migration is no longer just a national or bilateral issue asit has become both a multilateral and a local issue.

Photo: www.mani la-photos.b logspot .com


consultant; Prof. Chia Siow Yue, SeniorResearch Fellow at the Singapore Instituteof International Affairs; and Dr. YongyuthCalamwong, Research Director of the LaborDevelopment and Human Resources andSocial Development Program of theThailand Development Research Institute.

Country-specific issues focus on the need foran integrated approach and long-termdevelopment planning on migrant labor(Malaysia); protecting international labormigrants (Philippines); managing unskilledand semi-skilled worker inflows(Singapore); and regional cooperationinitiatives and bilateral agreements inmanaging international migration(Thailand).

Based on the above, the migration projectshall initiate a study that would improve

policy and institutional arrangements amongASEAN member states. Its overall objectiveis to build knowledge and understandingon the policy and institutional arrangementsin managing international migration andremittance flows in the ASEAN region aswell as on their development impacts inorder to inform public policy.

Specifically, the study aims to: a) analyze theimpact of policy and institutionalarrangements on migration and remittanceflows within ASEAN; b) assess measurestoward managing unskilled labor migrationand their protection; c) review cooperationinitiatives in the region in managingmigration flows; and d) engagepolicymakers and other stakeholders in theproject and actively contribute to policydebates and institutional reform forimproving the protection of migrant workersin ASEAN.

The meeting was organized by the PhilippineInstitute for Development Studies (PIDS) incooperation with the InternationalDevelopment Research Centre (IDRC). It washeld at the Romulo Hall of the NEDA sa MakatiBuilding. Also in attendance were thediscussants consisting of Dr. DonaldTambunan, Head of the Social Welfare,Women, Labour and Migrant Workers Divisionand ASEAN Secretariat; Dr. Guntur Sugiyarto,Economist at the Asian Development Bank;Dr. Michael Alba, a Visiting Research Fellow atthe Philippine Institute for DevelopmentStudies; Ms. Aiko Kikkawa, Head of the LaborMigration Unit of the InternationalOrganization for Migration – Philippines; Dr.Edita Tan, Professor Emeritus at the School ofEconomics, University of the Philippines; Dr.Fernando Aldaba, Associate Professor,Economics Department at the Ateneo deManila University; and Mr. Mario C. Feranil,OIC Vice President of the PIDS, who served asmoderator of the open forum. VFLB

Country-specific issues focus on the need for an integrated approach and long-term developmentplanning on migrant labor (Malaysia); protecting international labor migrants (Philippines); managingunskilled and semi-skilled worker inflows (Singapore); and regional cooperation initiatives and bilateralagreements in managing international migration (Thailand).

Dr. Aniceto C. Orbeta, Senior Research Fellow at the Philip-pine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and director ofthe Migration in ASEAN Project discusses the project overviewstarting with the problems related to international labor mi-gration in ASEAN. Dr. Orbeta likewise presented different mi-gration flows and migration policies of sending and receivingcountries in Southeast Asia.



As the deadline to meet the Millen-nium Development Goals (MDGs)looms, the need to understand the

link between disability and poverty grows.Disability and poverty are related, as grow-ing evidence suggests.

These evidences were presented in May 2008at the UN Convention on the Rights ofPeople with Disabilities where, among oth-ers, the United Nations Economic and So-cial Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) reported that persons with disabili-ties (PWDs) often belong to the poorest sec-tors of society. Studies conducted by theWorld Bank also showed that roughly 20 per-cent of the world’s poorest people are dis-abled and are considered in their own com-munities as the most disadvantaged.

International organizations believe thataccurate surveys and comprehensivedisability-related information collection arenecessary for the formulation of laws andprograms aimed at improving the status ofPWDs. While the UN-ESCAP and World Bankwere trying to streamline PWD statistics indeveloping countries, the Philippinegovernment conducted a survey on PWDs inthe country. The National Statistics Office(NSO) conducted a survey on PWDs in 2000as part of its Census of the Population andHousing survey. However, the survey focusedon the incidence of disability in the country,not on living standards of PWDs.

