CHAPTER 10 RESPONDING TO THE BASIC NEEDS OF THE POOR

   Programs and projects implemented to respond to the basic needs of the poor were geared towards the following priorities: livelihood, asset reform, provision of essential services, assistance to vulnerable groups and empowerment. 

Microfinance

• A total of P3.5 million was released for corn production to 22 farmers with LBP and QUEDANCOR, covering 321 hectares. The Multi- Livestock Development Loan Program served 186 farmers with 4 4 cooperatives assisted.

• P22.6 million pesos was accessed by 4,426 agrarian reform beneficiaries.

Livelihood

• Production support through seeds distribution and fertilizer assistance have been provided to identified seed growers, rice farmers and  4,961 farmer beneficiaries. Small -scale irrigation projects serving 750 hectares and post harvest facilities have also been provided. 11 trainings on post harvest extension, enhanced extension delivery systems, rice technology, and others were conducted with 568 farmers trained .  Technical trainings on pili nursey establishments and pili plant materials propagation, mango production, post harvest handling technology were also conducted.

• In 2006, a total of 70 SEA-K level 1 associations covering 1,027 families have beeen organized and assisted with a total fund release of P4,881,500.00. This release was lower compared to last year's funding amounting to P5.3 million. Under Level II, 205 families have availed of the  SEA-Kabayan benefits by managing microprojects with a total fund release of P3.038 million.  Repayment schemes at 82% and 92%, respectively had exceeded the targets for the year.

• The Tindahan Natin (TN) project  intends to provide access to basic foods such as rice and noodles at affordable prices. 466 outlets have been in operation  benefitting 116,500 families.

• For disaster victims, cash amounting to P200.00 per day for a maximum of 3 to 5 days has been provided to every member of family evacuees for work rendered at evacuation centers in their respective barangays.  Work involved insatallation of latrines, construction of compost pit, minor repairs of damaged school buildings, backyard gardening,etc.  About 10,848 individuals benefited from the cash for work project with a total fund release of P11.108 million .

• For the indigenous peoples. 10 socio-economic projects were implemented.  These include citrus fruit and cassava plantation, distribution of vegetable seeds, and goat dispersal projects in Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur.

Asset Reform

 

Under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) of the Department of Agrarian Reform, some 13, 260 hectares of land were distributed indicating an increase over last year's  10,229 hectares of land. Subdivision of Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) covered 1,473 hectares showing a 27 % accomplishment over the targeted 1,152 hectares for the year. 240 uninstalled ARBs ( those who are long time holders of emancipated patents and CLOA who could not take physical possession of the land due to landowners assistance) were finally installed during the year.

• In terms of fast-tracking the resolution of agrarian reform cases, a total of 5,520 cases were resolved.

• Adoption of the Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) strategy has helped in the convergence of delivery of services.  Functional Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) organizations totalled 180, an increase over last year's 113 ARBs,  They were  recipients of various services such as infrastructures and basic social services. The total number of ARB organizations in ARCs is 180. A total of 44 ARB organizations translated to 2,300 beneficiaries are now able to manage their own enterprises

• The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has processed and transmitted to the Register of Deeds 2,314 Free Patents covering a total area of 3,185 hectares of alienable and disposable agricultural lands as compared to 6,213 in 2005.  .

• Two Certificates of Ancestral Domain Claims (CADCs) in Capalonga, Camarines Norte and Tiwi, Albay were converted to Certificate of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs). Integral to this were the conduct of IEC, social preparation and delineation activities . The Ancestral Domain Sustainable and Protection Plan (ADSDPP) of the Agta/ Agta- Tabangnon of Buhi, Camarines Sur and Tiwi, Albay were also formulated.

Provision of Essential Services

Water

 

Preliminary reports show that the proportion of households with access to safe water (levels 1, 2 and 3) decreased from  84.25 percent  in 2005 to 82 percent in 2006. This is probably due to changes in the potability of water as a result of contamination of water sources. The proportion of households with sanitary toilets, however slightly increased from  62.96 percent in 2005 to 64 percent in 2006 .

