Chapter 14

The government adopts a four-pronged approach to balancing the development of regions across the country. Urban centers outside of Metro Manila shall be developed. Metro Manila shall also be decongested by attracting communities towards Subic-Clark, and Calabarzon. To facilitate balanced regional development, capacity of local government units (LGUs) in attracting local and foreign investors will be enhanced. Capacity-building programs will be designed to enable them to practice greater fiscal discipline and improve revenue collections. These will also be geared toward enhancing the credit worthiness of the LGUs and give them access to the capital markets. To enhance planning and discipline in the use of scarce resources, a well-coordinated statistical system at the local level will be established.

Regional development seeks to reduce the disparity between Metro Manila and the rest of the regions. Urban centers in various parts of the country will be encouraged to grow so that they could be attractive investment sites and catalyze growth in the regions. At the same time, population and activities in the NCR which are at present overconcentrated will be dispersed by attracting communities to the Subic-Clark area and the Calabarzon.

LGUs will assume vital roles in stimulating the regional and local economy. Their capacities in planning, investment programming and fund management and mobilization will be enhanced so that local executives can become dynamic economic managers rather than mere administrators. Management capability-building programs will be designed to enable them to undertake the appropriate actions on every opportunity or problem in their areas. National government will support local planning, policy making and program development by initiating the establishment of technology-supported local statistical database for effective decision making.

Disparities in Levels of Development Among Regions

Addressing the Costs of Rapid Urbanization

Large concentrations of population due to high urban fertility and rural-urban migration rates has accelerated urbanization. More than half of the Philippine population is classified as urban, about one third of which is in the NCR. While its large population is a factor that contributes to NCR’s economic strength, it has also strained the metropolitan environment and its ability to meet the service and infrastructure requirements of its constituents.

Metro Manila and, to a lesser degree, other large urban centers are confronted with problems associated with rapid urbanization such as inadequate infrastructure, pollution, and traffic congestion and the proliferation of informal settlements. Urban areas, if managed properly could flourish as centers of trade, tourism, science and technology. The challenge therefore is managing their continued growth, improving their service capabilities and rehabilitating their environments without compromising efficiency.

Limited Resources to Finance Local Development

Decentralization and local autonomy present greater opportunities for LGUs to expand local community participation in the development process, improve the delivery of services, infrastructure and facilities at the local level. Increasing demand for local services and infrastructure particularly in urban areas has put pressure on LGUs to generate the necessary financial requirements. However, many LGUs, especially those belonging to low-income classes rely heavily on their internal revenue allotment (IRA) to finance basic amenities and infrastructure. In many cases however, these are not sufficient. LGUs should, therefore, be able to exercise creativity and innovation in finding alternative sources of funds and mobilization schemes to support their programs and projects.

Development of Urban Centers Outside Metro Manila

This strategy calls for a dispersed but closely integrated system of urban centers. Urban centers outside Metro Manila must be encouraged to grow so that they can become attractive investment destinations and alternatives to the NCR. At the same time, as regional cities accommodate a larger share of the country’s population, local governments are better able to manage the development of larger and more environmentally constrained metropolitan centers.

Growth networks that have been established in various parts of the country such as the North Philippines consisting of Regions I, II, III and CAR, the Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon (Calabarzon) Corridor, Legaspi-Iriga-Naga Growth Network, Cagayan de Oro-Iligan Corridor (CIC), and the South Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani-General Santos (Sosksargen) growth area, will provide opportunities for greater collaboration among regions, LGUs and business groups. This approach would also optimize the use of resources and promote complementation in local development strategies.

The provision of physical infrastructures that will link different parts of the country is essential to the development of the regions. These are needed to spread out economic activities by increasing access to alternative product sources, markets and services. Providing greater opportunities in other provinces and cities will also attract people from Metro Manila. Apart from attaining of economic objectives, improving physical linkages will promote stronger social and cultural ties among various regions of the country.

Decongesting and Managing Metro Manila

Metro Manila will be decongested by attracting communities northwards to Subic-Clark and southwards to Calabarzon and Batangas Port. This will be achieved not by demolishing shanties but by building commuter and transport systems to entice families to voluntary relocate. In line with this, transportation networks that will link major industrial centers will be improved. This includes the Subic-Clark Toll Road and the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road.

