Philippine Contemporary

Social Issues

Poverty

Submitted by:
Ivan Eleazar Sarangsang
Janeth Cuajao

June 2015
What is poverty and its nature?

Poverty is

The causes of Poverty

• Income Distribution

• Lack of Quality Education

• Lack of Jobs

• Corruption

• Natural Calamities

• Overpopulation

The effects of Poverty

• Malnutrition

• Poor Economic Growth

• Child labor

• Bad living conditions

• Crime/ Theft

Government efforts

People are great assets of our country, so they must be protected and make them feel
important as they are the government. The work at hand is urgent: to reduce poverty incidence
to 16.6 percent by 2015 and meet key Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly in
basic education and healthcare.

As a testament to the Aquino Administration’s bias for the poor, the 2012 National Budget
infuses the largest sector allocation—P567.9 billion or 31 percent of total—into the social
services sector. This is also higher than the previous year’s budget by P46.5 billion or 8.91
percent. This will fund programs, activities and projects that were designed to have a direct,
immediate and substantial impact in empowering the poor.

The government projects are as follows;

The people are our country’s greatest resource. A healthy, educated and energized
citizenry raises the country’s chances for sustainable development and prosperity. The work at
hand is urgent: to reduce poverty incidence to 16.6 percent by 2015 and meet key Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), particularly in basic education and healthcare.
The Aquino Administration’s strategy to fighting poverty is to empower the poor and the
marginalized segments of society. This means providing a “life vest” to those currently
drowning in extreme poverty through social protection interventions. At the same time,
fighting poverty also means investing in people’s capacity to participate meaningfully in the
economy, access gainful livelihood and improve the quality of their lives.
As a testament to the Aquino Administration’s bias for the poor, the 2012 National Budget
infuses the largest sector allocation—P567.9 billion or 31 percent of total—into the social
services sector. This is also higher than the previous year’s budget by P46.5 billion or 8.91
percent. This will fund programs, activities and projects that were designed to have a direct,
immediate and substantial impact in empowering the poor.

Social Protection and Welfare

In light of the President’s commitment to reduce poverty across the country, budgetary
allocations for the government’s social protection programs will continue to increase, with the
total allocation for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) up by 47.9
percent to P48.9 billion in 2012.

Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)

Most of the DSWD’s budget, amounting to P39.4 billion, will support the Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), to cover an estimated 3 million indigent household-
beneficiaries, from 2.3 million households in 2011. The Aquino Administration aims to enrol all
4.3 million indigent households into the program by 2016.
 Under the 4Ps, indigent households receive a conditional cash transfer (CCT) of as much
as P1,400 per month, on condition that:

KALAHI-CIDSS: KKB

The Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social

Services (KALAHI-CIDSS): Kapangyarihan at Kalayaan sa Barangay (KKB) is a top-to-bottom,
people-powered approach to development. This foreign-assisted project has a P1.3-billion
budget for 2012, which will be used to provide technical assistance and funding to 220
municipalities covering 3,404 barangays.
KALAHI-CIDSS-KKB employs a community-based approach to empower communities through
their participation in local governance, especially in the design and implementation of poverty
reduction activities. The program provides funding support and technical assistance to various
local government units based on community prioritization of menu projects, such as potable
water systems, foot paths, bridges, roads, health facilities, day-care centers and classrooms.

Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens

To address the needs of poor senior citizens, the 2012 Budget provides P1.2 billion for
their social pension, in line with the Expanded Senior Citizen’s Act of 2010 (Republic Act No.
9994). With this budget, 198,370 indigent senior citizens aged 75 and above will be provided
with a monthly social pension of P500.

Supplemental Feeding Program

To address hunger and malnutrition among poor children, the 2012 Budget provides
P2.9 billion for the Supplemental Feeding Program. Hot meals will be served five days a week
for a period of six months for an estimated 1.6 million children enrolled in daycare, as well as
out-of-school children aged 6 months to 5 years. The children will be weighed at the start of the
feeding program and then monthly in order to monitor improvements in their nutrition.
Education

The 2012 Budget reflects President Aquino’s commitment to provide the highest
budgetary priority for education, as it is his government’s central strategy for investing in the
people and building national competitiveness. With this, the subsector’s total budget increased
by 14 percent to P308.9 billion in 2012. In particular, the DepEd budget gets a 15-percent
boost—the highest in over a decade—to P238.8 billion. The unprecedented increases in the
education budget show the Aquino Administration’s drive to decisively meet the education
MDGs.
The Aquino Administration has also taken bold moves in reforming the education sector. For
one, the DepEd has begun implementing the global standard of the K to 12 (K-12) Program,
which is more suited to honing young learners. Tertiary and vocational education systems are
also being reformed to focus on developing competent human resources for priority economic
growth areas.

