Philippines: Enhancing Social Protection through Community-Driven Development Approach

Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Agricultural policy, institutional and capacity development

Education / Education sector development

Public sector management / Social protection initiatives

The Government of the Philippines, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), requested the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to provide policy advisory technical assistance (TA) in the conceptualization and design of national community driven development program (NCDDP). The TA complemented the preparatory work in the design of NCDDP in which the options and mechanisms for provincial local government unit engagement are areas that have not been supported. The TA identified issues in the policy and institutional frameworks, financial arrangements, and capacities that hinder the coordination and institutionalization of community-driven development (CDD) initiatives at the provincial level and propose concrete measures to overcome them. The TA was included in ADB's 2012-2014 country operations business plan for the Philippines.

In August 2015, ADB approved the additional grant financing to the TA from the Typhoon Yolanda Multi-Donor Trust Fund (TYMDTF) to facilitate the uptake of livelihood subprojects under KC-NCDDP. Specifically, the grant will support the refinement of DSWDs policy and procedure to provide sustainable livelihood support under the KC-NCDDP, enhancement of existing operational guidelines to improve the implementation of sustainable livelihood subprojects, enhancement of stakeholder capacity to undertake CDD and selectively funding of innovative, sustainable livelihood initiatives under CDD such as enterprise training and surveys.

CDD approaches have been used by national government agencies and development partners in the Philippines to augment efforts of local government units (LGUs) to improve service delivery and address poverty at the community level. Among the key social development programs that apply CDD principles of participatory planning and community control of investments is the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KC) program managed by DSWD. Studies of KC highlight the benefits of CDD approach, which include increased household incomes, reduced investment costs, and higher economic rates of return. Furthermore, CDD has been found to be effective in targeting the poorest barangay in the poorest municipalities, in responding to the needs of the people, and in lessening the influence of patronage in the allocation of development resources.

The Government has recognized the value of CDD approach as reflected in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016 and the National Anti-Poverty Framework, which both identify CDD as a core pillar of the countrys overall development program and poverty reduction strategy. The Mission reaffirmed Governments commitment to scale up CDD implementation into a national CDD program (NCDDP), which is envisaged to expand opportunities for poor and underserved communities to choose, design, and implement projects that address their most pressing needs. NCDDP directly links to Governments efforts to converge social development programs. Building on the KC experience and moving from a project to a program approach, NCDDP aims to increase ongoing CDD operations from 373 municipalities in 48 provinces to 948 municipalities in 75 provinces. The Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster has adopted NCDDP as its flagship project. An NCDDP preparation team in DSWD and an NCDDP interagency preparation team have been created.

In view of the foregoing, DSWD requested ADB for a TA to support the conceptualization and design of NCDDP. The TA purpose is consistent with ADB's Strategy 2020, which aims to reduce poverty and promote inclusive growth. The TA is aligned with ADB's 2011-2016 country partnership strategy for the Philippines, which supports the Government in achieving efficient, effective, and equitable delivery of social services. The TA will further support the Government in addressing the lack of supply-side infrastructure in the poorest municipalities. The TA will also complement the demand-side interventions of ADB's support to the Government's social protection program by empowering the poor and vulnerable to take control of and manage resources that directly affect their welfare. The TA builds on ADBs support to the decentralization and local governance agenda of the Government, which focuses on improving local planning and budgeting systems, strengthening intergovernmental fiscal relations, and strengthening local service delivery. The TA (formerly titled Second Social Protection Support Project) is included in ADB's 2012-2014 country operations business plan for the Philippines.

The TA has supported the required preparatory and analytical work for designing and implementing the KC-NCDDP, which included the following:

(i) identification of appropriate funds flow mechanism given the collaborative co-financing arrangement with the WB;

(ii) designing the required local counterpart;

(iii) contributions (LCC) of covered municipalities;

(iv) provision of advice on decentralized setup of KC-NCDDP implementation; and

(v) due diligence and preparatory work for the Project, including the linked documents to the Projects Report and Recommendation of the President.

The TA also supported (i) start-up activities of KCNCDDP in Q1-Q3 2014, which included social awareness raising activities in 6 regions in preparation for the enrolment of target municipalities in KC-NCDDP; and (ii) pilot testing of provincial governments engagement in CDD and came out with a policy note highlighting the lessons learnt and policy implications.

