Chapter 1. In Pursuit of Inclusive Growth The RDP Midterm-Update 2013-2016 contains the assessment of the implementation of the RDP covering 2011 to 2012 as well as sectoral outcomes, issues and challenges, interventions, and the result matrix until the end of the Plan. A selected set of indicators of the current situation and end of plan targets are also presented to monitor and measure the attainment of the vision. Interventions to attain the desired results are particularly discussed from Chapter II to Chapter IX.

I. Development Vision RDP Midterm Update 2013-2016 shall adopt the same vision statement of the RDP 2011-2016 including the four pillars of the vision which align tightly with the President’s Social Contract with Pilipino People. In the shared vision: “MIMAROPA: The destination of choice”, the stakeholders envision MIMAROPA as the destination of investments, livelihood, residence, employment, adventure, rest and recreation, even retirement. The term destination, as used in the vision statement, carries the context of destination as a place; destination as an experience; and, destination as a state of being. Figure 1.1 below illustrates the elements of the vision, destination as a place denotes that by 2016, MIMAROPA will be the preferred place of residence, especially for the immediate family and other dependents of government employees whose official work stations have been moved to the designated regional government center in Calapan City. The other growth centers of the Region will also attract returning emigrants and new immigrants who will have found an improved business and investment climate in the islands, particularly in agriculture and tourism. The uptrend in domestic and international tourist arrivals in the Region will be sustained as the global economy recovers. With the growing interest on the emerging diverse destinations in the Region, including the retirement villages that are in various stages of development in the island provinces, its tourism industry continues to boom and has the potential to drive growth in agriculture and processing of agricultural products. In the context of MIMAROPA as a destination for enriching experience of nature, biodiversity, adventure, health and wellness, rest and recreation, the Region’s natural land and seascapes offer world class attractions of ecological, cultural and historical significance. In the context of destination as a state of being, improved local governance and management for development results have been steadily progressing at all levels. The intended results for the region will be reduction of poverty and improved living conditions of the MIMAROPA populations. The regional development outcome is increased number of MIMAROPANs benefiting from productive agricultural activities supported with efficient infrastructure facilities, adequate social services and favorable economic opportunities and who are committed as stewards of the region’s natural monuments and cultural heritage.

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MIMAROPA Updated Regional Development Plan 2011-2016

II. Pillars of the Vision The participatory process adopted in the formulation of the Region’s development vision generated four broad pillars: empowered citizens and communities; food security; environmental integrity; and, unified interdependent island provinces. These pillars reflect the core values put forward by the stakeholders as the standards by which development interventions in the Region shall be measured. Figure 1.1 Shared Development Vision 2016

Each pillar further subsumes elements that define the parameters for assessing the Region’s progress towards the vision.

Empowered Citizens and Communities This pillar asserts the principle of empowerment as a basic building block for selfsustaining communities. Empowerment implies awareness of one’s present state, ability and capacity to discern opportunities and overcome obstacles, and purposive action to transcend to a better state. For MIMAROPA to become the destination of choice, it has to transform itself into a competitive and progressive economy, a peaceful and selfsustaining community, a sound environment for living and making a living, and a hospitable haven for rich and diverse, yet restful, tourism experience. This transformation is not only intended for the investors and visitors it seeks to attract, but more so for the well-being of its citizenry who should rightfully benefit from the vibrancy of its economy and the livability of its environment.

Food Security Fostering a healthy environment conducive to competitive agricultural production, specialization, diversification and value-adding processing would unlock the Region’s vast agricultural lands to sustainable use for food and other agricultural production, tourism development and economic prosperity of rural populations and communities.

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Beyond achieving adequate and sustainable food supply, the Region’s stakeholders seek to elevate MIMAROPA as a certified supplier of organically grown products. Creating a brand for the Region’s farm produce would not only promote production and consumption of food that enhance human health and wellness but would also contribute to ensuring high farm productivity. Any development or introduction of improved agriculture technology shall be preconditioned on the elimination of harmful chemical contamination and the risk of free radical build up. The MIMAROPA brand also assures safety from genetic modification in all farm produce of the islands. This pillar of the MIMAROPA vision supports the track on health and wellness experience to both the residents and the visitors.

Environmental Integrity Ensuring that development promotes the protection, conservation and sustainable development of the Region’s rich natural endowments and heritage resources to minimize the economic risks to the public and protect the ecological integrity of the region is yet another important pillar of the vision. The sustainability of the small island communities threatened by climate change and geological hazards should not be overlooked in the design and implementation of interventions, especially along agriculture, tourism and infrastructure. Disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and mitigation need to be mainstreamed into day-to-day routine down to the community and household levels.

