GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS
Energization
A PROVINCIAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM has been designed to meet the needs of the fast-growing economy. Based on projected population increases and the demand for agro-industrial use, Palawan’s power requirements are expected to reach 100 megawatts in a few more years. To meet this demand, the Provincial Government has initiated expansion projects in several island and mainland towns together with the Palawan Electric Cooperative.
Generator sets and solar-powered units were acquired for municipalities willing to operate their own electric systems. To date, the Provincial Government under the leadership of Gov. Joel T. Reyes has fast-tracked the completion of mini-grid power systems in eight barangays in San Vicente, Taytay, Dumaran, and Cuyo with energy projects ongoing in four more barangays. Additional Barangay Power Associations are expected to emerge with the consistent efforts of Gov. Reyes to provide electricity to more off-grid barangays. Meanwhile, energy subsidies and grants are provided for the installation of power systems in 4th to 6th class municipalities.
About 25 barangays in the province have benefited from the Department of Energy’s “O Ilaw Program.” The over P200M project has provided solar home systems and solar-powered battery-charging stations to barangays in the municipalities of Dumaran, Taytay, Araceli, El Nido, Rizal and Aborlan. Western Philippines University- Affiliated Non-Conventional Energy Center is the partner agency of DOE in this project. From the National Power Corporation- Small Power Utility Group, 23 barangays are recipients of solar panels and battery-charging stations.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Government has enetered into an agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency for the preparation of the Palawan Power Development Master Plan.
The provincial government also signed an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme to tap, utilize and generate power from new and renewable sources of energy such as wind, waves, solar, water, and bio-mass. One of its projected outputs is the establishment of the Renewable Energy Development Center, the first of its kind in the country.
Solar energy will light up over 450 Barangay Health centers and Malaria Microscopy Centers provincewide under the Tanglaw Kalusugan. A program of the Malampaya Foundation Inc. and the Provincial Government of Palawan, it will certainly pave the way for better and more efficient delivery of health services in the rural areas.
The installation of the Palawan Backbone Transmission Line complements the power generating projects. Funds for the project came from a $21 million soft loan from the Spanish Government and the P450 million counterpart fund from the Philippine government. The transmission line runs from Brooke’s Point in the south to Taytay in the north. The construction of the northern grid is expected to start in May, 2006. based on National Power Corporation data, there are 12 diesel-powered plants provincewide, one 18.5MW modular power plant, and one 16MW land-based power plant operated by an independent power producer in the City of Puerto Princesa City and a 9MW Puerto Princesa City Power Plant. Of these power plants, six are operating 24 hours a day, four are on an eight hour daily schedule and five operate on a 12-hour daily schedule. The combined power capacity of the power plants is 51.363 megawatts.
Health & Nutrition
Recent development in the health sector call for new strategies towards a better and more sustainable health care delivery system.
RA 8549 reverted the Ospital ng Palawan to administrative and technical supervision of the Department of Health. But the Provincial Government continues to give support to the Ospital ng Palawan in terms of salaries and wages for the additional health personnel and physical improvement of hospital facilities.
With the renationalization of the Ospital ng Palawan, the Provincial Government has new options on the horizon. Under the New Generation of Hospitals and Clinics of Palawan Programme, the provincial government plans to establish a new medical center in Puerto Princesa City along with the North Provincial and the South Provincial Hospitals in Palawan.
The Provincial Government is about to start another project aimed at improving the health services at a higher level in southern Palawan. Around P30 million is set for the expansion of the Brooke’s Point District Hospital to become the South Provincial Hospital. The expansion will cover an additional floor area of 1,126 square meters. Compared to other district hospitals in the south, Brooke’s Point has more medical specialists providing different services.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Government has also tapped a private corporation to conduct a study on the improvement of the health case delivery system in the province. It will also look into the proposed Medical Center to rise in Puerto Princesa City with provision for medical tourism.
The government intensified its malaria control program through the Kilusan Ligtas Malaria or KLM. Launched in 1999 as part of the provincial government’s efforts to eradicate the disease that has long been a scourge to Palaweños, KLM focused on community organizing, training and awareness raising on malaria control with funding from the Malampaya Consortium that was channeled through the Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. (PSFI) and a counterpart fund from the Provincial Government. In 2004, it became a recipient of financial and technical support from the Global Fund Malaria Control (GFMC) Project as a result of its active involvement in the development of the proposal for the Country Control Mechanism with the Palawan experience in malaria control as model and reference.
