local and regional economic development in leyte province

Project No. 01.2467.7-001.00Small and Medium Enterprise Development forSustainable Employment Program(SMEDSEP)

Local and Regional Economic Developmentin Leyte Province:Report on the Second Rapid Appraisal Mission(Baybay, Palompon, Carigara)

March 2005

COOPERATION

Federal Republicof

Germany

Republic of the Philippines

Prepared Written by:

LRED Consultant

Published by:

A DTI-TESDA-GTZ Program10th Floor, German Development Center,PDCP Bank Centre Building, V.A. Rufino cor. L.P. Leviste Streets,Salcedo Village, Makati City

|Ms. Martina Vahlhaus, Program Manager

Printed on:

/Rolf Speit

The Small and Medium Enterprise Development forSustainable Employment Program (SMEDSEP)

April 2005 - Makati City, Philippines

[email protected]

[email protected]

Small and Medium Enterprise Development for Sustainable Employment Program (SMEDSEP)

German-Philippine Technical Cooperation

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ)

Local and Regional Economic Development in Leyte Province:

Report on the Second Rapid Appraisal Mission (Baybay, Palompon, Carigara)

March 2005

Rolf Speit

TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS II

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3

2 INTRODUCTION 5

3 FINDINGS OF THE FOLLOW-UP VISIT TO ORMOC 7

4 FINDINGS OF THE APPRAISAL TO BAYBAY, PALOMPON AND CARIGARA 11

5 ACTION PLANS AND COOPERATION AMONG GTZ-PROGRAMS 15

6 LOGFRAME AND IMPACT MONITORING 18

ANNEXES 21

I

A B B R E V I A T I O N S

BDS Business Development Services

BSO Business Service Organizations

CARP Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program

CIDA Canadian International Development Agency

DA Department of Agriculture

DAR Department of Agrarian Reform

DENR Department of Natural Resources

DST Department of Science and Technology

DTI Department of Trade and Industry

GTZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit

LGU Local Government Unit

LRED Local and Regional Economic Development

LSU Leyte State University

MW Mega Watts

NGO Non-governmental Organization

OCCI Ormoc Chamber of Commerce and Industry

PACCI Palompon Community Multi-Purpose Coopera-tive

PIT Palompon Institute of Technology

SMEDSEP

Small and Medium Enterprise Development for Sustainable Employment Program

TESDA Technical Education and Skills Development Authority

II

1 E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y

This report summarizes the results of a short-term consultancy conducted on behalf of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development for Sustainable Employment Program (SMEDSEP) between 22nd January and 16th Febru-ary 2005. The first purpose of the assignment was to do a brief follow-up on the implementation of a LRED action plan defined as a result of a preced-ing mission to Ormoc in October 2004. The second purpose was to conduct a series of rapid economic appraisals in the municipalities of Baybay, Palompon and Carigara and to draft economic action plans in each of these areas. This was part of the extension of the LRED – approach within Leyte Province. The findings are primarily based on semi-structured interviews with local resource persons and companies. The former included the Mayors of each of the municipalities studied, representatives from the municipal administra-tions, local legislative (Sangguniang Bayan), business service organiza-tions and NGOs (co-operatives). The follow-up in Ormoc demonstrated, that action plan implementation lags behind expectations. Chapter three explores some of the possible reasons for this. Nevertheless, some achievements, such as the integration of the plan drafted in the LRED-workshop into a more comprehensive SMED-Council plan, the designation of the City Planning and Development Coor-dinator as point person for the LRED – initiative and the launching of a website for investment promotion purposes were noted. However, the gen-eral impression is that the process in Ormoc needs some inspiration from SMEDSEP-LRED in order to be accelerated. With regard to the rapid appraisal of the economic potential of the munici-palities of Baybay, Palompon and Carigara (see chapter four), it can be concluded that all of them provide potential for a successful application of the LRED – approach. Baybay is experiencing dynamic growth and Palom-pon as well as Carigara are recording moderate growth rates. All of them dispose of dynamic entrepreneurs in different fields of economic activity. There are still untapped natural resources and the example of Palompon shows that even coastal marine resources can be restored. The infrastruc-ture generally allows for an expansion of entrepreneurial activities. The local administrations were active in creating an environment conducive for business, with the LGU of Baybay being the most straightforward and pro-active among the three in this regard. Notwithstanding these efforts, unem-ployment is on the rise in all municipalities, exerting considerable pressure towards more pronounced and systematic local economic planning and implementation. In terms of interaction between LGU, entrepreneurs and other representatives of the civil society, all of them provide a fertile ground for application of the LRED – approach. Based on these conclusions action plans were drafted by local stake-holders in the three local areas (see chapter five). Their fields of interven-tion are partly geared towards promoting business and investments directly (e.g. through developing tourism, diversifying use of coconuts and improv-ing conservation and packaging of delicacies) and partly towards improving

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the institutional environment (e.g. systematic investment promotion and economic planning). The latter is expected to contribute to employment and income generation too by making institutions work more effectively when handling economic affairs. These fields of intervention served as point of departure for defining potentials for cooperation among GTZ – Programs and Projects with regard to LRED in Leyte. As a debriefing meeting held in Manila on February 16th demonstrated, there is a lot of common ground between GTZ-LIP and SMEDSEP-LRED and therefore some broad lines of joint action were agreed upon. Finally, the logframe of the sub-component LRED in Leyte was revised (see chapter 6) taking into consideration the need to “harmonize” logframe and impact monitoring terminology and to match some indicators with GTZ – requirements (esp. the use of baseline data).

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2 I N T R O D U C T I O N

This report summarizes the results of a short-term consultancy conducted on behalf of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development for Sustainable Employment Program (SMEDSEP), which is jointly implemented by DTI and TESDA on the Philippine and GTZ and GFA-Management on the Ger-man side. The program comprises four components, namely enabling envi-ronment (component one), business development services/BDS (compo-nent two), financial services (component three) and demand-driven training (component four). This assignment was conducted under the auspices of component two and was closely coordinated with component one. The pro-gram is regionally based in three provinces of the Visayas, namely Negros Occidental, Cebu and Leyte. Prior to this assignment, a mission was conducted in October 2004 in order to inquire into the conduciveness of applying the local and regional eco-nomic development (LRED) approach in the Province of Leyte. Rapid ap-praisals including validation workshops with relevant stakeholders were conducted in the two largest urban centres of the Province, namely Taclo-ban (the regional capital) and Ormoc. In economic terms, both cities pro-vided ample economic opportunities to pilot such an approach; in institu-tional terms, however, it was deemed more appropriate to commence with Ormoc and put activities in Tacloban on hold. In order to expand spatial coverage of the approach and not depend exclusively on just a single local area (Ormoc), it was decided to extend it to other, smaller municipalities in Leyte. Taking into account these considerations, the objectives of the assignment (see terms of reference in annex 1) consisted in follow-up visits to relevant stakeholders in Ormoc and the conduct of rapid economic appraisal mis-sions to the municipalities of Baybay, Palompon and Carigara. Their selec-tion was the result of a ranking done by 11 raters from DTI, NEDA and TESDA on a number of criteria such as the perceived dynamism of the LGU and their economic potential. Out of a long list of 20 municipalities DTI presented a short list of six local areas, proposing the first three of them (Baybay, Palo, Bato) for inclusion in the appraisal mission. After a series of consultations with other interested parties (GTZ’s Leyte Island Program and the author of this report), SMEDSEP finally chose the above mentioned areas. Their selection represents a compromise between the ranking (all of them were among the first six) and spatial (all of them represent different districts) considerations. Apart from this, easy access from Ormoc was another criterion. In the week prior to the commencement of the assignment (17th to 21st January 2005) DTI Provincial Director, Mr. Desidério Belas, and the newly appointed LRED – Coordinator of SMEDSEP, Ms. Gloria Adapon, con-ducted a preparation mission in order to brief the LGUs on the upcoming rapid appraisal, its objectives and methodology. More specifically, they asked the LGUs for support in scheduling a program for interviews with resource persons and entrepreneurs of their respective localities.

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After a briefing with the SMEDSEP – team on the 22nd January, the interna-tional consultant and the LRED – Coordinator went to Ormoc for follow-up meetings with stakeholders in the local LRED – process (24th January). On the same day, they proceeded to Baybay in order to conduct the rapid ap-praisal. Their field work lasted from 25th to 27th January, followed by a vali-dation and action planning workshop on the 28th January. Succeeding field trips were undertaken to Palompon from 31st January to 3rd February and to Carigara from 4th to 8th February. The author of this report spent the 9th February in Ormoc to discuss subsequent activities to this assignment with the LRED – Coordinator and the 10th to 15th February in Cebu for finaliza-tion of the workshop documentations and report writing. On the 16th Febru-ary a debriefing at GTZ headquarters in Manila followed focusing primarily on possibilities of cooperation with other GTZ – program within the LRED – initiative. The appraisal results are derived from discussions with the Hon. Mayor of Baybay, Jose Carlos Cari, the Hon. Mayor of Palompon, Marcelo Oñate and the Hon. Mayor of Carigara, Anlie G. Apostol, members of the Sang-guniang Bayan, officers of the LGU and representatives with public educa-tion institutions such as the LSU and the PIT. On the private side, inter-views were conducted with owners and managers of micro, small and me-dium – sized companies, banks, micro-finance providers and multi-purpose cooperatives (the latter often prioritizing financial intermediation). In Bay-bay, the team met with a total of 21 respondents, of which 11 represented the public and 10 the private sector. The respective figures for Palompon are 22 (11/11) and for Carigara 17 (5/12). The number of participants in the validation and action planning workshops amounted to 26 in Baybay (14 public/12 private sector), 17 in Palompon (5/12) and 25 in Carigara (11/14). The consultant would like to express his gratitude to the DTI – Provincial Office and the LRED – Coordinator for their very good preparation and ac-companiment, SMEDSEP’s component manager for his institutional guid-ance and his tireless efforts to turn LRED in Leyte into a success, the re-spondents for their time and effort spent during our discussions and the planning officers for their excellent fellowship during the field trips. Many thanks to all of them!

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3 F I N D I N G S O F T H E F O L L O W - U P V I S I T T O O R M O C

The principal task of the follow-up visit to Ormoc consisted in an update of the action plan implementation with major stakeholders of the local LRED – initiative (LGU, AFFIRE and OCCI). As the following table suggests, only a few activities have actually been carried out. One of these is the integration of the LRED action plan into a more comprehensive plan of activities of the local SMED Council. The LRED action plan is now “legitimized” and has become official part of the local community’s efforts towards promotion of the local economy. The reasons for slow action plan implementation are most probably the following: ! There was a certain over-optimism on part of the participants and fa-

cilitators of the workshop in October 2004 with regard to the “doability” of the activities.

! Some stakeholders changed their minds with regard to certain issues. For instance, AFFIRE does momentarily not prioritize the introduction of warehousing and cold storage facilities anymore but has ventured into low-cost pharmacy instead.

! The institutional set-up of the LRED – initiative in Ormoc was not clear enough. Until recently, there was no one officially designated as “point person” on part of the LGU and also no permanent liaison person on SMEDSEP’s side, which resulted in a rather diffuse distribution of re-sponsibilities.

! The fact that the action planning in October 2004 did not involve any LGU representative may also have contributed to the relatively slow start in Ormoc.