It was only in 2008 when, through thecollaboration between the Institute of

Integrating the impaired:PIDS conducts survey of PWDs

Developing Economies (IDE), a Japan-basedorganization working for international coop-eration with developing nations, and thePhilippine Institute for Developing Studies(PIDS), a project was launched to survey theliving standards of PWDs. This study high-lighted the livelihood of PWDs as well as thevarious programs and policies aimed fortheir betterment.

Four hundred three (403) PWDs fromMakati, Pasay, Valenzuela, and Quezon Citytook part in the survey which was conductedin partnership with each city’s Social Wel-fare Office and various PWD organizations.

The results of the survey showed poor edu-cational attainments for PWDs. Only a quar-ter had college education. In fact, one-third(129 out of 403) did not even reach highschool. Eight percent did not complete anygrade level. The survey also showed thatpeople with mobility impairment has thehighest average number of schooling years,at 9.1 years, while those who are deaf havethe lowest (7.5). On the average, male PWDsspend more schooling years than females. Athird of the respondents received specialeducation which comprises of three-fourthsof the deaf, a third of the blind, and only 1percent of the mobility impaired.

About half of the PWDs have jobs. Employ-ment rate was higher among the men (57%)than women (40%). The blind have the high-est employment rate at 72 percent, followedby the mobility impaired at 44 percent, andthe deaf at 32 percent. The blind also earn 12


DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NEWSVol. XXVII No. 6

November - December 2009ISSN 0115 - 9097

Editorial Board: Dr. Josef T. Yap,

President; Mr. Mario C. Feranil, OIC

Vice-President and Director for Project

Services and Development; Ms. Jenni-

fer P.T. Liguton, Director for Research

Information; Ms. Andrea S. Agcaoili,

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ant.

Staff: Jennifer P.T. Liguton, Editor-in-

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out. Photo credits: Maria GizelleG. Manuel and Valerie FrancesL. Belizario.

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Integrating the impaired...from p. 11

the highest, at an average of P76,270 per year.However, 69 percent of the mobility-impairedPWDs earn more than the poverty threshold,while only 65 percent and 44 percent of theblind and deaf, respectively, earned thesame. This study likewise revealed that only29 percent of the PWDs with jobs earnedequal to or more than the minimum wage.

The census survey conducted in 2000 alreadyhas outdated information which just demon-strates how important it is for local govern-ment units (LGUs) to profile PWDs withintheir jurisdiction. To make it easier for PWDsto access discounts on services, the jointstudy recommends that they should be givenspecial IDs. It also recommends that the citysocial welfare office coordinate with villagehealth workers, who keep a more updatedlist of PWDs in their areas. This would speedup the identification and profiling of PWDs.

Since the situation of PWDs in relation topoverty is beginning to be understood onlynow, it is important that more information

about PWDs be disseminated not only tothem but also to the public in general. Themedia has a big role to play in this, and so doLGUs, who are the ones closer to PWDs.LGUs can keep the PWDs and the organiza-tions that support them informed about cur-rent policies and services.

The PIDS study stresses the need to enforceanti-discriminatory and equal opportunitylaws for the PWD sector. This would enablePWDs to lead more self-sufficient lives. PIDSalso recommends the promotion of a PWDand non-PWD conducive environmentwhich entails the removal of certain barriersor the addition of PWD-friendly facilities.Placing entrance ramps along the front stepsto an office and adding elevators to a previ-ously all-stairs building are examples of this.This is necessary so that PWDs will be able toparticipate with the rest in day-to-day activi-ties and become integrated in the society. Ifthese necessary changes are not accepted andput into place, then the PWDs will most likelyremain where they are now: in poverty. NPI

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a vision for philippine agriculture

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