With the triumph of KLM in fighting the dreaded disease in Palawan, its strategies- extensive social mobilization and community-based approaches- will be intensified in and replicate by other pilot provinces, under the PSFI’s malaria control program, namely Apayao, Quirino, Tawi- tawi and Sulu. A $14.3M, five-year grant by Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in partnership with PSFI has been set aside for the replication of KLM in these provinces. In Palawan, the additional funds will certainly help sustain KLM’s campaign against malaria.
KLM carries out its mission toward a malaria- free Palawan by year 2020 through intensive information and education campaigns; implementation of community- based malaria control plans in every barangay by the different technical working groups. The provision of microscopes in 324 barangays all over the province resulted in a more effective early case detection conducted by trained barangay microscopists followed by adequate treatment and monitoring of all malaria parasite-carriers. Moreover, KLM continues to distribute thousands of treated mosquito nets to endemic barangays.
A total of 543,045 Palaweños have benefited from various activities advanced by KLM from 1999 to 2005. Through the project, 37, 878 Palaweños were saved from possible death and 249,225 were assisted in leading healthier lives. In 2005, confirmed cases of malaria decreased by approximately 27 percent from its 2004 level, from 22,425 to 16,339 cases. Similarly, the number of deaths due to malaria compared with the 2004 data, decreased by 59 percent, from 76 down to 31 deaths. Comparing the overall malaria cases in 2005 to that in 2000, the baseline year when the KLM was barely a year in operation, a 61 percent decrease was achieved. Furthermore, the number of deaths declined by 63 percent from its 2000 level, from Malaria Control Coordinating Council. The council encourages the synchronization of activities and the pooling of resources of all agencies involved in malaria control.
The Provincial Health Office provides public health services such as the immunization of infants and young children against leading disease and the administration of vitamins and micronutrients to address deficiencies among children and women. A referral system is in place to meet the needs of clients from the Barangay Health Station to the Rural Health Unit to the District Hospitals and Provincial Hospital.
The six- year foreign- assisted Integrated Community Health Services Project in Palawan poured out tremendous technical assistance and infrastructure to strengthen the delivery of health services from the barangay to the provincial levels. Among the accomplishments of the project are the construction and renovation of Barangay Health Stations, Rural Health Units and hospitals; provision of essential medical equipment and establishment of the health telephony and radio referral system linking the RHUs to the district and municipal hospitals and to the Ospital ng Palawan; and human resource development and health management information systems.
Crucial to the health and nutrition campaign of the Provincial Nutrition Action Office are the efforts of 599 community volunteers known as the Barangays Environment, Agriculture and Nutrition Scholars (BEANS). With the valuable assistance of BEANS in generating greater awareness on the inter-relatedness of improved nutritional status with food security and a well- preserved environment, the malnutrition prevalent rate (MPR) in Palawan steadily declined from 6.15 percent in 1999 to 5.03 percent in 2001. The adoption of the International Reference System in determining the health status of the Filipino child as mandated by the national government showed a change in the registered MPR in Palawan. MPR for 2005 is 20.07%, a 15 percent decline from 23.68% in 2004. The municipalities with the lowest MPR in 2005 are Bataraza- 7.35%; Roxas – 10.73%; Narra- 11.94%; Rizal- 14.67% and Brooke’s Point 27.24%.
Education
Increased accessibility of educational facilities to children and the youth provincewide has resulted in a 90.19% literacy rate of persons 10 years and old and above. Based on SY 2004-2005, there were 147,013 enrollees in the public elementary schools and 55,887 in the public secondary schools. Quality education is promoted to attain peace and unity, environmental integrity, sustained growth, and moral recovery. Subjects on ecology, anti-drug campaign in both public and private institutions. Teachers are also promoting the preservation of the traditions and cultural heritage of indigenous communities. The Kilusan Sagip Kalikasan (KSK), meanwhile, in partnership with state universities and vocational schools conducts classroom and field instruction on environmental conservation and protection for college students under the Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS).
Meanwhile, the Provincial Government through the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, provides scholarships to winners of the annual Provincial Children’s Talent Contest. The PSWDO has 14 scholars yearly and to date, 12 scholars have graduated from the elementary level. From 1994 to 2005, a total of 26 scholars have been granted free elementary education. The needs of pre-school children, on the other hand, are served in hundreds of day care center provincewide. The Joel T. Reyes Scholarship Program provides college education to many poor but deserving Palaweños youths. A total of 2,164 JTR Scholars have graduated from college. For the second semester of SY 2005- 2006, President Gloria Macapacal Arroyo granted scholarships to Palaweños thru Gov. Reyes.
Thousands of books for day care centers and instructional materials for day care workers worth millions of pesos have been allocated.
For school year 2005, the provincial school board allocated more than P7M for the Special Education Fund that was spent on pupil and technical development; non- formal education and educational facilities.