In the meantime, some actions were taken to put the LRED – initiative in Ormoc on more solid ground: In January 2005 SMEDSEP contracted a local coordinator based in Ormoc and the LGU appointed the City Planning and Development Coordinator as point person for the LRED – initiative. Furthermore, some of the activities finally happened to be implemented. From the point of view of the author of this report, it is necessary to accel-erate action plan implementation in order to build confidence among local stakeholders in the LRED - approach. Most likely, in these still early stages, speeding up the process requires an active involvement of SMEDSEP. Activities to start with could be the facilitation of a focus group discussion on the economic viability of the introduction of cold storage fa-cilities (proposed by AFFIRE), funding capacity building workshops for OCCI either directly or by linking the chamber to CIDA’s Pearl 2 project and supporting DTI in the preparation of information material on power pricing. However, balancing the need for faster implementation with the low-key and demand oriented nature of the LRED approach continues to be the major challenge in Ormoc.

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LRED Action Plan Ormoc

Field of interven-tion/steps for implemen-

tation

Who? When? Status as per mid Feb-ruary 2005

1. Introduction of cold storage/ warehousing facilities

1.1 Project proposal AFFIRE By Nov. 2004

1.2 Presentation of project proposal to SMED - council

Ormoc Chamber of Commerce, DTI, AFFIRE, market ven-dors, pro-ducers

Nov. to Dec. 2004

1.3 Business plan prepara-tion

AFFIRE, DTI, CASO

Dec. to Jan. 2005

1.4 Presentation of busi-ness plan to SMED – Council, LGU

AFFIRE, DTI, CASO, SMEDSEP-LRED

Jan. during council meet-ing

1.5 Project implementation AFFIRE, DTI, CASO, SMEDSEP-LRED

February 05 to Dec. 05

" AFFIRE has put its activities with regard to warehousing on hold. One reason for this is that they ventured into the pharmacy business (low cost generica drugs), a project supported by GTZ and KfW. They are proposing to conduct a focus group discussion in order to collect in-formation on the economic feasibility of warehousing/cold storage.

2. Initiate integrated ef-fort to address Ormoc’s economic problems

2.1 Levelling off- seminar/ workshop on Ormoc’s eco-nomic problems and ef-forts.

Ormoc Chamber of Commerce, DTI, LGU, AFFIRE, SMEDSEP-LRED

Nov. 2004

2.2 Output presentation to SMED - council


Jan. 2005

+ The action plan re-sulting from the LRED – workshop conducted on 22nd October 2004 got fully integrated into the SMED Council’s more comprehen-sive plan of action.

" According to stake-holders, the facilita-tion of SMED Coun-cil workshop did not meet expectations.

3. Strengthen private sector associations and chambers

" No activity in this field carried out so far.

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tation


3.1 Identification of stake-holders (output of the seminar/workshop)


Nov. 2004

3.2 Workshop on SWOT/ balanced scorecard on the above stakeholders


Dec. 2004/Jan. 2005

3.3 Implementation of ac-tion plan of the above workshop on SWOT/balanced scorecard


Feb. 2005

4. Gathering of informa-tion on power price fixa-tion and lobbying for lower power prices

4.1 Access the study of RPOC to include royalties enjoyed by Ormoc and Kananga to be extended to Leyte Province and Region 8

RPOC for Region 8

Ongoing

4.2 Telephone survey on power rates

DTI - Ormoc Last week October

4.3 Ask LEYECO to ex-plain power bills

Ormoc Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI)

Nov. 2004

4.4 Disseminate informa-tion to OCCI

OCCI Nov. 2004

4.5 If deemed necessary, lobby for lower power prices with LGU and LEYECO

OCCI From 1st. quarter 2005 onwards

" No activity carried out so far. OCCI seems less enthusi-astic to address this issue.

5. Information exchange on possibilities of pro-moting high-potential agro-industries

No activity in this field carried out so far.

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tation


5.1 Designate investment promotion officer

SMED Council

1st. quarter 2005

5.2 Assign the task of or-ganizing an investment promotion seminar to the officer

City LGU 1st. quarter 2005

5.3 Conduct investment opportunities seminar to match investment poten-tials, resources available and potential investors. Several sub-activities fol-low which are not pre-sented in this report.

DTI, LGU 1st. quarter 2005

6. Marketing of Ormoc as a location for business

6.1 Creation and estab-lishment of Ormoc website as a location for business.1

Ormoc LGU 4th. quarter 2004 – 4th. quarter 2005

+ According to the City Development Planning Coordina-tor, the website is to be launched early February 2005.

6.2 Lobby for the revival of the Provincial Industrial Center and support from city LGU.

NGO, OCCI and produc-ers

4th. quarter 2004 – 1st. quarter 2005

6.3 Join outbound invest-ment missions.

Leyte Prov’l Gov’t. and LGU Ormoc.

within 2005

6.4 Identify the competitive advantage of Ormoc as tourism destination.

City Tourism Council

4th. quarter 2004

" Steps 6.2 to 6.4 not carried out so far.

1 During the discussion, other investment promotion tools beside a website came

up, such as a flyer or CD, brochures, video clip.

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4 F I N D I N G S O F T H E A P P R A I S A L T O B A Y B A Y , P A L O M P O N A N D C A R I G A R A

The detailed findings are presented in annexes 3, 4 and 5. They are reflect-ing the information and impressions obtained during the interviews and validated in the workshops. They do not claim to be accurate in all details but rather depict the broad picture of the regional economies of Baybay, Palompon and Carigara. The summaries of the interviews are presented in annexes 6, 7 and 8. This chapter is highlighting the findings by fields of analysis: Enabling environment The enabling environment2 is found to be quite positive in all three of the studied local areas: The visions for economic development appeared to be quite realistic. The Mayor in Baybay stressed the need to base the evolu-tion of the local economy on local resources, Palompon is geared towards preservation natural resources as a prerequisite for LRED and the Mayor of Carigara emphasized the necessity of sustainable initiatives (“no-flash-in-the-pan activities”). Respondents from the private sector unanimously said that they have never experienced any form of “under-the-table” payment with local administrations. Local taxes were reported to be moderate. Palompon pioneered in the development of alternative sources of local in-come (proceeds from the Tabuk Marine Park), thereby increasing the share of local income of the total budget from 15% in 1995 to 23% in 2003, with-out stifling business development. In Baybay and Carigara local income reaches a mere 12% and 8% respectively. In all three cases there is scope of improvement with regard to the introduction of one-stop-shops for busi-ness licensing in the literal sense of the word. Local business people still have to approach up to 10 different desks, though mostly located in the same building or in the nearby area. According to them, they on average need two to three days to get their business license renewed. Although this does not constitute an overly heavy burden on entrepreneurs, streamlining the process would give a clear indication of the LGUs willingness to provide fertile ground for business development. Micro, small and medium enterprises, farmers There are indications for economic growth in all of the three municipalities as evidenced by a number of start-up businesses located locally. Baybay appeared to be the most dynamic among them and even managed to at-tract medium-sized companies to start operations recently in the baranguay Hilapnitan. It is the only one where a considerable degree of processing of agricultural commodities is taking place (coconut oil milling and abaca pulp manufacturing). Cooperatives are active in all three local areas, with some 2 For the purposes of this appraisal the international consultant defines enabling

environment as activities related to visioning, local taxes and business licens-ing. Other more service related tasks of the local administration such as invest-ment promotion and education fall under the category of “support organiza-tions”.

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of them, such as the Palompon Community Multi-Purpose Cooperative (PACCI) and the Kangara Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Carigara, being considered as “local World Bank”. It is also noteworthy that the fisher folk in Palompon, with the support of the LGU, developed boneless danggit fishing and processing into a thriving industry, whereas elsewhere in Leyte fisher-men are affected negatively by shrinking marine resources. Notwithstanding these positive trends, there is still a lot to be done in order to accelerate economic development and generate more employment and income opportunities. For instance, farmers use coconut nearly exclusively for copra extraction and very few of them have ventured into alternative uses such as the production of virgin coconut oil, wine, milk, vinegar, brooms, activated carbon, charcoal bricks, and the use of coco coir and shell. In addition to this, only a very small number of coconut planters is engaged into undercropping and making more effective use of their land. Apart from this, the potential for local and recreational tourism appears to be largely untapped. In Carigara, the local rice industry is jeopardized by low productivity and declining soil quality, especially in the upland areas. Although businesswomen in Carigara find a ready market for their native delicacies, some production constraints still impede expansion of their trade. Support organizations Positive and not so positive aspects with regard to support organizations were identified in all three municipalities. The LGU in Baybay has an out-standing reputation for its capacity to attract investors from outside its boundaries. “They rolled out the red carpet for us”, a representative of one of the investors responded. Local education providers such as the LSU in Baybay, the Palompon Institute of Technology (PIT) and the Holy Cross College (HCC) in Carigara provide active support to the local economy in a number of ways, be it as active partner in containing the spread of abaca diseases (LSU) or as a provider of good quality and demand driven educa-tion (PIT: training of seamen/cadets for the international labour market in cooperation with a Dutch organization; HCC: computer science and tech-nology as a new course to be offered in Carigara). A striking feature is the expansion of the supply of micro-credit partly through cooperatives (such as PACCI and the Kangara Coop.) and partly through micro-banks (such as the Green Bank in Baybay). Some of them appear to have an excellent portfolio quality and are geared towards performing at world class stan-dards. Their existence is an important contribution towards liberating local business people from the iron grip of loan sharks and enhancing their fi-nancial assets for productive purposes. One common feature of the three areas is that they have not yet engaged in investment promotion in a systematic way through promotion materials and participation in fairs and outbound missions. This holds true even for Baybay, the champion in this field among the three. In Palompon, the ap-praisal team also felt some reservations on part of the local LGU towards inviting “outsiders” to do business locally. Some scope for improvements also exists with regard to economic planning: There are either very com-prehensive and ambitious plans of which only a very small fraction gets actually implemented (such as the Municipal Enterprise Development Plan

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Carigara 1999 – 2005) or there are no holistic plans at all. Systematic moni-toring also appeared to be lacking. Human and natural resources The interview partners were, in general, optimistic with regard to the avail-ability of unskilled labour. Wages are also low since most entrepreneurs are not adhering to minimum wage legislation. Many were also saying that their quality in terms of “trainability” and work ethics is good. However, with re-gard to this aspect, especially respondents representing larger companies claim that quite some training and education needs to be done in order ad-just them to the requirements of the job. Whether inadequate preparation of the work force or a certain type of recruitment practices on part of the em-ployers (e.g. six-month contracts in order to avoid social costs) is the prin-cipal reason for these difficulties could not be finally explored. Skilled labour was also reported to be available locally, although some exceptions were also noted (e.g. machine operators in Baybay). In Carigara, skilled people can also be sourced in the regional capital Tacloban, just one hour drive away from the town. In general, labour appears to be of no major headache for the business communities. This is partly due to the existence of higher education institutions within the local area and partly due to the relatively low level of technology in use. In terms of natural resources, the three municipalities are gifted with good water supply, fertile land, forests and some tourist attractions. Land is dis-tributed quite equally, shielding the areas from the negative aspects of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Coconut and rice are the dominant crops. Rice from Carigara is known for its premium quality. Within Baybay and its neighbouring municipalities abaca is another impor-tant crop. The major problems are the exclusive use of coconut for copra extraction, lack of undercropping of coconut plantations as well as soil deg-radation and erosion. Coastal marine resources in Baybay and Carigara appear to be jeopardized by illegal fishing practices, overfishing and pollution. However, the LGU of Palompon managed to reverse this trend and set up a strict and largely successful coastal marine management program. Its components are gen-eration of alternative sources of income for the local fisher folk (livelihood), information, education and enforcement. The program already produced a number of tangible economic benefits for the local economy: The fishing population is thriving on the marketing of dried boneless danggit fish and the LGU increased local income considerably due to proceeds from educa-tional tourism it is promoting in the Tabuk Marine Park. Infrastructure The results of this second appraisal mission largely confirm those obtained during the first one: Communication infrastructure is considered almost ex-cellent, with cell phone coverage nearly reaching even remote baranguays in the municipalities studied. The only exception to this general rule is the baranguay Hilapnitan, Baybay’s industrial zone, where investors were forced to establish their own satellite phone system and operate an office in Baybay town, as this area is not connected to the communication system.