Notes: 1) 2011 and 2012 figures are approved appropriations, while the rest are actual
obligations. 2)The computation for 2012 includes funding for new and unfilled positions of
DepEd and State Universities and Colleges. The segregation of funds for new and unfilled
positions into the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) started in 2012.

Universal Kindergarten

As a key component of the K-12 Program, the Universal Kindergarten program formally
prepares 5 year-old children prior to entry in Grade 1. For 2012, its budget of P2.4 billion will be
used for the early childhood education of about 1.7 million children. Furthermore, the 2012
Budget will fund the creation of 3,000 teaching positions for Kindergarten (See succeeding
portion on new teaching positions).

More Teachers, More Learning Materials, Better Instruction

To improve the quality of instruction, the 2012 Budget provides P3.5 billion for the
creation of an additional 16,000 teaching and non-teaching positions: 3,000 in kindergarten and
13,000 for elementary and secondary education. Meanwhile, an additional P8.9 billion is
allocated for unfilled teaching positions. The 2012 Budget provides P2.1 billion for the
procurement of 42.9 million learning and teaching materials.

More Classrooms Complete with Furniture and Facilities

To provide students with a suitable “second home,” the government seeks to

completely address the shortage of 66,800 classrooms by 2013. With this, the 2012 Budget
provides a total of P17.4 billion to construct an estimated 40,208 classrooms (including 29,358
through PPPs, see box) and repair 3,850, as well as purchase 2.5 million seats and install 25,667
water and sanitation facilities.

Expanded GASTPE

The Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE)

remains an innovative program that decongests public schools by giving poor but qualified
students an opportunity to study in private schools. The Aquino Administration has again
expanded GASTPE by providing P6.3 billion in 2012. This will provide one million grantees from
757,806 in 2011.
 The Aquino government is also tapping a new approach in constructing school houses.
Under PPP arrangements, private contractors will be tapped by DepEd to construct the required
number of classrooms within a period of one year, and government will repay the contractors
for a period of five to seven years.

For 2012, 29,358 classrooms will be constructed through PPPs. Of the educational
facilities budget, P4 billion has been earmarked for the first-year amortization of these PPP-
constructed classrooms, and will be required for the succeeding four years. According to DepEd,
this scheme will enable government to have a “zero backlog” of classrooms by 2013.

Science Education

To sustain the development of Filipino scientists and innovators, the 2012 Budget
provides the Science Education Institute (SEI) and the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) of
the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) with a total of P2.1 billion to increase the
number of scholars in all levels. PSHS targets an increase of science high school scholars to
4,334 in 2012 from 3,527 in 2010. SEI will meanwhile support more than 10,000 science and
technology scholars in both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Scholarships in Higher Ed, Tech-Voc Learning

To ensure a steady supply of competent talent for economic growth, the Commission
and Higher Education (CHED) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
(TESDA) provides scholarships for poor but qualified students. The 2012 Budget provides CHED
with P681 million for its Student Financial Assistance Programs (STUFAPs) which are expected
to benefi t 47,330 grantees. All STUFAP slots are allotted to priority courses based on labor
market and development needs: this ensures that grantees will land a job after completion.
TESDA has a P700-million fund for its training-for-work scholarship program for more than
30,000 students. To ensure the employability of graduates, the courses off ered are based on
key employment generators identified by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

More Responsive State Universities and Colleges

The Aquino Administration believes that State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) are an
important aspect of the public education system: to provide poor yet talented students with a
chance to attain a college degree. With this, the 2012 Budget provides SUCs with a total budget
of P26.1 billion, over 10 percent more than last year’s comparable allocation.
To ensure that SUCs become responsive to economic development, the government is currently
undertaking reforms to align their course offerings with the government’s priority development
areas. Of the total SUC budget for 2012, P500 million is allocated under CHED for SUC activities
for developing human resources into priority areas for economic development: agriculture,
tourism, infrastructure development, semiconductor and electronics manufacturing, and
business process outsourcing (BPOs). The Aquino Administration is also moving towards a more
rationalized and responsive SUC system through the amalgamation of SUCs into key centers of
excellence and the institution of a performance-based mechanism for budgetary allocation,
among other interventions.