A Provincial Teacher’s Pool has been established to meet the demand for young, capable, well-trained and bonafide Palaweños teachers who are imbued with the spirit of volunteerism to serve in the rural communities. Through this program, the Provincial Government is helping the Department of Education decongest classrooms in public elementary and secondary schools. Since the start of the program, hundreds of para-teachers have been deployed in hundreds of public elementary and secondary schools across the province where there is a shortage of DepEd teachers.
Water
A Rural Drinking Water System, Program was launched in 1994 to provide adequate supply of potable water to all households. The provincial government tapped national water development programs and foreign grants for the provision of safe water supply in the communities and households. “ Like the water that pushes its way from the source towards the distribution pipes, we will continue to pour our efforts and resources, and struggle to provide every household in the province with adequate and potable supply of water. “With these words, Gov. Joel T. Reyes pursued the completion of the Barangay Environment and Sanitation Project in ten barangays in Quezon, Roxas, San Vicente, Dumaran, Taytay and El Nido. Most of the BESP Level III water systems were completed in early 2004. A total of 2,486 households are direct beneficiaries of the water systems which include intake facilities (either deep well, dug well or infiltration gallery), storage tanks or water reservoirs, transmission pipes, household connections and faucets. To ensure the safety of the water sources, the system includes off-site sanitation facilities, and construction of communal septic tanks and distribution of individual toilets to beneficiaries. It is the policy of the World Bank, funding agency, that the beneficiaries shoulder the expenditures for the household connection and faucet for the water project and the construction of individual sanitation facilities. The objective behind this policy is to inculcate among the beneficiaries a sense of ownership and responsibility for the project. Maintenance of the BESP is managed by an association of beneficiaries under the supervision of the Provincial Government.
One of the successful water projects in the province is the Pilipino – Aleman Proyekto ng Tubig sa Palawan or Paltubig, which started as a bilateral venture between the Philippine government and the Federal Republic of Germany. From 1994 to 1999, Paltubig installed 183 wells and spring water facilities, providing potable water to 30,000 residents in southern Palawan. At the same time, the program organized Barangay Waterworks and Sanitation Associations to manage the completed projects, ensuring the commitment of beneficiaries in keeping their source of life- giving water in good condition. The community-based water management teams are trained on water pump maintenance, proper sanitation, and hygiene.
In December 1999, Paltubig was incorporated into a public- private commercial enterprise. Since then, Paltubig Corporation has extended its expertise to various clientieles ranging from private residences, schools, hospitals, public, institutions, barangays, municipal governments to private businesses.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Responding to the urgent call to address environment conservation and protection through people-based resource management and the participation of all sectors in stamping out illegal activities, Gov. Joel T. Reyes issued Executive Order No. 27 in 2001 creating the Kilusan Sagip Kalikasan (KSK). With the support of various law enforcement units, government agencies and non- government organizations, KSK adopts a three pronged- approach in environmental conservation and protectiobn. These are massive information drives, alternative livelihood programs and networking for the effective implement of laws and environmental protection strategies.
KSK Municipal Chapters have been created to strengthen the environmental campaign in the municipal and barangay levels. Through a partnership with state universities and a vocational school, KSK conducts classroom and field instruction on environmental conservation and protection to college students under the Civic Welfare Training Service.
Since its launching in 1994, the annual Pista ng Kalikasan or nature festival has sustained the provincewide environmental campaign and nurtured the Palaweños’ love and care of the environment. It has instilled the planting and caring of trees, medicinal plants, mangroves and seagrass as part of the Palaweños lifestyle. Over three million trees in 2,977 hectares of land have been planted since the launching of Pista ng Kalikasan. In 1999, the project won the Gal8ing Pook Award for its innovative and effective strategies in environmental protection and management.
The Provincial Government works in partnership with other government agencies, non- government organizations in various environmental programs. Provincial officials are actively involved in the management of protected areas in Palawan such as the Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary, the El Nido Managed Resource Protected Area and the Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park and World Heritage Site.
Palawan’s effort’s gained recognition when it became the first province to be elevated to the Hall of Fame as the cleanest and greenest province in the country. Two of its beautiful lakes have been elevated to the Hall of Fame as the cleanest and greenest inland body of water, lake category. These are Kayangan Lake and Barracuda Lake which are both in the northern town of Coron.
The province’s Environmental and Natural Resources Office regularly conducts reforestation programs, helps preserve protected areas and wildlife, regulates sand, gravel and mining permits and takes charge of land use planning and management. Environmental programs are extended to Palawan’s 23 municipalities. Support is given for solid waste management through the regulation of collection and disposal of garbag, training, planning and environmental surveys.