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Apart from this, the road system was improved in all three of the municipali-ties, with the large majority of baranguays getting linked to farm-to-market roads. In Carigara, a considerable share of feeder roads is even cemented (one lane). In Baybay and Palompon, the municipalities’ administration up-graded the towns’ market facilities, an effort not yet fully concluded in Bay-bay and still awaiting commencement in Carigara. Price of real estate in the commercial centres of the municipalities went up notably, with Baybay even matching Cebu prices. Although this may be an indication of a healthy eco-nomic development, it may be considered a competitive disadvantage by potential investors. However, prices of real estate outside town proper are much lower. Our respondents unanimously claimed that prices of electricity are too high taking proximity to the power sources into account. Most of them were especially apprehensive of the extra charges billed by LEYECO. Two industrial consumers of electricity in Baybay, though, enjoy lower prices due to directly sourcing power from NAPOCOR. Reliability of power supplies was regarded good in general; however, consumers in Carigara experienced many brownouts during January and February 2005. Ware-housing facilities were reported missing in Carigara, a factor contributing to local rice farmers selling their produce immediately after harvest at a low price. Conclusions: In economic terms, all municipalities provide potential for a successful ap-plication of the LRED – approach. Baybay is experiencing dynamic growth and Palompon as well as Carigara are recording moderate growth rates. All of them dispose of dynamic entrepreneurs in different fields of economic activity. There are still untapped natural resources and the example of Palompon shows that even coastal marine resources can be restored. The infrastructure generally allows for an expansion of entrepreneurial activities. The local administrations were active in creating an environment conducive for business, with the LGU of Baybay being the most straightforward and proactive among the three in this regard. Notwithstanding these efforts, unemployment is on the rise in all municipalities, exerting considerable pressure towards more pronounced and systematic local economic plan-ning and implementation. In terms of interaction between LGU, entrepre-neurs and other representatives of the civil society, the three municipalities provide a fertile ground for application of the LRED – approach.

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5 A C T I O N P L A N S A N D C O O P E R A T I O N A M O N G G T Z - P R O G R A M S

Since the economic and political environment is, in general, favouring work-ing with the LRED – approach in the three appraisal areas, the consultant recommended to engage into action planning during the validation work-shops. This recommendation was accepted by LGUs and entrepreneurs alike. Based on the rapid appraisal, he proposed several lines of interven-tion for each municipality (see table 1). Their number depended on the per-ceived capacity of the respective LGU to venture into such an approach and on the number of participants present in the workshop. The detailed action plans are found in annexes 9, 10 and 11.

Table 1: Fields of intervention of action plans Baybay Palompon Carigara

1. Address investment promotion more sys-tematically

1. Improve employ-ment/ income gen-eration through tour-ism

1. Improving conserva-tion/ packaging of delicacies

2. Initiate the develop-ment of local tourism

2. Diversify use of co-conut

2. Exchange of experi-ences in coastal ma-rine management

3. Organize the busi-ness community

3. Address investment promotion

3. Negotiate with com-mercial (universal) banks to locate in Carigara

4. Develop comprehen-sive economic plan

4. Promote use of or-ganic fertilizer in rice farming

5. Provide information on the prospects of virgin coconut oil production

5. Address investment promotion

As the table reveals, the fields of intervention are partly geared towards promoting business and investments directly (e.g. through developing tour-ism, diversifying use of coconuts and improving conservation and packag-ing of delicacies) and partly towards improving the institutional environment (e.g. systematic investment promotion and economic planning). The latter is expected to contribute to employment and income generation too by ma-king institutions work more effectively when handling economic affairs. In the debriefing meeting held at GTZ headquarters in Manila on February 16th, potential areas of cooperation were discussed between SMEDSEP and GTZ-LIP. One of the guiding questions was how GTZ can improve support to action plan implementation by creating synergies among its dif-ferent programs and projects. The other question was, what SMEDSEP-LRED can offer other programs. The discussion was based on a proposal by the international consultant (see table 2).

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Table 2: Cooperation Potentials among GTZ regarding LRED in Leyte

Location Field of Intervention Potential input from other GTZ -

Programs/Projects Ormoc Collect information on power

price fixation

Decentralization project to provide information on institutional set-up of power supply and tariff structure

Baybay Provide information on the prospects of virgin coconut oil production

Provide information on the techni-cal features of virgin coconut oil production (GTZ-LIP)

Baybay, Palompon, Carigara

Diversify use of coconut

Provide information on the techni-cal features and economic feasi-bility of alternative uses of coconut (GTZ-LIP)

Carigara Promote use of organic fertil-izer in rice farming

Provide case studies of successful uses of organic fertilizer in rice farming (GTZ-LIP)

Location Field of Intervention Potential input from SMEDSEP – LRED

Leyte Prov-ince

Training of LRED-facilitators

Offer training in LRED – method-ology to staff of GTZ-projects and their partner organizations

The following points were finally agreed: ! GTZ-LIP will support SMEDSEP-LRED with information regarding

technical and economic aspects of diversifying the use of coconut. This includes virgin coconut oil production. However, the way of how this transfer of information may occur (e.g. provision of studies and/or active involvement in the conduct of workshops and seminars) will still have to be sorted out. Mr. Peter Keller, Coordinator of the LIP, will dis-cuss the topic with his team and feed the results back to SMEDSEP.

! GTZ-LIP is also open to cooperation with regard to the use of organic fertilizer in rice production (a field of intervention in Carigara). How-ever, the extent to which GTZ-LIP will be able to provide a substantial input in this field will still have to be examined in more detail. Mr. Kel-ler will give feedback on this issue after consulting his team.

! Whether and to what extent the Decentralization Project will be in a position to provide assistance on the issue of power price fixation could not be explored due to the absence of a representative of this project in the meeting.

! SMEDSEP will provide opportunities to other programs conducted with GTZ – involvement to participate in a training course on ap-proaches of LRED in the second half of this year. It was pointed out that the training will target at practitioners and will focus on practical tools such as conducting rapid economic appraisals and using facilita-tion techniques. GTZ-LIP announced interest in sending either staff of its partner agencies or own personnel to the training.

16

Concluding this chapter, one may emphasize that the quality of the action plan improved considerably between phase I (Ormoc) and phase II (Bay-bay, Palompon and Carigara) of the LRED – appraisal missions. This re-flects the fact that the mission team placed more emphasis on more de-tailed and realistic planning. However, at the same time marked differ-ences between the plans produced in phase II are remaining. In terms of scope, technical quality and commitment of local stakeholders, the Cari-gara plan appears to be the most advanced in this respect. The fact that SMEDSEP and GTZ-LIP agreed upon broad lines of cooperation may fur-ther the prospects of getting the plans implemented.

17

6 L O G F R A M E A N D I M P A C T M O N I T O R I N G

During his preceding mission in October/November 2004, the international consultant drafted a proposal for a logframe defining the logic of interven-tion, indicators, means of verification and assumptions of SMEDSEP’s LRED sub-component. The following pages present a revised form of the logframe. Two major changes as compared to the draft version occurred. The first relates to the intervention logic. There were two kinds of intervention logic before, one following the logframe and another following the impact as-sessment terminology. Now, the terminology has become unified. For in-stance, “purpose” (logframe terminology) is now congruent with “direct benefit” (impact assessment methodology) and “overall objective” with “indi-rect benefit I”.

18

The second modification relates to the indicators. The draft version of the logframe did not contain any baseline information that could serve as yard-stick for measuring advances in local economic development. In the pre-sent version, some of the information gathered during the appraisal mission is used as baseline. This refers to positive or negative trends in the turn-over and number of employees of the companies interviewed during the two missions. It should be noted, that the interviews were not conducted with the purpose of producing material for a baseline study. The information is by no means statistically representative. However, dealing with financial constraints on the one hand, which did not allow for a comprehensive and expensive baseline study, and facing the necessity to have some point of departure for performance measurement on the other hand, the consultant opted for this pragmatic solution.

19

Logframe LRED – Leyte 11/2004 – 08/2006

Impact chain/Intervention

logic Indicators Sources of verification Assumptions

Indirect benefits II/ Long-term development goals: Competitiveness of SMEs is in-creased and employment and in-come generation of SMEs has ac-celerated

Overall employment of those com-panies interviewed during the ap-praisal mission has gone up by 2% between end 2004/beg. 2005 and 2nd quarter of 2006

Survey of those companies that had been interviewed during appraisal in Ormoc, Baybay, Palompon and Carigara. “Summary company questionnaires” serve as baseline.

Macro-economic environments re-mains relatively business friendly.

Indirect benefits I/Overall objec-tive: The local environment of selected cities and municipalities in Leyte has become more conducive for economic growth

! The number of companies in-terviewed during the appraisal missions stating that their turn-over is increasing, has gone up by 5% between end 2004/beg. 2005 and 2nd quarter of 2006

! By 2nd quarter 2006, local stakeholders are able to men-tion at least four specific ar-eas/examples where local envi-ronment was improved as a re-sult of applying LRED - ap-proach

! Survey of those companies that had been interviewed during appraisal in Ormoc, Baybay, Palompon and Carigara. “Summary company question-naires” serve as baseline.

! Focus group discussion in each of municipalities participating in LRED. No baseline available.

There are no major external “shocks” impacting negatively on the local economic environment.

Direct benefit/Purpose: The LRED – approach has become

! At least 60% of the activities defined in the action plans are

! Quarterly monitoring reports of The local political and administrative environment remains receptive to

20

Logframe LRED – Leyte 11/2004 – 08/2006

Impact chain/Intervention

logic Indicators Sources of verification Assumptions

an integral part of the planning and implementation procedures of se-lected cities/municipalities of Leyte Province

successfully carried out until 03/2006

! As a result of successful plan implementation 3 out of 4 mu-nicipalities did a replanning in the 2nd quarter of 2006

the LRED – Coordinator.

! New plans and workshop re-ports.

the LRED – approach.

Use of service or product/Result 1: LRED action plans jointly developed by private and public sector

LRED action plans defined in at least 4 municipalities of Leyte until 3/2005 by private and public sector

Action plans and workshop docu-mentations

There is a critical mass of local stakeholders interested in the LRED - approach.

