Archive for July 18th, 2008
Some RP provinces too poor to prepare for disasters
By Jesus F. Llanto
Newsbreak, Researcher
Tuesday, 08 July 2008–Eight of the country’s poorest provinces are exposed to multiple natural hazards, but they, like most localities in the Philippines, lack the capability to prepare for disasters.
Vinod Thomas, director-general of the World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group, today said that lack of resources is a major constraint to the ability of local government units (LGUs) to perform its role in minimizing the damages of disasters to lives, properties, and the economy.
Outdated policy frameworks, and the mismatch between planning and budgeting, also prevent LGUs, even the national government, from having responsive and effective disaster risk management (DRM) plans, Thomas said at a seminar on natural disasters and environmental protection held Monday in Pasig City.
He identified the eight of the poorest provinces that are hazard-prone: Tawi-tawi, Zamboanga del Norte, Maguindanao, Surigao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Northern Samar, Masbate, and Misamis Occidental.
RP improves competitiveness but low in infra and education
Source:www.cnn.com
By Jesus F. Llanto
Researcher, Newsbreak
Tuesday, 15 July 2008–The Philippines competitiveness ranking in the World Competitiveness Yearbook improved and climbed five notches in 2008 but the country continues to rank low in infrastructure and education.
The Philippines ranked 40th out of the 55 countries in the World Competitiveness Yearbook survey of the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development. This year’s ranking was an improvement from last year when the country landed on the 45th spot.
The survey studied 55 countries using 331 criteria grouped into four categories: hard economic performance, government efficiency, business efficicieny and infrastructure.
Of the four categories, the Philippines ranked highest—31st—in business efficiency but lowest in infrastructure (48th). It landed on the 42nd and 41st spot in economic performance and government efficiency, respectively.
The Philippines, however, ranked very low in infrastructure and education indicators. It ranked 52nd in education, 54th in basic infrastructure, and 53rd in basic infrastructure. (abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak)
Timeline: Joc-joc Bolante and the Fertilizer Scam
Thursday, 10 July 2008
August 25, 2005—An episode of The Probe Team reports that some farmers claimed that they did not receive fertilizers from the fertilizer fund released by the DA.
September 28-29 2005—PCIJ special report says that billions of farm funds were used to fund the presidential campaign of Arroyo.
October 6, 2005—The Senate starts its inquiry on the fertilizer scam.
October-December 2005—The Senate conducts hearings on the scam but Bolante fails to appear.
December 11, 2005—Bolante is invited to the Senate hearing but he flees to the United States. He claims that his life is in danger because there are attempts to kill him.
December 13, 2005—The Senate cites Bolante in contempt for refusing to attend the hearings and orders his arrest.
February 15, 2006—US Embassy in Manila writes Bolante telling him that his tourist visa is not valid for travel. –Research by Jesus Llanto(abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak)
With less IRA, some cities may lose competitiveness
By Jesus F. Llanto
Newsbreak, Researcher
Tuesday, 08 July 2008–Cities that have experienced significant cuts in their revenue shares starting this year due to the creation of new cities are likely to lose their competitiveness and, as a consequence, miss opportunities to attract investments.
This was the opinion expressed by local governance experts and local officials at the recent launch of the 2007 Philippine Cities Competitiveness Report (PCCR) of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in Makati City.
Source:www.davaocity.gov.ph
Done every other year, it was the fifth time that the AIM measured the business-friendliness of select cities in terms of infrastructure, cost of doing business, dynamism of the local economy, human resources and training, responsiveness of the LGUs to business needs, and quality of life.
The study classified this year 90 cities into three categories: Metro cities, or those comprising metropolitan areas in Manila, Davao, and Cebu; mid-sized cities, or non-Metro cities with population more than 200,000 residents; and small-sized cities, or those with less than 200,000 residents.
Wholesale conversion
Experts and local officials said the almost wholesale conversion of municipalities into cities in the past two years has reduced the old cities’ share in national taxes or the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), which is used by LGUs to finance their operation and deliver basic services.
The direct effects of less IRA on infrastructure development, and consequently on the cities’ general competitiveness, may show in the next round of surveys to be conducted by the AIM Policy Center. (abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak)