Livelihood opportunities are integrated into environmental efforts such as the Community Based Forest Management Project (CBFM) and Project TREES (Tree Resources for Economic and Environmental Security). Cooperatives organized within the CBFM areas undergo training in livelihood activities such as furniture and cabinet making, among others. From 1997 to 2002, Projects TREES planted 1,000 seedlings of industrial trees per hectare in southern Palawan totaling 341 hectares.
Social Welfare Development
While there is a concerted effort to provide the 23 municipalities with basic services, the provincial government through the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office also pursues programs to meet the needs and empower Palaweños in the pursuit of innovative economic enterpreneural activities in cooperation with other national and local agencies.
The success of the Provincial Government in improving the human development index of Palawan was recognized by the Human Development Network in October, 1999 when it named Palawan as one of the top 10 provinces with the most improved HDI for the period 1994-1997. The province rose from a ranking of 60 (out of 76 provinces) in 1994 to 43 in 1997, posting a 9.14 percent change. The index measures three basic indicators of socioeconomic well- being: life expectancy, education and income. Comparative figures show that average per capita income in Palawan increased from P10, 528.00 to P18,673.00 in three years. Palaweños are also likely to lead longer lives from 50.52 to 62.88 years. Functional literacy remained stable at 77.35 while the combined elementary and secondary enrollment rate climbed to 83.45 from a previous rate of 69.45.
For year 2000, the provincial index rose to 0.698 registering a 0.163 progress from 0.535 in 1997. These indices, according to the Human Development Report of Palawan, show that the provincial HDI is improving significantly. Sustaining the positive trend in HDI are the continuing delivery of social welfare services among them the Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (CIDSS) to meet the minimum basic needs and empower the poorest families in the 4th, 5th and 6th class municipalities. The Program encourages self- help and not dole-out as well as collective effort and not individual competition in meeting minimum basic needs and undertaking productive activities. Starting in 1997 in pilot barangays in Bataraza and Sofronio Española, CIDSS coverage expanded to more barangays in 10 municipalities namely Agutaya, Araceli, Busuanga, Cagayancillo, Culion, Cuyo, Dumaran, Linapacan, Magsaysay and San Vicente.
In 2002, CIDSS expanded its operations to six more municipalities – Roxas, EL Nido, Coron, Aborlan, Narra and Rizal. The Provincial Government has released funds amounting to P12.6M in support of CIDSS projects. Among them are the construction of day care centers, livelihood assistance, day care worker’s incentives, program materials, construction of rain catchers and deepwells and supplemental feeding program.
Palawan is one of the pilot provinces for the implementation of the Early Childhood Care and Development program or ECCD which promotes the Bright Child campaign of the national government to achieve the optimum growth and development of young children from birth to age 6.
Gov. Joel T. Reyes also provides ample support to the delivery of the Four Gifts for Children, an action plan advocated by the Child Friendly Movement under the Sixth Country Programme for Children. In 2005, during the Governor’s birthday, he presented to the Palaweño children the first two gifts- these are the Long- Term Development Plan for Children and the Provincial Local Investment Plan for Children. The remaining two gifts for children, the Local Code for Children and the Local State of Children Report, are expected to be completed by the end of 2006.
The province has attained a 93% compliance of R.A. 6972 or the Barangay Level Total Development of Children’s Act, providing for the establishment of Day Care Centersin every barangay. As of 2005, there are 747 day care centers provincewide with 753 day care workers, serving 18,970 children ages three to six years old in 22 municipalities. Total number of PSWDO- accredited day care centers and day care workers is 333. Refresher courses for day care workers, who work on a voluntary basis, are conducted regularly to update them with new trends and educational materials. Day care centers are accredited to meet quality standards. Cash incentives are also given to day care workers in recognition to their length of service.
Palawan’s out of school youth and youth workers are provided with skills training and workshops in cooperation with the Alay Lakad Foundation. The Local Population Management Program conducts public information activites, parent congress, pre-marriage counseling and attendance to trainings. Gov. Reyes has turned over a considerable amount to the Municipality of Taytay and Brooke’s Point as counterpart of the provincial government for the establishment of the Migration Information Center. MIC gathers data on migration and extends assistance to migrants especially to those who have no relatives in the municipality where they intend to settle down. Gov. Reyes’ Daup- Palad addresses immediate needs of indigents and serves as liaison between the Provincial Government and the people in the barangays and municipalities.