Use of service or product/Result 2: LRED facilitation capacities are locally available

20 staff members of provincial and local administrations, BDS-providers and business service organizations from the Province of Leyte participated in a training course on LRED and facilitation techniques until 12/05

Training report and attendance sheet

Decision-makers in local and pro-vincial administrations, BDS-providers and business service organizations are receptive to the idea of training their staff in the LRED - approach.

A N N E X E S

Annex 1: Terms of reference Annex 2: List of persons met Annex 3: Findings LRED Baybay Annex 4: Findings LRED Palompon Annex 5: Findings LRED Carigara Annex 6: Summary company interviews Baybay Annex 7: Summary company interviews Palompon Annex 8: Summary company interviews Carigara Annex 9: Action plan Baybay Annex 10: Action plan Palompon Annex 11: Action plan Carigara Annex 12: Report writing format for LRED-Coordinator

ANNEX 1

Terms of Reference

Short term mission to the Small and Medium Enterprise Development for Sustainable Employment Programme (SMEDSEP) on Local Economic

Development (LED) Time: The mission to the Philippines is expected to start end of January 2005 with a duration of approximately 4 weeks. Table of Content 1. Background/Rationale 2. Objectives of the Mission 3. Scope of Work 4. Expected Output 5. Budget 1. Background/Rationale The SMEDSEP Program is an integrated approach for the development of the private sector in the Philippines with a regional focus on the Visayas. Its over-all objective is: “State-run and private institutions create general business conditions in the Philippines, particularly in the Visayas, to harness entrepreneurial potential and encourage competition”. The Program comprises of four (4) components, namely: 1.) SME Policy/Enabling Environment for SMEs, 2.) Business Development Services (BDS) for SMEs, 3.) Access to Financial Services for SMEs, 4.) Demand-driven training programs for the workforce. Component 2 and 3 are subcontracted for implementation to GFA-Management. Focus of the planned mission is component 2 which develops and implements a Local Economic Development (LED) approach for the Province of Leyte, regarding the scope of services of the 3 other components.

2. Objectives of the Mission The objectives of the mission are:

! LRED process in Ormoc (in collaboration with local consultant) is further facilitated. ! The LRED – process with participation of the major stakeholders is initiated in 3 other

municipalities in Leyte. 3. Scope of Work The consultant shall study all the required documents of the project and the available economic data and information of Leyte Province. He shall meet related stakeholders (GTZ, esp. LIP Project, Regional and Local Government, DTI, TESDA, NEDA, Associations, Entrepreneurs, BDS and HRD providers). More specifically, the consultant shall:

! Assess the progress of LRED process in Ormoc and develop with the local consultant an activity plan for the local consultant.

1

! Validate the selection of 3 additional municipalities for a rapid economic appraisal. ! Carry out rapid economic appraisal in 3 additional municipalities ! Make recommendations on municipalities to be included in the LRED strategy Leyte ! Prepare an action plan with the stakeholders from recommended municipalities

The consultant shall draw a detailed work plan addressing the steps to be taken and the time needed to achieve the objectives prior to commencement of the consultancy. Upon agreement of the work plan by the Senior Adviser BDS, it will become integrative part of the contract. The work plan will be fined-tuned upon arrival of the consultant.

4. Expected Output Two weeks after completion of the mission to the Philippines, a draft report will be sent to the Senior Adviser BDS. The draft report shall comprise the activities as stated under point 3, and results/ recommendations thereof. The findings of the appraisal mission shall be documented to be forwarded to the stakeholders contacted in the mission. One week after receiving the comments, the final version of the report will be submitted. 5. Budget The mission is expected to last up to one person month, including preparation and report writing. Proposed expert: Rolf Speit, who implemented already the first mission with regard to the LRED approach in Leyte. His CV was part of the original GFA proposal. Cebu City, 16th day of December, 2004 Markus Ehmann Senior Adviser BDS SMEDSEP

2

ANNEX 2

List of persons met/interviewed

dPersons met/interviewe Institution Function Date

Markus Ehmann SMEDSEP/GFA Senior Advisor 22/01/05Rita Pilarca SMEDSEP/GFA Advisor 22/01/05Gloria M. Adapon SMEDSEP/GTZ LRED-Coordinator 22/01/05

Raul Cam LGU Ormoc City Planning&Development 24/01/05Coordinator

Maylyn Villamor AFFIRE Ormoc Chief Operating Officer 24/01/05Vivencio Sumaylo AFFIRE Ormoc General Manager

Atty. Roy Fiel Ormoc Chamber of C&I President 24/01/05

Florante Cayunda LGU Baybay Vice-Mayor 25/01/05Vicente Veloso Sangguniang B. Baybay Head of Committees on Co-

operatives; Labor; Trade andInvestment

Juanito Modina Sangguniang B. Baybay Environmental CommitteeErnesto Butanan Sangguniang B. Baybay Committee Laws & RulesDeogracias Pertinez Sangguniang B. Baybay Agricultural Committee

Jose Carlos Cari LGU Baybay Local Chief Executive 25/01/05

Cedrick Chan LGU Baybay DILG Officer 25/01/05

Patrick Postero LGU Baybay Municipal Planning & 25/01/05Development Coordinator

Josie Duterte LGU Baybay Planning Staff

Ivor A. E. Mojado ISBS Pangkor Owner/Manager 25/01/05

Linda Odicta Municipal Employees Coop. Vice-Chairman 26/01/05

Noel Sosmeña CIABU Primary Multi- Chairman of Board of 26/01/05Purpose Cooperative Directors

Victor B. Parillas Specialty Pulp Manu- Plant Manager 26/01/05facturing Inc. (SPMI)

Rey Polito Visayan Oil Mill Plant Manager 26/01/05

Dr. Jose Alkuino, Jr. Leyte State University Vice-President Administra- 26/01/05tion & Finance

Dr. Wolfreda Alesna Leyte State University Research & Extension 26/01/05Director

Virginia R. Danas Dañas Rice & Corn Trading Owner/Manager 27/01/05

Roel Salasayo Anistar Trading & Brokerage Plant Manager 27/01/05

Gabriel Israel PNB - Bank Operations Officer 27/01/05

Cheryl Bongcaros Green Bank Officer-in-Charge 27/01/05


Eddy Abas EI - Enterprises Owner/Manager 27/01/05

Marcelo C. Oñate LGU Palompon Local Chief Executive 31/01/05Ledinila A. Bregaudit Sangguniang B. Palompon SB memberHarvey Felpiñon Sangguniang B. Palompon SB memberJesus L. Sanchez Sangguniang B. Palompon SB memberLaureto Nuñez Sangguniang B. Palompon SB memberManuel Bertulfo Sangguniang B. Palompon SB memberFrancisco Janico Jr. LGU Palompon Municipal AgriculturalistRaoul T. Bacalla LGU Palompon Tourism & Environment

OfficerRomy Cartalla LGU Palompon Municipal Planning &

Development CoordinatorJerlito Letrondo LGU Palompon Municipal Administrator

Gilbert Manongsong Northern Leyte College Director 31/01/05

José Pajaron Multi Circuit Electronics Owner/manager 31/01/05

César Acis Jolita Farm Owner/manager 01/02/05

Doroteo Yap Doroteo L. Yap Stores Owner/manager 01/02/05

Ramon Oñate Lourd Agrivet Supply Owner/manager 01/02/05

Elisabeth Ragas Liberty Farmers Multi- Chairman 01/02/05Purpose Cooperative

Pedro Omega Palompon Institute of Vice-President 01/02/05Technology

Maria-Teresa R. Fisherfolk Community Owner/manager 02/02/05Contenidas Baranguay Plaridel

Roy Domael Rosh Cellphone Owner/manager 02/02/05

Loy Acido Philippine National Bank Sales & Services 02/02/05Manager

Eulogio Tupa PACCI Manager 02/02/05

Dorothy L. Roble DLR Enterprises Owner/manager 02/02/05

Gil Lloren Sangguniang B. Carigara Trade & Industry Committee 04/02/05

Nick Javines LGU Carigara Municipal Planning & 04/02/05Development Coordinator

Ms. Anlie G. Apostol LGU Carigara Local Chief Executive 04/02/05

Lilian D. Estorninos Eastern Visayas State Campus Director 04/02/05University

Sarah Caballes Kangara Multi-Purpose Chairman 04/02/05


Cooperative

Blani Macayan Taytay sa Kauswagan Coop Manager 04/02/05

Olímpia Arminal Rice Retailers Association President 05/02/05

Arnulfo Alberca Fish Vendor's Association President 05/02/05

Felicisimo Sotomayor Carigara Tricycle Drivers' President 05/02/05Association

Roque 'Bimboy' Aguilar RAQ - Farms Sales Manager 05/02/05

Corazon T. Lauron CTI Enterprises Owner/manager 07/02/05

Sis. Anthony Kuizon Holy Cross College College Directress 07/02/05

Samuel Tabada Blacksmith SG Liwanag President 07/02/05

Romeo Esmiro LGU Carigara Municipal Agricultural 07/02/05Officer

Manuel Camposano Jr. Camposano Rice Mill Owner/manager 07/02/05

Vivencio Lim Shopper's Budget Owner/manager 07/02/05

Felomina G. Enero Lomen's Pastillas Owner/manager 07/02/05

ANNEX 3

LRED: Results of the Rapid Appraisal of the Municipality of Baybay

Strengths Weaknesses/Points for improvement

Enabling environment

! The Mayor is having a realistic vision of local and regional economic development (local resource based)

! LGU is still heavily dependent on the IRA

! The business licensing process seems to be largely corruption free

! For business start-ups, the one-stop-shop is not yet fully implemented (no permanent local office of national agencies like Phil Health, SSS etc. – mostly situated in Ormoc City)

! Moderate local taxes

! For business renewals, the one-stop-shop is practically implemented

! LGU is providing incentives to investors

Small and medium enterprises, farmers

! Entrepreneurial-spirited local environment ! No existing local business yet engaged in producing virgin coconut oil

! New companies were established and existing companies expanded or diversified (abaca pulp mill, coconut oil mill, restaurant) indicating a dynamic local/regional economy.

! The expansion of rice production appears to be hampered by a variety of factors largely determined on national level (e.g. agrarian reform, trade policy)

! There are negotiations underway to attract foreign companies to Baybay (e.g. Shenyang Furniture Corp.)

! Lack of low cost irrigation system for rice cultivation

! There are ongoing initiatives on producing virgin cocnut oil (LSU and GTZ-LIP)

! There are cooperatives with management problems esp. in the field of micro-finance

! Micro-finance institution(s) providing professional services to the poorer sections of society

! Some economic activities appear government-driven and may not be sustainable (micro-finance coop. + tourism initiative)



! There are ideas of developing local tourism ! Lack of technical assistance on making project proposals and fund sourcing

! Reportedly, there is a considerable number of active cooperatives in the local area

! Lack of knowledge on technology for commercial food processing and packaging

! Initiatives to promote backyard aquaculture (tilapia)

Support organizations

! The LGU has successfully facilitated the attraction of investors from outside Leyte

! There is no comprehensive plan of addressing the local economic problems systematically

! Considerable number of training/education providers (LSU, FCIC, Baybay Institute of Technology)

! The local business chamber does not play an active role in advocacy and entrepreneurship building.

