Description

The project will support the Government of the Philippines in implementing and expanding its social protection agenda, especially the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and the national household targeting system for poverty reduction (NHTS-PR). The associated capacity development TAs will support capacity development and institutional strengthening of the government for efficient implementation of the social protection agenda.

Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy

Despite high economic growth over the past 6 years, poverty incidence in the Philippines increased from 30% in 2003 to 33% in 2006. Key causes of poverty include high inequality and chronic underinvestment in physical and human capital, especially health and education. As a result, the Philippines is lagging on progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets for universal primary education, maternal mortality, and access to reproductive health services. Net enrollment in elementary school declined from 99.1% in 1990 to 83.2% in 2007. Only 70% of students who enter grade 1 stay until grade 6, and one in five children 6 11 years old are not in school. Universal immunization against measles has not yet been achieved and malnutrition remains a major concern, with only 64% of children meeting normal weight-for-age standards. Maternal mortality rates remain high at 162 per 100,000 live births in 2006. Government estimates indicate that about 45% of Filipinos are vulnerable to falling into poverty if confronted by external shocks such as family health problems and deaths, loss of employment, natural disasters, and price increases. In 2007 2008, escalating food prices contributed to a 9.45% reduction in the average standard of living and an increase of more than 50% in the severity of poverty. In the absence of appropriate safety nets, households have developed coping mechanisms to external shocks that tend to erode human capital and perpetuate poverty, such as increasing working hours, changing eating patterns, withdrawing children from school, or foregoing critical health care. Demand-side constraints, such as financial barriers and lack of awareness of the importance of human capital investment, are key constraints to utilization of health and education services by the poor. Although many public health services are free, health facilities are often located in areas not easily accessible to poor families, leading to high transport costs. The average cost for travel to health facilities is P109 per visit, while outpatient treatment is P1,872 per person. Nearly half of the health care costs are paid out-of-pocket, and 79% of poor households have no insurance coverage. The poor are often unable to afford basic health care since out-of-pocket payments are required at the point of services. For education, demand-side factors are the main determinants of enrollment. Among girls 7 12 years old, the main reasons for being out of school are high associated costs and lack of interest. From 2002 to 2007, the number of out-of-school youth rose markedly for children 13 16 years old, reaching more than 20% in many regions. The leading causes were high cost of education (particularly for girls), lack of personal interest (particularly for boys), and working or looking for work. Government efforts to address poverty and improve human development outcomes have been compromised by low spending on social sectors, particularly social assistance programs. In 2009, national government spending on social services was only 5.9% of gross domestic product. Spending on social protection was even lower at only 1.2%, although it has increased from an average of 0.8% in 2005 2007. The social protection sector has been characterized by a lack of policy and institutional coordination, with several departments undertaking uncoordinated, and sometimes ineffective, programs. Benefits have been further compromised by weak targeting systems to identify beneficiaries and high leakages to the non-poor. To respond to these challenges, the government recently increased its focus on reforming and strengthening its social protection system. The reform agenda led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) includes (i) accelerating social protection policy reform; (ii) improving targeting of programs; (iii) expanding the CCT program and strengthening delivery mechanisms, including governance systems and monitoring and evaluation; and (iv) securing adequate and predictable financing for social protection by consolidating programs and gradually expanding overall budget allocation. The reform agenda is well under way and significant government ownership is demonstrated through a doubling of the social protection budget since 2007.

Impact

Reduced income poverty and non-income poverty.

Project Outcome

Increased consumption and utilization of education and health services among poor households and women beneficiaries of 4Ps.

Discussions during the 27 September - 5 October 2012 Mission reaffirmed that the overall design remains appropriate overall, although this will be revisited and refinements may be considered during the course of implementation. Based on mission discussions, the Mission will seek approval within ADB to enact a minor change of scope to accommodate very modest refinements and fund reallocations. Only minor (if any) future changes of scope are expected to be potentially required in the remainder of Project implementation. The project design and monitoring framework (DMF) cites specific outcome-level targets for achievement by project end (2015). These will continue to be monitored during implementation. ADB is cooperating with DSWD, the World Bank, and AusAID in a joint 3-round impact evaluation series, the first round of which was recently presented via a forum with academia and a public/media forum (both in February 2013). The first-round impact evaluation (see http://www.dswd.gov.ph/download/Research/Philippines%20Conditional%20Cash%20Transfer%20Program,%20Impact%20Evaluation%202012.pdf) points to significant impacts in an array of education and health-related incomes, including a 10 percentage point drop in severe stunting among infants (a strong impact compared to that in other CCT programs globally). At the same time, it also pointed to a few areas for further concerted effort, including on the supply side (e.g., facility-based delivery did not show any increase). DSWD is posting the dataset on its website, to encourage the broader research community to replicate reported findings and further utilize the rich dataset (only a portion of which is reflected in the first round report). ADB and other development partners will continue to support DSWD in continually tracking progress and achievements under the nation's flagship CCT program, including through rounds 2-3 of the noted joint impact evaluation series.