Unified and Interdependent Island Provinces Interdependence and cohesion among the island provinces is acknowledged as the way forward in building MIMAROPA’s identify defined by the core values espoused in its development vision. This pillar takes up the cry of the islands’ stakeholders for physical integration within and without to achieve sustainable forms of urban development according to the preferred settlement pattern that ensures access to basic services and economic opportunities. This calls for the development of an integrated, high quality, safe and efficient multi-modal transportation system and the expansion of virtual connectivity between and among the island economies.

III. Regional Vision and the President’s Social Contract MIMAROPA’s development vision articulates the same aspirations contained in the President’s social contract as expressed by the stakeholders in the four pillars of the vision. The matrix below illustrates the cross-tabulation of the four pillars of the regional vision (empowered citizens and communities, food security, environmental integrity, and unified and interdependent island provinces) with the three elements of the President’s Social Contract with the Filipino People, namely: high sustained economic growth, growth that generates mass employment and growth that reduces poverty.

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MIMAROPA Updated Regional Development Plan 2011-2016

Each cell shows the interface of the pillars of the Regional vision with the elements of social contract. Pillars of the regional vision are either supportive or complementary with the elements of President’s social contract with the Pilipino people (Refer to Table 1.1). Table 1.1 The Regional Vision and the President’s Social Contract Elements of President’s Social Contract High & Sustained Economic Growth

Empowered Citizens and Communities This pillar is one of the state of the vision wherein the benefits developing the region’s agriculture and tourism provide high and sustained economic growth

Four (4) Pillars of MIMAROPA Vision Food Security Environmental Integrity Introduction of high value crops, increased in production areas and agri-processing industry supports the President’s social contract of economic growth

Growth that Generates Mass Employment

Competitiveness of the Region and LGUs will increase MSMEs as opportunities for employment

Farmers’ and fisherfolks’ organization, market matching and access to credit would realize rural employment

Growth that Relieves Poverty

MDG Catch-Up Plan, BUB Projects and improved land distribution are among projects for poverty reduction

More trainings, capacity building and livelihood opportunities in food production with focus on IPs and vulnerable sectors in rural areas are among interventions for inclusive growth and poverty reduction

Legend:

Supportive

“Minahang Bayan” and regulation of small scale mining are environmental management strategies to effect high and sustained economic growth Ecotourism services provide employment and conforms with protection and conservation of environment Priority of IPs in the NGP projects and full distribution of CADT/CADC supports poverty reduction and inclusive growth strategies

Unified and Interdependent Island Provinces Major Infrastructure projects, e.g., Puerto Princesa Airport, that interconnects growth/production areas provide sustained benefits/growth More investments in transportation, construction, irrigation and power supply shall generate more employment and productivity Massive implementation of rural electrification, water supply & sanitation and farm-to-market roads are preconditions for wider poverty reduction

Compatible

Table 1.2 provides a list of selected indicators of the four pillars of the vision with current values and end-of-plan target values by 2016 to determine if some results of the vision are achieved.

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Table 1.2 Vision-Reality Gap Pillars of MIMAROPA Vision Empowered citizens and communities

Food Security

Indicators GDP growth rate increased Decreased poverty Incidence among population Proportion of birth delivered in health facilities increased Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000 live births) decreased Maternal Mortality Ratio (per 100,000 live births) decreased Crude birth rate TB case detection rate Malaria Morbidity Rate per 100,000 pop’n Proportion of population with access to safe water (household in percent) increased Under 5 mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) decreased Prevalence of underweight children under-five years of age decreased (in %) Cohort survival rate in secondary education increased Regional palay production (metric ton) Yield of Palay increased (MT/ha)

Environmental Integrity

Unified and Interdependent Island provinces

GRDP growth rate in Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry (constant prices) Population of tamaraw species increased National Greening Project (NGP) areas (has) Prouduction of NGP Seedlings

9.7 50.7 16.85 90 59 91% 9.8% 12.7% 100 1,278,170

Agency Source

4.2% (2012) 31.0% (2012) 54.58%

NSCB

9.21 (2012) 73.35

DOH

20.67 88.4 (2012) 143 (2012) 80.12% (2012)

DOH DOH

9.31% (2012) 24.9% (2011) 72.82

DOH

NSCB DOH

DOH

DOH DOH

FNRIDOST/DOH DEPED BAS/DA

DENR

93.96

11,225.48 (2012) 5.6 million (2012) 11,391 (2012) 97.18% (Nov 2013) 53.78% (Nov 2013) 75.88% (428,851) 68 (2011)