! LGU, LSU, FIDA and Provincial Gvt. are cooperating well in fighting the bunchy top disease which is badly affecting abaca industry

! Investment promotion needs improvement (e.g. updating of promo materials, participation in outbound missions)

! Since other LGUs are less active in fighting the bunchy top disease, the whole abaca industry remains vulnerable

! Stronger cooperation between LGU and LSU needed in other areas (e.g. undercropping of coconut plantations)

Human resources/ natural resources

! Unskilled human resources are in abundance and relatively cheap

! Some companies report inadequate attitudes of unskilled people

! For a town like Baybay, the local supply of skilled labour is quite good

! Some skills (e.g. machine operators) are not available locally

! Good endowment with natural resources (water, fertile land, forests)

! So far, the potential of coconut as raw material for textiles, furniture has not yet been fully utilized



! Potential for agricultural production (e.g. undercropping of coconut plantations) is not fully utilized

! Fishing resources are becoming depleted by inadequate fishing practices and population pressures

! Generally good road network and nearly all Brgys. have access to farm-to-market roads.

! No communication coverage in Brgy. Hilapnitan (location of industrial activity)

! Communication (cellphone, fixed lines, internet) is generally considered good.

! Lack of air transport Ormoc – Manila causes extra costs/time for companies based in Manila

! The city administration has upgraded the town’s infrastructure (public market, bus terminal).

! Real estate in Baybay commercial center is reported to be quite expensive.

! Port facilities in Baybay proper and Brgy. Hilapnitan existing and being improved

! Power prices are generally considered high

! There are still, though few, brownouts

! Major industrial users of power are supplied directly by NAPOCOR and avail of the electricity at a lower price

! No regular bus transport at night

! Real estate outside commercial center quite cheap ! Better services of the regular ferry service to Cebu needed

Infrastructure

! Shallow port in Baybay poses limits to the kinds of vessels that can come in

ANNEX 4

LRED: Results of the Rapid Appraisal of the Municipality of Palompon



! The municipality is dedicated towards developing a sustainable eco-system (vision and mission statement)

! There is a need to adjust vision and mission statement in order to make it clear that the LGU is not exclusively focusing on trade


! Queueing for business permits renewal is allegedly a hassle

! The LGU has increased the share of local income of the total municipal budget from 15% in 1995 to 23% in 2004 without overburdening local business people

! One-stop-shop is practically implemented in Palompon


! There are positive indications of a moderate economic growth in the area

! There are very few industrial/processing activities going on in the area

! There are active and dynamic business people in the area ! The potential for recreational tourism is not yet fully utilized/developed

! Several fishing communities have successfully ventured into boneless danggit production and marketing

! The potential of OFWs investing in business ventures locally is largely untapped

! There is a thriving eco- and educational tourism in the Tabuk Marine Park generating some income for the LGU; high demand for tourism packages

! Reportedly, there is a considerable number of active cooperatives in the local area (20+) specifically serving women; well organized umbrella organization (PACCI)

! The LGU has assisted in the development of aquaculture


Strengths Weaknesses/Points for improvement in the local area


! Considerable number of training/education providers (Northern Leyte College, Palompon Institute of Technology)

! There is no comprehensive plan of addressing the local economic problems systematically

! The PIT is successfully training seamen for the international labour market (in cooperation with Dutch partner organization)

! No systematic way of investment promotion (e.g. through promo materials, participation in outbound missions)

! There are initiatives to promote local self-employment (Pot-Pot drivers, trainings provided by PIT)

! There is no active business chamber to voice the concerns of the business community

! Strong partnership between PACCI and LGU re: economic development

! Existing veterinary services do not always cope with the demands of the local animal farmers

! Garbage collection in the market area has reportedly improved

! Some businesspeople report lack of access to finance ! collateral is a problem



! Some companies report inadequate attitudes of unskilled people

! For a town like Palompon, the local supply of skilled labour is quite good


! Remittances of OFW have improved the local economy ! Know-how of improved post-harvest techniques is lacking (e.g. drying of copra)

! Local people are peace and order - loving ! Potential for undercropping of coconut trees is by far not utilized



! Good endowment with natural resources (water, fertile land, marine resources)

! Relatively equal distribution of land – few hacienderos

! Variety and volume of fish appears to have improved as a result of strict coastal marine management

Infrastructure ! Road network in the municipality improved (connection of baranguays to road network)

! Some farm-to-market roads are not of good quality and maintenance appears not to be adequate (e.g. after landslides)

! Availability of agricultural land near town proper, at a lower cost

! Cost of real estate in Palompon town is reported to be rising

! Power connections from two different power lines ! Power: There are still, though few, brownouts

! Regular bus services to Tacloban and Ormoc ! Power prices are generally considered high, esp. regarding the extra charges demanded by LEYECO

! Communication (cellphone, fixed lines, internet) is generally considered good.

! The city administration has upgraded the town’s infrastructure (public market, shop stalls, cementation of roads within town proper).

! Existence of deep water and newly upgraded port

! Regular ferry service to Cebu

ANNEX 5

LRED: Results of the Rapid Appraisal of the Municipality of Carigara



! The mayor’s vision is towards developing sustainable income-generating activities, no “flash-in-the-pan” ventures

! Local budget depends heavily on IRA (around 92% IRA)


! So far, no LGU-initiative to develop alternative sources of income apart from increasing taxes

! Local taxes are considered affordable by business community

! One-stop-shop is not fully implemented in Carigara


! There are positive indications of a moderate economic growth in the area (bakeshop, pawnshops, hardware and drug store, RAQ-farms, rice-mill)

! There are few industrial/processing activities going on in the area

! Local farmers produce high-quality commercial rice ! There are very few initiatives to develop the tourism industry (exception: RAQ – farm restaurant)

! Most of the rice farms are irrigated ! Reportedly, productivity in rice farming is quite low

! Carigara is well known for its delicacies outside its boundaries

! Reportedly, some of the irrigation schemes are in need of improvement and repair

! The price of copra has gone up considerably during the last years

! Many micro – business people still resort to private money lenders (easy access) instead of using the micro-finance coops.

! There is some event-driven tourism ! Some locally produced commodities face marketing problems (e.g. vegetables, pastries products)

! Blacksmithing appears to be a sunset industry


! The LGU has a very comprehensive Municipal Enterprise Development Plan (MEDP)

! Only few of the activities suggested in the MEDP were actually implemented



! There are several business associations (fish vendors, rice retailers, tricycle drivers, farmers)

! No systematic way of investment promotion (e.g. through promo materials, participation in outbound missions)

! There are active and dynamic community leaders in the area engaged in improving the local economy

! Problems of Eastern Visayas State University: Scarcity of funds, training facilities and offer of courses not conducive to demand of labour market, not sufficiently skills-oriented

! The Holy Cross College is offering high-quality education to locals and is adjusting its course structure to market demands

! There is no commercial bank in the area

! TESDA is reported to be quite responsive regarding the delivery of short technical courses in the area

! There are several micro-finance providers (cooperatives) which broadened the supply of capital at lower cost esp. for farmers and micro and women-headed businesses (e.g. Kangara Multi-Purpose Coop., Taytay sa Kauswagan, OCCI)

! Strong presence and participation of Kangara Multipurpose Coop. in improving the local economy

! There is an LGU-driven initiative to promote seaweed cultivation

! There is an initiative to promote improved techniques of vegetable production (plastic mulching)






! Skilled labour can be sourced regionally ! Potential for undercropping of coconut trees is by far not fully utilized

! Good endowment with natural resources (water, fertile land) and potential tourist attractions

! Illegal fishing is rampant reducing the marine resources and undermining the survival of the fishing communities

! Relatively equal distribution of land – few quarrels between landowners and tenants

! Soil quality is reported to have declined due to erosion and use of inorganic fertilizer esp. in uphill areas

! Illegal logging activities are harming local rice industry by reducing the capacity of the forest to store water

Infrastructure ! Road network in the municipality improved (connection of baranguays to road network); most roads are cemented

! Port is shallow and upgrading works were interrupted although funds had been secured (DPWH)

! Regular bus services to Tacloban and Ormoc ! Lately (2005), there were many power brownouts

! Communication (cellphone, fixed lines, internet) is generally considered good; cellphone coverage up to the remotest baranguay

! Power prices are generally considered high, esp. regarding the extra charges demanded by LEYECO

! The city administration has established a newslaughterhouse

! Cost of real estate in Carigara town is reported to be rising

! Cost of real estate in Baranguays of Carigara Municipality is low

! There are no adequate accommodation facilities in the local area

! The local market is in need of improvement

! Few local warehousing and cold storage facilities available

ANNEX 6

Summary Company Questionnaires : Baybay, Leyte

Part 1: Basic information on the companies interviewed 1.1 – 1.6 Basic information on companies

Sector/Sub-sector Tendency turn over

Investments during last five years

Future in-vestments

Purchase raw mate-

rial

Purchase pre-

fabricated inputs

Target markets

Abaca Pulp Increasing (new plant) local interna-tional

International: Europe

Crude Coconut Oil/Refine Coconut Oil

Increasing Expansion of capacity in-stalled

Increase ca-pacity

local local International: Europe, US

Micro fi-nance/lending (multi purpose coopera-tive)

stagnating Ventured to other eco-nomic activi-ties

local Local

Agri: Rice and corn milling, retailing, wholesaling; poultry feed distribution

Increasing Replacement of machinery

Local +

Other region - Cebu

Commercial banking Increasing Upgrading of facilities

Local

Rural banking/Micro finance

Increasing Local

Charcoal production Increasing Local,

Cebu

Construction (sub-contract-ing)/franchising- gaming business

Increasing Upgrad-ing/expansion of premises

Additional PCs Local

Restaurant Increasing Upgrad-ing/expansion of premises

Venture into internet cafe

local

Copra buying/trading Increasing Expansion of capacity in-stalled

Venture into franchising (fast food industry)

local Local, Reg 8, other regions in Visaya

Fishing industry falling Venture into backyard fishpond busi-ness:

local

Summary Company Questionnaires Baybay 1

1.7 Number of permanently employed staff1

Six years ago Three years ago Actual number

95 16 14 3 9 9 9 5 14 7 12 10 20 45 Total 9 47 212 Growth rate Part 2: Information on business environment and major constraints 2.1 How do you assess the following items with regard to your company?