Implementation Progress

Output 1: National targeting system to select poor households implemented efficiently Output 2: Conditional health and education cash grants provided to poor households Output 3: Strengthened capacity for conditional cash transfer program operations Output 4: Improved systems for monitoring and evaluation of social protection programs

Output 1: 107.37% of poor households nationwaide registered in the NHTS-PR (4.9 million households from 2007 census) NHTS-PR has 18% inclusion and 25% exclusion eroors Pantawid Pamilya, Philhealth and DSWD's Social Pension Program 57.9% of the 5.26 million poor in NHTS-PR are already covered Pantawid Pamilya Output 2: 482,853 households (Sets 2 & 3A-B) receive cash grants (Set 2 - 264,506; Set 3A - 110,525; Set 3B - 107,822) with 92.8% are women (Set 2 - 92.3%; Set 3A - 93.7%; Set 3B - 93.0%) % of mothers in beneficiary households who receive grants regularly and on time Set 2 - 89.9% Set 3A - 92.4% Set 3B - 90.9% % of households who meet health conditions regularly Set 2 - 98.5% Set 3A - 98.6% Set 3B - 99.2% % of households who meet health conditions regularly Set 2 - 75.8% Set 3A - 74.8% Set 3B - 72.5% % of women and men who attend monthly family development sessions Info not unavailable Local area maps produced showing locations of target households, health facilities, day-care centers, schools, payment windows and location and quality of roads: No data at the national Level Output 3: NPMO and 17 RPMOs estalished and fully functional supported by various systems. More than 200 central and local staff had been a recipient of GAD-related trainings and capability building activities. The GAD assessment was already conducted in 4 municipalities of Luzon last 23-27 July 2010 and in municipalities in the Visayas on 10-15 Sep 2012. The last leg in Mindanao is proposed to be carried out on the 3rd week of Nov 2012 or when NGO will be officially on board. Output 4: Spot check (Phase A and B) for Set 3 areas conducted. Spot Check (Phase C and D) expected to be mobilized y 2nd quarter of 2013. Joint public presentation of initial findings on 23 August 2012; final report for RCT portion of round 1 presented in January 2013. Loan 2662 to finance round 3 for data collection in November 2015.

Safeguard Categories

Environment: C
Involuntary Resettlement: C
Indigenous Peoples: B

Summary of Environmental and Social Aspects

Environmental Aspect
The Project has no expected environmental impact, and does not involve any civil works, etc.

Involuntary Resettlement
The Project will not involve involuntary resettlement.

Indigenous Peoples
The project is classified as category B for indigenous peoples (and category C for involuntary resettlement and environment), in accordance with the ADB Safeguard Policy Statement (2009). The project includes about 9,000 indigenous peoples household beneficiaries, who are among the poorest and most marginalized households in the Philippines. The project will significantly improve the health, education, and income status of these households. Key measures include (i) information and training provided to indigenous peoples in a form appropriate to their language and cultures; (ii) working with indigenous leaders and local NGOs to mobilize indigenous households to participate in the program; (iii) seeking transport assistance for indigenous peoples through coordination with LGUs or NGOs; (iv) targets of 10% indigenous women and 12% indigenous peoples total for municipal link positions in indigenous areas; and (v) sensitivity training and coaching to all 4Ps staff. Recent reviews in September/October and December 2011 indicate that the IPP is on-track, while identified some areas for follow-up and further monitoring.

Stakeholder Participation and Consultation

During Project Design
During project preparation, field consultations were undertaken including for preparing social and poverty analyses. This includes consultations with potential beneficiaries, schools and health facilities, parents groups, project staff and government staff at all levels. Consultations with Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and other interest groups were also conducted.

During Project Implementation
Community participation is a key element of the Pantawid Pamilya CCT program and is integrated into the overall program design. Specific actions to ensure the participation of women, IPs and other vulnerable groups will be included through the preparation of a gender action plan (GAP) and an indigenous peoples assessment and measures. A grievance redress system (GRS) is established, featuring a publicly available grievance database to track and resolve complaints. Linked technical assistance (TA 7586-PHI) is supporting DSWD to expand engagement of CSOs in GRS, family development sessions, other aspects of CCT, and complementary supply-side intervetions (e.g., literacy and livelihood programs). In coordination with AusAID and World Bank, the TA has supported DSWD's conduct of a 3-part series of national and regional "CSO-DSWD Forums on CCT", successfully completed during September-December 2011, with further support planned in 2012.

Status of Covenants

Project Data Sheets (PDS) contain summary information on the project or program. Because the PDS is a work in progress, some information may not be included in its initial version but will be added as it becomes available. Information about proposed projects is tentative and indicative.

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