100

73 (2011)

4.51 5.2% (low) 6.2% (high) 357 76,484

Forest cover increased (hectares) Pavement of national arterial road completed

100% (2014)

Pavement of national secondary road completed

100%

MIMAROPA Updated Regional Development Plan 2011-2016

Latest (Year)

1,030,606 (2012) 3.67 (2012) (0.2%) (2012) 567

38.24 million 72,282

Number of households electrified expanded Proportion of household with access to safe water supply Proportion of household with sanitary toilet

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End of Plan Target (2016) 5.2% (low) 6.2% (high) 12.05% (2015) 75.34%

90%

BAS/DA NSCB DNR

DENR DENR DPWH DPWH NEA DOH DOH

IV. Development Goals The overarching goals for national development contained in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) for 2011-2016 call for rapid, sustained high growth that creates massive jobs and reduces poverty. The PDP hopes to achieve inclusive growth, through massive investment in physical infrastructure, transparent and responsive governance, and investments in human development. MIMAROPA’s RDP for the same period directly supports the national goals. The RDP is focused on the stakeholders’ shared vision which also calls for economic growth where rapid output increases are translated into employment creation, livelihood opportunities, growth in MSMEs, skills enhancement, improve social capacities, manpower development and poverty reduction without compromising the integrity of its environment. The RDP adopts five cross-cutting goals that directly respond to its identified development challenges. The five goals are also consistent with the President’s social contract.

Economic Integration The only region in the country with no land border with another region, MIMAROPA faces the challenge of physically interconnecting its five provinces and island municipalities and with the regional seat in Calapan City, as well as with mainland Luzon and the Visayas and Mindanao regions. The integration of the island provinces and the Region’s production and growth areas is necessary to complement various economic units and to gain better access to basic goods and services. This will provide an opportunity to link closer the market with local producers as well as access to information and technologies for greater productivity and efficiency. This scenario, however, presents an opportunity for the region to become a model in intermodal transport systems.

Sustainability Agriculture, environment and natural resources, tourism areas, cultural heritage and man-made infrastructures are assets that the region should protect, manage, and conserve. These resources could be sustained through proper implementation of land use policies, innovative development practices, environmental management and good governance.

Agricultural Productivity and Food Security MIMAROPA, being an agricultural economy, finds its comparative advantage for economic growth in agricultural development. Agricultural productivity shall be geared to increase in volume of production and agri-processing as well as improving self-sufficiency of major crops in the future.

Poverty Reduction and Social Equity Under the international commitment of the country to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, MIMAROPA has to bring down its poverty incidence of 43.7

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percent (as of the 2006 Family Income and Expenditure Survey) to the 2015 target of 15 per cent. The Region is unlikely to meet some of the MDG targets. The MDG Catch Up Plan for the Region shall be reviewed periodically to assess and identify interventions to meet specific targets.

Global Competitiveness For MIMAROPA to catch up with the rest of the Philippines in terms of economic output, investments, exports and competitiveness, the island economies have to go beyond borders to forge a regional economic bloc that would prepare the Region to unprecedented growth levels similar to its 2007 growth of 9.8 percent. Competitiveness of the Region shall be pursued through creating a MIMAROPA brand based on its resource potential in agriculture and tourism. The region is seen to have competitive edge on ecotourism, in which through the partnership of LGUs, SUCs and private sectors, it will have significant contribution in industry and service sectors as well as employment.

V. Core Strategy Tourism-driven Agricultural Development shall be core strategy to effect inclusive growth in MIMAROPA. The strategy calls for an interrelated agriculture and tourism development supported by services, trade and industry, science and technology, environment and natural resources and efficient infrastructure. Agriculture and tourism are two key growth drivers of the region owing to its vast agriculture and fishery resources as well as its unique natural attractions. The strategy is seen as the key to unlocking the sluggish development of the island economies. The operational framework for this strategy defines the critical infrastructures and institutional arrangements to advance physical integration of the Region in order to achieve the goals of agricultural productivity, food security, global competitiveness and sustainability.

VI. Core Values The core values to be instituted in implementing the Plan is good governance, particularly in managing for developing results. Good governance also fosters transparency, demands accountability, promotes efficiency and upholds the rule of law in economic, political and administrative institutions and process (Chapter 7. Good Governance and Rule of Law, PDP).

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MIMAROPA Updated Regional Development Plan 2011-2016