Item Average assessment by interviewees; 5 = excellent, 4 = good, 3 = fair, 2 = not so good, 1 = negative (Average Assessment/no. of interview-ees/percentage)

2.1.1 Access to supplies 4.1 66% - good 10%- excellent 10%- fair

2.1.2 Consumer demand 5.0 60%- excellent 40%- good S

ME

s

2.1.3 Quality of products 4.5 63%- excellent 25%-good 12%-fair

1 Only those companies which had already existed in 1998 are included here.


2.1 How do you assess the following items with regard to your company? Item Average assessment by interviewees;

5 = excellent, 4 = good, 3 = fair, 2 = not so good, 1 = negative (Average Assessment/no. of interview-ees/percentage)

Comments on supply situation:

! Abaca pulp: supply sometimes not possible to cater big volume of demand; de-pends on the consumer demand as well (there are many different grades in abaca), supply is versatile in nature; Good supply of water is a big consideration in setting up a plant in Baybay

! Abaca: (LSU) production is good; able to address the problem on the disease af-fecting the supply of abaca

! Equipment use in the plant are mostly from other countries ! Coconut oil/refine oil producer: supply is good; the location of the plant in Baybay

is an advantage (Leyte-being one of the biggest producer of coconut) ! Copra trading : supply is very good in Leyte but competition among buyers has

increased ! Good supply of water (for plants operating in Baybay) ! Charcoal production: supply is good, competition among buyers is increasing ! Micro-finance: increasing number of micro finance players in Baybay ! Agri/Rice retailing: Importation of rice in the country has affected the price of lo-

cal price; over supply resulted to low prices of rice; also rice supply from neighbouring towns; Importation of rice in the Phils is not the solution to over-come rice shortage in the Phils

! Irrigation is the no.1 problem for farmers in Baybay ! Fishing industry: fish is getting scarce in Baybay; few banca for operations is

also affecting the supply of fish ! Restaurant/Catering: access to supply is good

Comments on demand situation:

! Rice retailing: not as profitable as before due to importation of rice from Thailand ! Presence of many micro finance players (rural banks in particular) in Baybay af-

fected the demand for services of multi purpose cooperatives ! Increasing demand for charcoal in Baybay ! Gaming business: demand is increasing ! Charcoal: there is a growing demand in Baybay ! Copra trading: demand is okay but there is a growing competition; sales price of

copra is quite low though due to pal oil competition ! Virgin coconut oil has a big potential ! Crude/Refine oil: demand is excellent, big potential for international market ! Rice retailing: buyers are from neighbouring towns, Cebu- is the biggest market;

low price of rice from Iloilo with good quality is also affecting the demand for local rice

! Abaca: demand is good, but developing the market/customer is time consuming; end product depends on the consumer demand as there are many grades of abaca; abaca’s demand is high as it is being used for tea bags in UK

! Demand for abaca-fibre is high in Europe; replacement for fibre glass (automak-ing industry- Europe

! Commercial Bank: there is an increasing number of commercial banks in Baybay but the number of customer is likewise increasing

! Rural bank (micro finance) : demand for micro finance in Baybay is excellent




Comments on quality of products: ! Multi purpose cooperative: services are affected by the high rate of delinquency,

weak financial management; “loan shopping” – overburdened with loans ! Rice retailing: good quality but prices of competitors from outside Baybay is af-

fecting the demand; imported rice from Thailand with the same good quality of rice produce in Baybay is affecting the sale

! Commercial bank: old equipment being used in the operations is affecting the quality of service provided to clients; upgrading of equipment is needed for better quality of service

! Rural bank: extended services to clients helps increase the demand for micro fi-nance

! Abaca Pulp: difficult to assess quality because the company has started only re-cently.

! Copra/Crude/Refine Oil: quality is excellent; quality is meeting its standards ! Gaming business: installation of “up to date” equipment is essential to meet

standards

2.1.4 Transport infrastructure 4.3 62%- good 38%- excellent

2.1.5 Cost and reliability of power supplies

4.0 62%- good 10%- excellent 25%- fair

2.1.6 Availability and cost of real es-tate

3.3 30%- good 20%- fair 10%-not so good In

frast

ruct

ure

2.1.7 Cost and reliability of communi-cation

4.4 62%- good 38%- excellent

Comments on transport infrastructure: ! Transport infrastructure has improved since the last 2-3 years: roads are

generally good; Baybay-Ormoc-improved 6 years ago ! Port is okay but can be improved for bigger vessels to enter the port; only

one boat going to Cebu; Port is shallow and can be improved ! Limited number of trucks available for transferring goods ! Transport in Baybay meets standards, however transport to Tacloban needs

repair ! Land travel to other LGUs after 7pm is difficult (no more public transport after

5 or 6 pm) ! It will be excellent to have an airport in Ormoc (which is close to Baybay), so

people don’t have to go to Cebu via Supercat to fly to Manila or elsewhere ! Having own ship to transfer goods/products is an advantage, but having a

better port will be excellent ! Port of Baybay is generally good because it is not congested ! Farm to market roads are generally good; only 2-3 barangays need to be

completely cemented and be connected ! Market facilities have improved but resulted to higher rental fees




Comments on electricity: ! No long brownouts but the cost is high due to additional charges from

LEYECO ! Linking/direct connection to NAPOCOR is a big advantage, cheaper power

costs during hot peak hours (“time of use” system) and better reliability of power supply

! Power rates are high due to additional charges ! Reliability of power supplies is excellent except the cost which are too high ! Share of power costs in the total operations cost is low ! Power supply has improved in the last 3 years

Comments on real estate: ! Acquiring property/getting real estate is not a big problem, with available

land at low cost close to downtown ! Cost of real estate in the downtown Baybay is getting higher ! Copra trading & Oil Mill: LGU facilitates well (assist possible investors) the

acquisition of estate in the commercial area ! Abaca Pulp: Took couple of years of negotiation but its alright ! Gaming business( franchising): Not so easy to find location meeting

PAGCOR’s requirements ! LGU assists well in the acquisition of real estate as the municipality believes

its one way of promoting business friendly environment Comments on communication:

! Communication system is very good ! Prices for communication went down due to competition among the two tele-

communication companies ! Access to mobile and landline services are quite good, except for some ar-

eas that still have no mobile and landline coverage

Comments on other

2.1.8 Cost and quality of unskilled labour

4.3 60%- good 30%-excellent 10%-fair

Hum

an R

esou

.

2.1.9 Cost and quality of skilled labour 3.9 25%- excellent 50%-good 10%-fair 10%-not so good




Comments on labour:

! Abaca Pulp: 60% in the production are from Baybay; although not so easy to get skilled labour

! People have some attitude problems towards work (tend to be lazy and want fast cash); but also depends on the manager as to how he/she motivates his/her people

! Low cost of labour, easy to train ! Easy to get unskilled labour; though skilled labour for machine operation are

outsourced ! Skilled workers are mostly from Baybay ! Easy to deal with Baybay staff, and are easy to train ! Quality of skilled labour is good ! Not so easy to get well trained people ! Easily trainable but hope to help the unemployed ! Some have migrated to other area: Bohol, Camotes Island for employment

2.1.10 Access to training institutions 3.4 80%- fair 10%- not so good

2.1.11 Access to technical/ scientific support institutions

(less than 3 re-sponses; average:

n.a)

(less than 3 re-sponses; rating: n.a)

2.1.12 Access to consulting services (less than 3 re-sponses; average:

n.a)

less than 3 responses; rating: n.a)

2.1.13 Access to finance 3.2 70%-fair 10%-good

BD

S

2.1.14 Performance of business asso-ciations

2.4 20%-good 20%- fair 40%- not so good 20%-negative

Comments on training institutions ! Abaca Pulp/Oil Mill: Trainings are mostly “in house”/ on site ! Commercial bank: Training of staff are often done in Manila or Cebu ! Leyte State University(LSU) : trainings/seminar to farmers are accommo-

dated upon request ! Access to vocational training school in Southern Leyte is okay ! Training are done “in house: - only those with basic technical knowledge

on operations ! Training done outside Baybay

Comments on support institutions: ! LSU- is mandated to deal directly with LGUs, institutions not directly with

the farmers Comments on consulting services:

! Abaca Pulp: with good excellent partnership with foreign/int’l consultants ! Visayan Oil Mill: no consultants involved in the operations of the plant ! Gaming business: Consultants from Manila (PAGCOR)




Comments on finance: ! Difficulties in getting capital because of the required collateral (4x) ! Commercial: It is difficult due to requirements; high interest ! Land bank: operating like a commercial bank; high interest also ! Some entrepreneurs/businessmen are afraid to avail of commercial loans due to

high interest ! Micro finance: increasing number of micro finance players; increase in number of

people availing loans (lower interest than in commercial banks) ! Many cooperatives in the area ! Some who are into micro finance services have weak financial management ! Access to capital is not relatively easy

Comments on business associations:

! No active business chambers/associations in the area ! JAYCEES- organized group but more on civic work ! Chinese business association- have strong cooperation among themselves

Comments –other (performance of city government, officials): ! LGU is very supportive and cooperative with business sector ! Business climate is good; with initiatives in improving the business licensing

process ! Mayor is supportive of Cooperatives ! LGU has maintained a good working relationship with LSU ! Not heard of rampant issue on “bribery”/under the table form of corruption ! LGU has some initiatives in attracting investors ! There is a cooperation between the Mayor and its SB Members


ANNEX 7

Summary Company Questionnaires : Palompon, Leyte




Future in-vestments

Purchase raw mate-

rial

Purchase pre-

fabricated inputs

Target markets

Microfinance/lending

(multi purpose co-operative)

Increasing Expansion/ ventured into different eco-nomic activi-ties: transpor-tation, hotel business, school, etc

Broaden scope of lending prod-ucts

Borrowers mostly local

Local

Education in IT field Stagnating Procurement of computers

Add/offer other courses: elec-tri-cal/automobile

n.a Local; other areas in the Region

Education: maritime, IT

Falling

(in terms of enrolees)

Origin of students: local, na-tional

Local; National- up to Mindanao

Electronics

(retailing, trading)

Increasing Additional computers; minor renova-tion of prem-ises

Venture into internet café + additional store for elec-tronics

Products from Cebu

Local, Isabel, etc

“Danggit”/Dried fish production & market-ing

Increasing Equipment for drying fish (if with enough capi-tal/partnership with busi-nessman push through)

Local Local, Cebu, Manila

Multi Purpose coop-erative/lending

Increasing Ventured into various eco-nomic activi-ties: swine production, consumer store, water-melon produc-tion

Local Local

Trading

(copra, coca cola, San Miguel Prod-ucts)

Varies (de-pends)

Agricultural supplies Increasing Expand hog production

local Local+ Cebu+ Manila

International:

Summary Company Questionnaires Palompon 1

Taiwan

Trading Falling Poultry production

Cebu Local

Piggery bussiness/meat production

Falling Upgrading of premises

Restocking of animals

Cebu Local, nearby LGUs

Commercial banking Increasing Replacement of equipment

Local; other LGUs in the Region

Mobile/School Sup-plies

Increasing Renovation of area

Expansion of premises

Ormoc, Cebu, Manila

Local, nearby towns




20 25 42 n.a n.a 16 3 9 9 2 10 20 2 2 2 110 2 9 2 6 Total 24 49 219 Growth rate 79.6% 55% Part 2: Information on business environment and major constraints 2.1 How do you assess the following items with regard to your company?


