KRISTINE B.

CABARDO
Masters in Public Administration
Cebu Institute of Technology University

MPA 614 – Rural Planning and Development (w/ Rural Community Development)
Second Semester, 2016-2017

MIDTERM EXAM

1. What is your understanding of the concept of rural planning and development? And
what is your own concept of Rural Planning and Development. Explain.

In an immediate look Rural Planning and Development is simply one of the key factors that a
society must take a look into when considering a holistic growth in a community or that of the
whole society per se. This field of study and practice has been going on for quite some time
since the idea was coined. This practice though already have had much of its boom and bust,
and sadly the failures of this field are all at the expense of the people.
Rural Planning and Development has different approaches and definitions; however there are
mainstream approaches as to the following;
 Development as a Economic Growth
 Development as modernization
 Development as world structural change 
 Development as focusing on poverty
In my understanding, Rural Planning and Development is a basic part of creating a just society
for everyone especially that of the poor and marginalized sector. As to that regards then, Rural
Planning and Development should be prioritize by the state for its people. Though it is
inevitable that Rural Planning and Development brings transitions and progressions in the lives
of the people, this must take into account the possible points of acceptance and rejections by
the directly concerned or affected ones. Thus, Rural Planning and Development must be rooted
by the question as to who shall be the main beneficiaries of these changes. Rural Planning and
development therefore, whether it as an effort by the state (because it is its prime duty) or a
collaborative work by non-government organizations and the people is and must always be for
the greater benefit of the people in the communities ; that is to say that all changes brought by
any external efforts in the name of rural planning and development must always take into
consideration the basic rights and sovereignty of the people that for some known reason the
mainstream approach is failing to do so.

2. Describe the rural planning and development in the Philippines. As a concern graduate
school student outline your recommendations/strategies on how to address the
problem of Rural Poverty.

The Rural Planning and Development in the Philippines has been in the long run already, yet we
still have one of the highest poverty incident in the Pacific. As per IBON Foundation research
study, it appears that the poverty of the Philippines in the present is still more than 50% of the
population when based on a minimum living income. The Rural planning and development in
the Philippines is patterned with that of the mainstream which uses development in the
economic terms. Philippine Rural Planning and development as well tried to address the
prevalent poverty in the Rural areas by promoting eco-tourism and providing infrastructures
like farm to market roads, however there are lapses in terms of diagnosing the root cause of
poverty in the Rural areas. By this, I mean that they did not even address the landlessness of
the majority which would lead to the productivity of the people before the farm to market
roads shall be of use and the eco-tourism to promote subsistence economy for the
communities.
Also, Rural planning and development in the Philippines have been focused on letting in the
investments which usually extract natural resources from the rural communities for the
capitalists. It is even ironic that the Rural areas that has much of the resources are the ones
who have the highest poverty rate in the country (CARAGA and ARMM Region).
I have a recommendation that is mostly patterned with that of the National Democrats in the
Philippines ;

 Genuine agrarian reform through land distribution and sufficient aid for the farmers to
increase their production and thus empowering them to be capacitated for a purchasing
power in the market.
 Use our natural resources for our consumption and building of the national industries
for the national economy and not barely as supplier of the raw materials. National Steel
Power Corporation in Iligan City Northern Mindanao for example and all other mining
industries all over the country.
 Stop the neoliberal policies that govern our economy, we must be able to build the
capacity of our country to compete before we enter the free trade economy in a global
scale which only aggravates the export oriented and import oriented economy of the
 nation. Thus, neoliberal policies does not only affect the economy alone but also the
system of our education and all other basic social services for the people.
With the aforementioned steps, I think that the poverty shall be eliminated. However, people
must take note that the eradication of poverty comes along with the collective effort of the
people. People must work for these to be achieved in a collective and organized manner and
shall not be relied with the leaders only. Perhaps, the issue of poverty is not an isolated case,
Rural poverty along with other ills in the Philippine society is a systemic problem in a social
order that has social classes. So to speak, poverty cannot be reduced let alone eradicated so
long as the society is ruled by the few landlords and elites while the majority of its people are
continuously oppressed and exploited in every way possible. As the great Philosopher Karl Marx
once said, “For so many Philosophers have interpreted the world, the point is to change it”;
thus it would take only a revolution to change the current social order and build a new classless
society.

3. If you are the President-elect of the country, what priorities would you include in your
Rural Development Plan?

If I am the President elect in the country, my top priority in my Rural Development Plan should
be the distribution of land into the peasants and building of the national industries that this
country needs. Also, I will give a primary concern with the insurgencies waged in the
countryside against this republic which may also affect the developmental efforts to be brought
in the far flung communities; probably settle the dispute by creating a comprehensive solution
to end up the conflicts instead of trying to crush down their movement through militarization
which would end up having collateral damages and that would be the lives of the people
(Communist rebels, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, etc.)
Socially and culturally, I would also include the respect of the Indigenous Peoples’ Right to self-
determination who composes 10% of the country’s population. This would mean that
development plans should be deep-seated with their cultural, social and religious views so not
to create conflict and avoid rejections of the development interventions in their communities.
Also, my administration shall have an advocacy in information dissemination in regards to the
development processes and plans in the grassroots. I would encourage then the educational
system to be that of a nationalist – which would mean that it would educate the people to have
a heart to stand for the nation and avoid apathy ; secondly we shall have a scientific education
– which would mean that it would cater and encourage learnings and courses that this country
need instead of creating graduates to be cheap labors outside the country and/or even to serve
the foreign capitalists within the nation; lastly we must have a mass-oriented education – this
would mean an education for all and not for the few fortunate ones; we must build an
education where in everyone must have an equal opportunity for their self- determination and
for the benefit of our nation building.
To end up, what we really need is to build a nation of truly concerned people and not merely
spectators of the society. We have had enough of the apolitical intellectuals, what we need are
people ready to serve and stand for what is just and right for the people especially for that of
the marginalized sectors.

4. What is Community Development and why do we care about it? How can you apply
community development principles in your work? What actions can you take in your
work to build on the various dimensions of community capacity? Explain your answer
briefly.

Community development is a branch of the academe and social interventions that seeks to
alleviate the lives of the people and/ or to improve the quality of life. Basically, this realm
includes poverty mitigation and development efforts be it in a Rural of an Urban community. As
a student of Public Administration it is of our primary concern to help in building a better
community to live in. In fact caring for community development is not a goodwill or a choice
but rather a task of anyone who wishes to genuinely “serve the people”.
Currently as a student what I can do is help in information dissemination with other people in
understanding that community development shall be based on the needs of the people and not
that of the dictate of any foreign funder or foreign aids. In terms of community capacity, I
would like to be involved in community organizing as I was once. Perhaps, there is no greater
power that would capacitate a community other than organizing them with proper guidance in
terms of understanding their situations and letting them know that the answer to their
misfortune does not fall upon any else’s hands or prayers and best wishes but it is with their
collective effort to stand and fight for what is rightfully theirs.