Governance
Gov. Reyes streamlined the organizational structure of the Provincial Government by clustering offices with similar or related functions. His objective was to bring about an energized bureaucracy having the qualities of scalability, flexibility and integration with a client- oriented focus and capable management. Thus the offices and special programs were grouped into five sector/ service clusters namely the Infrastructure and Utilities, Health and Nutrition, Education and Welfare, Employment and Livelihood and Governance. The service/sector convergence allows for technical integration, sharing of information and resources to produce synergies. These five service/ sector cluster are under the direct supervision of the Governor.
Part of the new management strategies of the present leadership is the adoption of the Community Based Monitoring System (CBMS). As a system of gathering, collecting and processing information, CBMS is not only a tool for social monitoring but it is also a barometer for gauging program and project effectiveness. It was while he was then vice governor of the province, when Gov. Joel T. Reyes in partnership with the former Governor Salvador P. Socrates posed a challenge to the Provincial Planning and Development Office to come up with a system for monitoring the impact of government interventions in the barangays and municipalities. Later, Gov. Socrates signed a memorandum of agreement with the Micro Impact of Macroeconomic Adjustment Policies (MIMAP) Project for the adoption and implementation of the CBMS in the province. The PPDO’s Research Statistics and Evaluation Division supervises the gathering of data from the municipalities for the CBMS.
Another data-based information system utilized by the Provincial Government of Palawan is the Geographic Information System of GIS. It is a system for capturing, storing, integrating, manipulating, analyzing and displaying data which are spatially referenced to the earth. Since 70 to 80 percent of information required by provincial offices are location- related , GIS serves as database for the efficient and quality update of the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of government projects. It is also provides new knowledge through analysis of stored data, providing useful information in planning, decision- making and project management. GIS is also used for the creation of maps or road networks and other infrastructure facilities, management of Palawan’s natural resources, real property tax assessment, project management, economic planning and human development. In order to increase the level of awareness of local chief executives, decision- makers and program implementers on the current situation of Palawan households, the Research, Statistics and Evaluation Division of the Provincial Planning and Development Office produced the first ever locally prepared Human Development Report (HDR) of Palawan for the year 2000.
The report utilizes various indicators of welfare gathered through the CBMS, supplemented with information from the Gross Provincial Domestic Product account and secondary sources. HDR has eight development sectors namely Health and Nutrition, Water and Sanitation, Security and Shelter, Education, Employment and Livelihood, Participation and Community Development, Peace and Order, and Infrastructure and Utilities.
K4
Propelled by the vision to accelerate rural development, Gov. Joel T. Reyes called for a refocusing of government priorities and created a new anti- poverty strategy known as the Kilusan sa Kalusugan, Karunungan at Kabuhayan or K4.
It addresses the key priority areas of development – health, education and livelihood to empower the people and eventually liberate them from the clutches of poverty.
The kalusugan aspect focuses on the primary requirements of the different communities for the promotion of good health, sound nutritional status and general well- being of Palaweños. Part of the Kilusan sa Kalusugan is the free medical and dental services under the Lakbay Bayanihan or Lakbayan Program. In partnership with other agencies and special programs of the Provincial Government, K4 responds to the needs of Rural Health Units, District and Municipal Hospitals all over the province. K4 also brings the Kilusan Ligtas Malaria to the municipalities to conduct malaria blood smearing, distribution of bed nets and anti- malaria medicines to indigent families. Supplemental feeding programs for children who may be suffering from malnutrition are carried out. It also supports the needs of Barangay Health Workers by providing them with health kits.
The foundation of education or the Karunungan aspect is strengthened through the enhancement of day care worker and teacher competence; upgrading of the quality of early child care and development through improved day care facilities, provision of books, chairs and program materials for the day care workers.
The Kilusan sa Kabuhayan stimulates the engines of progress through manpower and skills development, enhanced agricultural productivity, livelihood assistance and incentives to cooperative and organized farmers and fisherfolks. A hundred JTR Rolling Stores have been distributed to qualified beneficiaries from Puerto Princesa City with livelihood assistance totaling to P500,000 under the Unlad Palawan Project of Gov. Reyes. The same project is available to qualified recipients from the 22 municipalities.
Another special project of Gov. Joel T. Reyes is Lakbayan. Since its institutionalization in 1999, Lakbayan has rendered medical and dental services to hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries from remote barangays of Palawan. In a short span of time, it has made a tremendous impact on local communities and it has made people realize that the government is responsive to their needs.
The immediate access to government services amount to big savings in both time and money for the constituents living in remote areas because through K4 and Lakbayan they do not have to leave their barangays ang travel to Puerto Princesa City for their needs. Lakbayan, has also inspired municipal officials to adopt the program at their own level, such as Rizal’s Lakbay Barangay, proving that it can be replicated and show the way to effective and responsive governance.
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