2.1.1 Access to supplies 3.8 25%- excellent 25%-good 50%-fair

2.1.2 Consumer demand 4.5 25%- excellent 60%-good 15%-fair S

ME

s

2.1.3 Quality of products 4.0 10%- excellent 75%-good 10%- fair





Comments on supply situation: ! Mobile business: availability of stocks is sometimes difficult, specifically on parts ! Electronics: limited supply due to problems on working capital/limited resources ! “Danggit” production: supply is not a problem there is enough fish in Palompon,

only the working capital is the problem ! Copra trading: few coconut; not having too many fruits ! Agrivet business: there is enough supply and with easy access ! Trading: Suppliers of corn and rice are at credit, that makes it more convenient ! Piggery, cow business: Abundant supply, supply is generally good

Comments on demand situation: ! Mobile business: High demand for repair of cell phone, auto load service (big

number for OFWs) ! Electronics: Demand is generally good, but could not cope with demand due to

limited working capital ! Danngit production: very high demand since market is not limited to Palompon

but to Cebu, Manila and other areas ! Commercial bank: increase in number of depositors ; many OFWs in Palompon;

influx of dollar remittances, growing economy resulted to increase in number of clients

! Maritime education/courses: High demand but limited students can be accepted; Dutch company arrangement

! Agri supplies: Demand is not so good, affected by the national financial crisis ! Trading (copra, coke products, San Miguel products): Demand for San Miguel

products is good; Copra: is just okay but not excellent ! Education (technology): Demand is not that good, need to improve facilities and

better marketing strategy for the school to increase number of enrolees ! Multi-purpose cooperative: demand for micro finance lending is generally good in

Palompon and in other areas

Comments on quality of products: ! Commercial bank: lending/deposits-products are basically developed by the Re-

gional/national office; but upgrading facilities is needed for better quality of ser-vice

! Maritime education: quality of courses offered & graduates meets standards; ad-vantage of having a Dutch company as a partner

! Trading: quality meets standards ! Agri supplies: Quality is good ! Trading (copra): Good quality of copra in palompon ! Danggit production: quality of fish in Palompon is good, meets standards of cus-

tomers ! Electronics: Quality of goods is good, mostly from Manila ! Technology college: Facilities need to be improved, for better quality of service ! PACCI: quality of service is good; operates like a commercial bank (with depos-

its) ! Mobile business/Schools supplies: Quality is good, as products are mostly from

Cebu, Manila, Ormoc City




2.1.4 Transport infrastructure 3.5 60%- good 25%- fair 10%- not so good


4.0 10%- excellent 75%-good 10%-fair 5%- not so good


3.5 10%-excellent 25%-good 50%-fair

Infra

stru

ctur

e


4.7 55%- excellent 40%-good 5%- fair

Comments on transport infrastructure: ! Port: deep water and newly upgraded ! Compared to years ago, roads have already been improved ! Farm to market road: most of the barangays are already connected ! Regular bus services to Tacloban and Ormoc ! Regular ferry service to Cebu ! Newly upgraded port ! Roads in barangays still need improvement ! Road to Plaridel is good ! Road to Matag-ob needs improvement ! Maintenance of roads is an issue ! Public market and stalls have improved

Comments on electricity: ! Power rates are high due to additional charges ! Reliability of power supplies is excellent except the cost which are too high ! Share of power costs in the total operations cost is low ! Power supply has improved in the last 3 years ! Power connections from two different power lines ! Brownouts: manageable level ! Power cost is high; therefore not using aircon for operations (cost cutting

measures implemented) ! There were recent power outages in Palompon

Comments on real estate: ! Acquiring property/getting real estate is not a big problem, with available

land at low cost close to downtown ! Cost of real estate in the downtown Palompon is increasing ! 5 kms away from town proper- still high due to many OFWs buying land ! Costs: P500- 1000/hectare ! There are available estate but cost is becoming very expensive ! Obtaining residential land is becoming more difficult




Comments on communication: ! Communication system is excellent ! Access to mobile and landline services are quite good, except for some ar-

eas that still have no mobile coverage ! Communication is excellent; all Barangay Captains have mobile phones ! Mobile business: excellent signal, and makes auto load/e-load business

profitable ! Communication is not a problem in Palompon; easy access within the Prov-

ince and can even call overseas

Comments on other


4.3 40%- excellent 40%-good 20%-fair

Hum

an R

e-so

u.

2.1.9 Cost and quality of skilled labour 4.0 10%- excellent 80%-good 10%-fair

Comments on labour: ! Unskilled labour are in abundance and cheap ! Enough skilled/ with available skilled workers ! Attitude is good and can be easily trained ! Given the limited industry; some people tend to go to other places for em-

ployment ! Mobile repair services: Not difficult to find technical people, but finding hon-

est ones is not easy ! Many graduates from Technology School; however not easily get hired ! Danggit production: fishermen wants fast cash; and tend to be lazy some-

times ! Most unskilled labour are easy to train ! Skilled labour is not a problem in Palompon ! A lot of seamen in Palompon; mostly of those who own nice houses are

OFWs ! People from Palompon are hardworking and easy to train

2.1.10 Access to training institutions 4.0 80%- good 10%- fair


- -

2.1.12 Access to consulting services - -

2.1.13 Access to finance 3.5 40%-good 30%- fair

BD

S


1.2 17%- not so good 83%- negative




Comments on training institutions ! Palompon Institute is successfully training seamen for the international

market ! TESDA is active and supportive of SMEs in Palompon ! Commercial bank: trainings are done usually in Tacloban or Manila/Cebu ! Good access to training: (private and TESDA) ! Trainings at PIT prove to be helpful in business/for employment ! Trainings are not done by government agencies

Comments on support institutions/organizations: ! PACCI:very active and cooperates with LGU in improving the local econ-

omy Comments on consulting services:

! Maritime education: partnership with dutch company/consultants ! No need of consultants

Comments on finance: ! Considerable number of active cooperatives; increasing number of micro finance

players ! Access to loans: problem is the collateral requirement ! Afraid to take risk and avail of bank loans: high interest and many requirements ! Difficulties in getting capital because of the required collateral (4x) ! Commercial: It is difficult due to requirements; high interest ! Access to capital is not relatively easy ! Interest rate is okay; except the requirements

Comments on business associations: ! Fil- Chinese business association is not so active nowadays ! No active business associations/chambers in the area

Comments –other (performance of city government, officials): ! LGU has done considerable improvements: infrastructure in the past ! Mayor is supportive of Cooperatives ! Not heard of rampant issue on “bribery”/under the table form of corruption ! LGU has actively implemented sustainable eco-system; but still growing con-

cerns from fishermen ! The implementation of “One Stop Shop” can still be improved ! LGU assists well those who are starting business in the town proper/stalls


ANNEX 8

Summary Company Questionnaires : Carigara, Leyte




Future in-vestments

Purchase raw mate-

rial

Purchase pre-

fabricated inputs

Target markets

Micro-finance/multi purpose cooperative

Increasing Extension of site/hall

Source of depos-its/capital: local

Local

Rice retailing Stagnating - - - - Local

Restaurant/Catering business

Increasing Upgrading of premises

- Local - Local

Poultry business Increasing Upgrading of premises

- Local Local

Knife making indus-try/Blacksmith

Stagnating - - Local; national

Local

Tricycle business Increasing (slowly)

Replacement of units

- Local

Commercial busi-ness: pharmacy, photocopy center; business center

Depends: sometimes, increasing, sometimes fluctuating

Renova-tion/Extension of premises

Replacement of machinery. Acquisition of latest photo-copier

Local; Region 8

Local, nearby towns

Rice Milling Increasing Drier Local Local

Delicacies Increasing Big Oven for candy produc-tion

Processing area

Local Local, national

Fish selling Stagnating Extension of area

Local Local; national

Retailing business Increasing Machine (cashiers)

- Local, Reg 8

Local; nearby towns

Education: Courses: Fisheries

- Local; other areas in Region 8

Education: Man-agement, IT Field

Increasing Upgrading of premises

Expansion of premises; additional hall

Local, Reg 8

Local; Reg 8

Cooperative/micro lending(People’s org)

Stagnating - - Local

Summary Company Questionnaires Carigara 1



10 11 1 2 2 23 23 7 48 60 20 25 10 18 3 4 8 9 3 Total 73 43 171 Growth rate -41% 60%

Part 2: Information on business environment and major constraints 2.1 How do you assess the following items with regard to your company?


2.1.1 Access to supplies 4.0 88%- good 12%-fair

2.1.2 Consumer demand 3.5 30%-excellent 55%-good 10%-fair S

ME

s

2.1.3 Quality of products 4.1 10%- excellent 55%-good 30%-fair

Comments on supply situation: ! Delicacies:Supply of carabao milk is sometimes short ! Grocery store: Supply comes mainly from Tacloban; with regular salesmen offer-

ing products ! Commercial /business center: Equipment are mainly from Tacloban ! Poultry: there is an oversupply sometimes ! Knife making/Blacksmith: materials we get locally;sometimes from manila ! Supply of water in Carigara is excellent





Comments on demand situation: ! Delicacies: very high demand ! Rice milling: no problem in demand; working capital is the problem for rice farm-

ers ! Commercial/business center : there is a local demand for other services like col-

oured photocopying, digital photos, etc ! Restaurant/Meat/Poultry: good demand; most lucrative business ! Tricycle Drivers association: there is a good demand; but fuel prices are increas-

ing ! Microfinance: demand is very high; low delinquency rate ! Eastern Visayas University: no. of enrolees have decreased ! Rice: there is an excellent demand for local rice ! Knife making/blacksmith: there is a demand from nearby LGUs

Comments on quality of products:

! Delicacies: quality is good; meeting standards ! Rice milling: quality of rice in Carigara is good ! Microfinance/Multi Purpose Coop: service to members is good ! Restaurant business: quality of our service is good ! Local farmers produce high quality of rice ! Holy Cross College: we offer high quality education to meet market demand; in-

creasing number of enrolees from local and nearby LGUs

2.1.4 Transport infrastructure 4.0 100%- good


3.0 50%- good 25%-fair 25%- not so good


4.1 30%-excellent 50%-good 15%- fair In

frast

ruct

ure


4.4 40%- excellent 60%-good

Comments on transport infrastructure: ! Local market should be improved ! Port can still be improved ! Roads: 2nd lane is missing ! Port is shallow; limited vessels can enter ! Roads have improved ! Regular bus services to Tacloban and Ormoc City ! Most roads are cemented ! Roads are generally good in Carigara ! Poor market facilities; can still be improved ! Roads to barangays are generally good




Comments on electricity: ! Power rates are high due to additional charges ! There were many brownouts recently ! Production depend on good supply of power; recent brownouts are becom-

ing disturbing ! Brownouts are becoming more frequent compared to the last 2 months ! 20% of operational cost goes to power & electricity ! Additional charges are burden to users; higher cost compared to Cebu and

Manila

Comments on real estate: ! Acquisition and access to estate is not a problem in Carigara; relatively

cheap outside Carigara proper ! Cost of real estate in barangays is low ! Cost of estate in downtown Carigara is increasing

Comments on communication: ! Communication system is excellent ! Access to mobile and landline services is good ! Communication is not a problem in Carigara; easy access within the Prov-

ince and can even call overseas ! Getting a good signal in most places in Carigara ! With 2 towers of 2 mobile giant service providers – good signal

Comments on other


4.4 40%- excellent 60%- good

Hum

an R

e-so

u.