As a parallel effort, the current problems of Metro Manila will be managed effectively. Within 2001, the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will launch a solid waste management program that includes the following:

1. Establishment of waste segregation facilities in Las Pinas, Manggahan in Pasig City, Smokey Mountain and Valenzuela City;

2. Market waste reduction program to be piloted in EDSA Central, Farmers, Divisoria, Paco and Pasig Markets; and

3. Negotiation for the establishment of new sanitary landfills.

Furthermore, traffic will be reduced through the completion of five lines of the mass transit system between 2004-2006. In addition, traffic management will involve the following immediate measures:

1. Increasing the number of PNP traffic personnel for the Traffic Enforcement Group-NCR to 1,200 and the Traffic Management Group -NCR to 600;

2. Recruitment of 500 MMDA traffic officers with stringent qualification requirements;

3. Full operationalization of a traffic command center linked to 20 closed circuit TV cameras;

4. Completion of the upgrading and rehabilitation of 419 signalized intersections;

5. Establishment of clearways/ expressways in the areas of A. Bonifacio Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue, Roxas Boulevard and EDSA;

6. Minor Geometric Improvements at President Quirino/North Zamora and President Quirino Avenue and Pedro Gil Street;

7. Establishment of Inter-Modal Central Terminals at FTI, Camachile and PEA reclamation area; and

8. Small Scale Traffic Improvement Measures (SSTRIM) in Metro Manila in the intersections of Shaw/Lee Road/Wack Wack/Old Wack Wack, Montillano/Manila South National Road, MacArthur with Karuhatan and A. Pablo, Gen. Santos Avenue with the East Service Road, Canaynay Avenue with Dr. A. Santos Avenue.

Over the medium term, the following management and engineering programs shall be implemented:

1. Traffic management measures that will include the following:

a modified bus segregation scheme;

b establishment of round the clock truck routes; and

c formulation of guidelines on the queuing at bus stops;

2. Establishment of a traffic engineering and management unit under the Traffic Operations Center;

3. Establishment of central terminals at key entry points of the metropolis with the capacity for intermodal systems in Balintawak, FTI and Coastal Road;

4. Establishment of computer-based traffic control system (State of the Art Metro Manila Adaptive and Responsive Traffic Signal System or SMART) in 419 intersections in Metro Manila;

5. Improvement and/or construction of facilities to ease movement of pedestrians and ensure their safety;

6. Issuance of guidelines on roadworks and management and the corresponding monitoring and implementation;

7. Establishment of additional dedicated express lanes in selected areas such as those being pilot tested in A. Bonifacio Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue, Roxas Boulevard and EDSA;

8. Upgrading and construction of roads along major traffic corridors;

9. Implementation of education and information programs for drivers and traffic management personnel; and

10. Enhancement of administrative support systems for traffic management and enforcement, including the decentralization of traffic adjudication and computerization of redemption centers.

These programs shall be designed and coordinated in accordance with a land use plan that promotes efficient use of existing land supply and infrastructures and the orderly development of the metropolis.

Enhancing LGUs’ Roles as Economic Units

With the increased autonomy accorded to LGUs, they now have the primary responsibility for financing their respective programs and projects. Thus, local leaders must not only be administrators and political technocrats but also accountable and enterprising economic development managers. LGUs will be encouraged to formulate their respective

local economic agenda and promote favorable investment climate. They shall commit to measurable performance targets to help realize the national goals on increased productivity, employment generation and poverty reduction. Towards this end, existing systems of measuring service delivery and policy compliance shall continuously be refined and additional tools measuring citizen satisfaction and overall development status of localities shall be developed.

LGUs will be trained, provided technical assistance and exposed to innovative practices and approaches to development. Apart from planning and investment programming, LGU skills in fund mobilization, budgeting and financial management shall be strengthened so that local plan implementation could bring about tangible results. Capacity-building programs will be designed to enable them to practice greater fiscal discipline and improve revenue collections. These will also be geared toward enhancing the creditworthiness of LGUs and give them access to the capital markets.

National government support shall be extended to supplement local resources. For instance, official development assistance (ODA) will be tapped for relending to qualified LGUs to finance their development programs and projects. Grants for local development shall be identified and allocated to low income LGUs. Furthermore, economic clustering and cooperative undertakings among LGUs shall be encouraged to lower the cost of development efforts to individual LGUs.

Building up of Local Statistical Database

Planning and decision making require timely, accurate and relevant information at the local level. Immediate actions will be taken to shorten the time lag and provide local-level disaggregation of social and economic indicators such as the gross regional domestic product, regional poverty statistics and human development index.

The implementation of Executive Order (EO) 135, which provides for the establishment of a well-coordinated statistical system at the local level will be intensified. Focus will initially be on the setting up of statistical coordination structures and mechanisms necessary in the development of demand-driven local statistical data and indicators that aid in identifying the needs of the poor.

Upgrading of capacities of major statistical agencies and other data-generating national government agencies and LGUs through training and technical assistance will be supported. In addition, the organizational structure of LGUs and government agencies will be enhanced to institutionalize delivery of statistical services as among their major final outputs, with provision of necessary resources.

To ensure maximum access to information, statistical information centers will be established in all regions of the country and other data dissemination technologies that suit the needs and capabilities at the local levels supported with necessary resources.

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