Under the additional grant financing from TYMDTF, the TA outcome remain unchanged.

In Aug 2015, ADB approved an additional grant financing of $750,000 from the TYMTF) to support the implementation of community livelihood and enterprise (L&E) development subprojects under KC-NCDDP. The TA outcome remained unchanged. The TA implementation period is extended until 31 December 2017.

1. Options for improved policy and institutional framework for implementing NCDDP identified

2. Options for strengthened resource allocation, funds flow, and accountability mechanisms identified

3. Enhanced capacities of stakeholders in the provinces

4. Supported pilot-testing of NCDDP design elements related to PLGU engagement

5. Increased uptake of NCDDP community livelihood subprojects

Output 1 has supported the provision of technical inputs that defined the strategic roles of provinces in local development and their participation in the implementation of KC-NCDDP in light of the existing national government programs on improving governance performance. Specifically, it supported workshops, technical and policy discussions, and preparation of policy notes on selected program aspects, and project's linked documents. These included the following:

(i) policy note on PLGU engagement in CDD which contributed to the design of pilot testing of PLGU engagement, required capacity building for PLGUs, and initial identification of pilot provinces.

(ii) dialogues of the EA with local chief executives of pilot PLGUs, provincial consultations, and technical discussions with the EA on PLGU engagement process and implementing structure.

(iii) knowledge sharing on good practices and lessons learnt for strengthening the implementation, convergence, and sustainability of the EAs key social development programs, as requested by the EA.

(iv) policy note on integrating CDD in two proposed legislation (Budget Reform Bill and Local Government Code revision).

Output 2 generated options and advice for improving financial management arrangements under KC-NCDDP, including fiduciary arrangements for channeling Project grants to communities. The TA

(i) assisted the EA in identifying fund flow mechanism for KC-NCDDP by formulating fund flow options;

(ii) provided options and advice on designing the required LCC of covered municipalities by examining the capacity of municipalities to mobilize LCC for KC-NCDDP and bottom-up budgeting program of national government;

(iii) supported further due diligence on the Project, which produced financial management assessment and risk assessment and management plan.

(iv) supported the formulation of (a) policy and operational guidelines for implementing L&E subprojects, which the DSWD issued in August 2016 to its field offices, and (b) tools to support the formation and strengthening of associations, and the preparation of operations and maintenance (O&M) plan to ensure the functionality and sustainability of L&E subprojects.

Output 3 provided capacity building interventions to two PLGUs as part of the pilot testing process and to LGUs implementing L&E subprojects, which included trainings, workshops, and learning exchange on CDD and disaster risk reduction and management. Approximately half of the participants to most training on PLGU pilot were women. Women also comprise 60% of participants in L&E workshops and forums. Training of selected PLGUs (non-pilot) for KC-NCDDP was not carried out under the TA as it required enrolment process. Nonetheless, the TA supported the regional advocacy activities that facilitated the enrolment of target municipalities in KC-NCDDP and generated awareness on the program among stakeholders in Yolanda-affected provinces and communities.

Output 4 supported the pilot testing of PLGU engagement in CDD in Albay and Compostela Valley in 2013-2015 and the preparation of a knowledge product that offered lessons learnt and policy implications for the KC-NCDDP exit strategy or its successor program.

Output 5 supported the implementation of the additional financing (AF) to L3100 PHI. The TA

(i) produced operational guidelines on utilizing the $5 million grant for L&E development subprojects in selected Yolanda-affected areas, which were issued to DSWD field offices in May 2016;

(ii) enhanced DSWDs capacity to implement the grant by conducting regional orientation and a series of feasibility assessment workshops to analyze proposed subprojects profitability and marketability;

(iii) funded project development workshops and regional inter-municipal forums (RIMFs) to review and recommend Grant 0472-PHI subprojects;

(iv) enhanced fund/grant management capacity of the government's interagency committee and the implementing agency by providing equipment and engaging technical support staff (At the interagency committees request, the TA also supported translation of subproject proposals from local dialect to English);

(v) studied sustainable livelihood initiatives such as social enterprises to help the government consider options and approaches not only for generating jobs and alleviating poverty, but also addressing social issues. A policy paper on social enterprises was prepared.