Healthcare

President Aquino believes that good governance requires the advancement and
protection of public health. After all, the failure to protect households from illness and to
alleviate the high cost of healthcare significantly contributes to poverty and inequality.
Through the 2012 Budget, the government invests P51.6 billion in the health subsector. In
particular, the DOH budget increases by 31.2 percent to P43.5 billion. To support the
President’s commitments on improving public health—and meet the country’s MDG targets to
reduce child mortality, improve maternal healthcare and combat major diseases—the DOH will
begin implementing Universal Health Care over the medium-term.
Health Insurance for Indigents

Family Health and Immunization

The 2012 Budget sets aside P2.3 billion for Family Health and Responsible Parenting

Control of Tuberculosis, Infectious Diseases

The 2012 Budget provides P1.0 billion for TB Control in 2012, particularly the Directly
Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) strategy to ensure completion of treatment. DOH
also has a P224-million budget to combat HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases.

Better, Accessible Health Facilities

The availability and accessibility of such health facilities nationwide—especially in the

far-flung areas—is critical in enhancing public health service delivery. The 2012 Budget thus
provides P5.1 billion for upgrading health facilities, particularly rural health units, barangay
health stations and district hospitals. DOH will also engage the private sector in modernizing 25
regional hospitals. The 2012 Budget provides P3 billion as funding support for PPP schemes in
the operation and maintenance of these regional hospitals
Healthcare Workers to the Barrios

Affordable Housing

To provide shelter for the poor, the government has set aside P7 billion for the housing
sector, 23 percent higher than the 2011 appropriation of P5.7 billion. In particular, the National
Housing Authority will have P5.6 billion to resettle families affected by calamities and living
along high-risk, and to support medium-rise housing and slum upgrading programs.

Agrarian Reform

The Aquino Administration is will implement the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform

Program (CARP) to alleviate poverty in the countryside by providing land to landless farmers.
For 2012, CARP will have a P9.65-billion budget for the acquisition and distribution of 240,247
hectares of land.

© 2012 Budget ng Bayan, a project of the Department of Budget and Management.

The force field analysis

A FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS

Driving Force Restraining Force

1. Sustainable economic growth 1. Lack of employment opportunities

2. Removal of discrimination against 2. Culture assortment in Philippine

activities in rural areas where the most of history
the poor reside

3. Asset redistribution, i.e. agricultural land, 3. Inequality of incomes, wealth and

natural resources, credit access to resources

4. Aggressive population management 4. Most parents don’t have the right

program knowledge about family planning and
its consequences

5. More investments in agriculture 5. Foreign countries may dominate the
agricultural sectors for their own sake

6. Foreign countries may dominate the

6. Provision of allied services, i.e. economy of the country as the
infrastructure, extension services capitalist
7. Unemployment after graduation and
7. Increasing internal efficiency - more basic unsecured future in foreign countries
education and primary health care (e.g., some ofw’s mistreated either
gained high salary but suffers from
discrimination)

8. Poor or degrades resource base

8. Better management of resources under
open access
9. Unresponsive and graft-ridden politics
9. Encourage popular participation and and bureaucracy
consultation in policy formulation and
design of projects 10. Lack of knowledge in family planning
and management
10. Lesser number of family members per
household if parents unemployed
11. Top-bottom approach of government
11. More livelihood programs projects
Recommendation

• The government should increase available resources for social services, poverty
reduction, and infrastructure. They should also maintain price stability to shield the poor
from high food prices and they should lessen corruption and develop infrastructure in
order to boost investor confidence. This will enable more money to go into the country
while the poor are being shielded from high prices. Giving more money and allowing
more money into the country will allow the poor to get more help, and through the
boost on the economy can give the jobless work.

• People should participate if it is for the sake of their development whatever the
government wanted to do to improve living.

• . We should conduct more research regarding poverty. This will enable us to learn more
about it and help people escape poverty.

• We should improve poverty targeting, monitoring and evaluation. There should also be
increased funds for data collection, processing and management. This will help us learn
more about poverty and help us prepare more for it. Studying poverty will give us a
better chance of avoiding it.

• Government projects should have a proper monitoring and evaluation and scrutinizing
all the processes from the start of project implementation and evaluation so that any
misused or dirty doings of government officials as held liable for the projects will be
traced

• Community trainings should have a proper outcome and really benefits the community
through proper and credible monitoring and evaluation.

• Government should focus on agricultural sustainability farming and together with the
community, resources should be protected.