2.1.9 Cost and quality of skilled labour 4.2 25%- excellent 60%-good 15%- fair

Comments on labour: ! Unskilled labour are available; not a problem in Carigara ! Unskilled labour are cheap ! Enough skilled/ with available skilled workers ! Attitude is good and can be easily trained ! Skilled labour are available ! People of Carigara has good attitude towards work ! Fishermen need training to upgrade their skills

2.1.10 Access to training institutions 4.3 60%-good 40%-fair


Less than 3 responses n.a

BD

S

2.1.12 Access to consulting services Less than 3 responses n.a




2.1.13 Access to finance 3.2 10% excellent 45%- good 25%- fair 20%- not so good


Less than 3 responses n.a

Comments on training institutions ! TESDA has been actively providing trainings/technical courses ! EVSU: Limited facilities; latest technology ! Funds is also a problem for operations of training institutions

Comments on support institutions/organizations: ! Problem in Carigara is school of Fisheries; no practical learning opportuni-

ties Comments on finance:

! Many active cooperatives in the area ! No commercial bank in the area ! Cooperatives are active and responsive to farmers’ needs ! Working capital is a problem ! Many people tend to get shark loan; which is high interest but fast cash ! Access to finance is not easy, do not have enough capital

Comments on business associations: ! Tricycle drivers and fish vendors associations are active in Carigara ! Farmers association is quite active in Carigara

Comments –other (performance of city government, officials): ! The new mayor is supportive of the cooperatives ! Focus of present administration is not into infrastructure ! Not heard of any issue on bribery ! New mayor, early to assess the performance ! Local taxes are affordable; but have increased this year ! Implementation of “One Stop Shop” is not fully implemented but processing of

business license is only 2 days if with complete requirements


ANNEX 9

Plan of LRED – activities in Baybay: Documentation of group 1

Fields of intervention

Steps for implementation

Who? When?

1. Establish one-stop-shop

Mayor/VGV By Feb./Mar. 2005

2. Establish LGU – Office for Investment Promotion


3. Legislate investment for SMEs

VGV By Feb./Mar. 2005

4. Identify/define investment areas with proposals for every area

Group/VGV Mar. To June 2005

5. Update brochure Baybay Office for Investment Promotion

June to Sep. 2005

Address investment promotion more systematically

6. Make a business directory

Baybay Office for Investment Promotion

June to Sep. 2005

1. Organize Ad-hoc Tourism Committee (transport, food, entertainment, hotel)


2. Identify tourist areas (historial, mountains, sports, island tour, ecopark) and consult with concerned agencies

Tourism Committee Mar. to May 2005

3. Develop tour packages Tourism Committee May to July 2005

4. Organize travel agencies

Tourism Committee July to Sep. 2005

5. Promote packages Tourism Committee July to Sep. 2005

Initiate the development of local tourism

6. Train tour guides (food, hotel workers, transport workers)

Tourism Committee July 2005 to Jan. 2006



Steps for implementation Who? When?

1. Make an inventory of businesses/ business establishments classified into commercial/industrial - wholesaler - retailer - support services

LCE ! MTO By Feb./Mar. 2005

2. Call for a meeting in order to organize the business community

a) Encourage active participation in order to strengthen both civic and economic program

b) Encourage them to participate in the Municipal Dev’t Council as NGO once organized

c) Contribute to the dev’t of this town on the economic growth

LCE ! MPDC By end Mar. 2005

Organize the business community

3. Institutionalize/legalize the existence of the business community (POs, NGOs)

P.O. (People Organization)

By end June 2005

1. Creation of Economic Dev’t Plan Committee to be represented by various sectors of the community & gov’t. agencies

Local Dev’t Council (LDC)

By end Apr. 2005

2. Making the development plan:

Economic Dev’t Plan Committee (EDPC)

May – Dec. 2005

a) Prepare agendy + send invitations re: meeting

b) Conduct meetings using the Rapid Appraisal as reference

Develop comprehensive economic plan

c) Prepare & finalize the Econ. Development Plan

d) Presentation of the Econ. Development Plan to the LGU/LCE for approval and funding

e) Implementation




1. Data gathering on coconut area and production

OME is lead agency. PCA Jaime Nunez c/o Elena Sidqui + Iles Cerna

Feb 1 – 8 2005

2. Assess existing producers of VCO, market and technology

PCA & RCRC, Dr. Guarte

Feb 8 – 28 2005

3. Identify the kinds of equipment/materials needed for virgin oil production and where to source them

PCA & RCRC, Dr. Guarte

Feb 8 – 28 2005

4. Provide information to the public on the usage features of virgin coconut oil

GTZ-LIP, Dr. Guarte, Roberto for funding

Feb 5 – end of yr.

5. Provide workshops/trainings to target clientel

LSU – NCRC & other multimedia material

Feb ’05 – ‘06

6. Identify linkage with funding institutions

Coco levy & financial institutions

Mar ’05 – Jan. ‘06

Provide information on the prospects of virgin coconut oil production

7. Encourage Visayan Oil Mill to venture in virgin coconut oil production

PCA with ccordination of OMA

Last qtr. of 2005

ANNEX 10

Documentation LRED – workshop Palompon, 03.02.2005, page 1

Plan of LRED – activities in Palompon: Documentation of group 1



1. Package plan for tourism MENRO, Raoul Bacalla Feb. 2005

2. Preparation of promotion materials

LGU (MENRO), PACCI April 2005

Improve employment/ income generation through tourism

3. Dissemination of information thru print & broadcast media

LGU, Public Information Officer; William Merin

July 2005 all year round

1. Collection of information on coconut diversification from various agencies (PCA – LIP – LSU)

Yoli, PACCI Feb. 2005

2. Crafting of terms of reference/project proposal on the conduct of seminar – workshop on coco diversification

Yoli, PACCI April 2005

3. Arrange with the agencies re: sem inar workshop

LGU through DA July 2005

Diversify use of coconut

4. Conduct of seminar/ workshop on coco diversification

LGU + Yoli Sep. 2005

Documentation LRED – workshop Palompon, 03.02.2005, page 2

Plan of LRED – activities in Palompon: Documentation of group 2



1. Visit to existing SMED – Councils within Leyte (look at structure, functions, members etc.)

Municipal Administrator, Councillor Jek Sanchez, MPDC R. Cartalla

Feb. 15 – 28, 2005

2. Based on visits/findings creation of SMED Palompon Council

Councillor Sanchez, Mun. Adm.

March 1 - 30

a) Enabling legislation membership/composition: - SB members (2) - Private sector (2) - NGO (2) - Academe (2) Chairman: LCE, Exe. Off.: Jerry

Councillor Sanchez, Mun. Adm.

March 10 -

b) Approval of SMED - Council Mun. Administrator (lead person) in consultation with LCE

April 1 - 15

c) Identification of investment personnel as a support group (adm. & technical)

HRMO – Head, Treasury, Assessor’s Office

April 15 - 30

3. Identify fields of investment (output group 1)

4. Conceptualize investment promotion brochure

Department Heads and employees of departments of Engineering, MENRO, MPDC

b.o. May

5. Put up a brochure on the investment potential for Palompon

MPDC + MA; Raoul Bacalla to write

b.o. June

6. Validation/editing of brochure through DTI

MPDC b.o. July

Address investment promotion

7. Dissemination of brochure Chairman Tourism Council SB

From August 2005 onwards

ANNEX 11

Plan of LRED – activities in Carigara: Documentation of group 1


Steps for implementation

Who? When?

1. Organize the producers of native delicacies

Lomen, Joel, MPDO 1st. week of April (9)

2. Make/ prepare an inventory/ listing of native delicacies in Carigara that would include the list of ingredients & life span of each

Lomen, Yaning 4th. week of April (30)

3. Request assistance from DTI/DoST for the labelling/ enhancing of life span of the native delicacies

Lomen, Betty, MPDO May 19th

4. Conduct orientation/ seminar on product packaging and product development

Joel, Betty, Lomen, MSWO

July 27th – 29th

Improving conservation/ packaging of delicacies

5. Choose which products (one or two) will be submitted to DoST for “shelf life”

Lomen, producers’ group

Sept. 16th




1. Exposure visits to the following locations:

! Samar (Basey): - fish cage - fish sanctuary - seaweed farming

! Palompon: - fish sanctuary - enforcement - alternative livelihood - mangrove protection - coral reef rehabilitation

! Bato: - seaweed farming - coral reef preservation

Dir. Ed Belas (resource person)

Hon. Baby Hon. Gil Ronnie EVSU Representative Nick (MPDO) Pablo etc.

e.o. March/ beg. April

2. Reporting to a) the group, b) the SB and c) the LCE

a) Finding/analysis (What has been done? What made them successful? Comparative analysis)

b) Recommendations

Hon. Baby April 15 - 30

Exchange of experiences in coastal marine management

3. Decision making: necessity, beneficiality and practicality

LCE/SB e.o. June

1. Info/data gathering/ compilation

a) Profile of Carigara and neighbouring towns

b) Compile the no. and type of financial institutions present

MPDO e.o. February

2. Make a list of banking institutions

a) Landbank b) Union Bank c) Other commercial banks

MPDO Beg. March

Negotiate with commercial (universal) banks to locate in Carigara

3. Conduct presentation to selected banks

LCE Beg. April




1. Purchase organically tested fertilizer (gathering of info on tested fertilizer

MAO, Mr. Romy E. March

2. Identification of pilot baranguay

MAO March/April

3. Conduct briefing/ consultation meeting with farmer leaders (suppliers)

Kangara Mulitpurpose Coop. (KMPC), Ms. Sarah

April

4. Establish techno demo farm

MAO May

5. Monitoring and evaluation of results

MAO & KMPC June – Sept.

Promote use of organic fertilizer in rice farming

6. Info dissemination of results on techno demo farm:

a) Production of info materials (simple literature) b) Consultation on specific issues re: organic fertilizer

MAO Oct. – Nov.

1. Identify alternative use of coconut:

Expls: Virgin coconut oil, coco shell, wine, milk, vinegar, broom, activated carbon, charcoal bricks, coir

MAO with PCA (Thelma Remedio)

March

2. Link with other government agencies for technology

PCA (Thelma Remedio)

April

3. Participate in trade fairs KMPC (Sarah C.) June to October

4. Organize trade fairs in Carigara

SB member Gil Lloren June to July

Promote alternative use of coconut

5. Link with Carigara Livelihood Center to promote coco products

KMPC (Sarah C.) Ongoing

ANNEX 12

Reporting Format LRED: Visits to Municipalities

Agenda

Name(s): Location Schedule:

Objectives: ! ! ! ! ! ! Conclusions: ! ! ! ! ! ! Next steps: ! ! ! ! ! ! Other: ! ! ! ! !

Deutsche Gesellschaft fürTechnische Zusammenarbeit

(GTZ) GmbH

Department of Tradeand Industry

Technical Education andSkills Development

Authority

GFA Management

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Training Services

Business and Financial Services

Martina Vahlhaus, Program Manager

Christian Widmann4th Floor, TESDA Central Office, East Service Road, Taguig, Metro Manila

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10th Floor, German Development Center, PDCP Bank Centre Building,V.A. Rufino corner L.P. Leviste Streets, Salcedo Village, Makati City+63 2 8123165 (local 46)SMEDSEP c/o GTZ-Office Manila, P.O. Box 2218 MCPO Makati City, Philippines

+63 2 8938297, 8405035, 8179095 (fax)

Markus Ehmann, Business Development ServicesHarald Neimeier, Financial Services

38 Acacia Street, Lahug, Cebu City, 6000+63 32 4122256, 2344494 (telefax)

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[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

local and regional economic development in leyte province

Technology

economic action plans

lred action plan

economic potential

german development center

lred initiative

municipalities of baybay

development coordinator

lgu of baybay