 

Health, Nutrition and Population

• Although slow, life expectancies were estimated to have increased in 2006. Average life expectancy of females was estimated to have increased to 72.93 years, indicating that they outlive their male counterparts whose life expectancy was 67.58 years.  Meanwhile, Crude Birth Rate (CBR) slightly decreased from 28.6 births per 1,000 population in 2005 to 28.12 in 2006. Crude Death Rate (CDR) in 2006 at 4.84  deaths showed a  .08 percentage point increase over last year's  4.76 deaths per 1,000 population. Leading causes were still hypertension, respiratory diseases, heart diseases, and tuberculosis.

• Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) was posted at 10.59 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2006 showing a 4.59 percentage point increase compared to the 2005 level of 6 infant deaths. Infant deaths were highest in Camarines Norte (15.00 ) and lowest in Sorsogon (7.14)  The leading causes were respiratory diseases, septicemia, congenital anomalies, prematurity and diarrhea.

• Meanwhile, Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) increased from  1.17 deaths per 1,000 livebirths in 2005 to 1.19 maternal deaths in 2006 with the following as the leading causes: hemorrhages related to pregnancy, eclampsia, and ectopic pregnancy.

• The more common diseases/epidemics were cholera, typhoid, dengue, and neonatal tetanus for 2005 and 2006.

• Health manpower mobilized for health care delivery at the local levels include 155 doctors, 259 nurses, 190 engineers/RSIs, 1045 midwives and 14,554 Barangay Health Workers (BHWs). A decrease in the number of doctors, sanitary inspectors and barangay health workers has been noted in the region during the period.  All provinces and cities are  in need of government doctors, sanitary inspectors, midwives and barangay health workers.

• Health care services were provided by 51 government hospitals,67 private hospitals,  125 RHUs, and 1,090 BHS and 8 other clinics consisting of birthing homes. dialysis clinics, psychiatric care facility, and ambulatory surgical clinic.

• Prevalence of low and very low, below normal malnourished preschoolers decreased from   21.83 percent in 2005 to 20.22 in 2006. The highest prevalence rates among the provinces were registered for Camarines Sur (25.16 percent) while among cities, Legazpi City (12.22 percent) has posted the highest. Except for Iriga City, all provinces and cities posted a decrease in the number of malnourished preschoolers from 2005 to 2006.

• On the other hand, malnutrition prevalence rates for schoolchildren  based on endline data increased  from 23.2 percent in SY 2005-2006 to 24 percent in SY 2006-2007. More boys (55.8 percent) were malnourished as compared to girls (44.2 percent).  Contributory factors to the prevalence of malnutrition are  (1) inadequacy of and deficiency in food intake, (2) improper diet and eating habits, (3) lack of proper nutrition knowledge and attitude, (4) presence of infectious diseases due to poor environmental sanitation, (5) lack of potable water supply and toilet facilities and (6) inadequate health services provided. Majority of the children who weigh below normal are in Grade 1.

• The National Health Insurance Program has been successful in expanding insurance coverage to include not only the employed population but also indigents and the self-employed as well.  The number of government employees covered by the program reached 102,443 in 2006 showing a 5.6 percent increase over that of the registered 96,974 in 2005. Private employees also increased from 96,683 in 2005 to 114,199 in 2006 while individually paying members reached 86,198 as compared to 69,418 in 2005. Coverage for the indigents likewise increased from 236,786 in 2005 to 344,622 in 2006. 42 LGUs remained supportive to the program.  The number of accredited facilities reached 79 while total number of accredited professionals numbered 544.

• The region has actually achieved a modest decline in fertility from 4.03 in 2005 to 3.9 in 2006. The Family Planning Survey 2005 posted the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR)  at 43.2 percent and was estimated to be 43.4 in 2006.

Program Accomplishments

Health

• Fully immunized child coverage has decreased from 86 percent in 2005 to 82 percent in 2006.  Except for Masbate which posted a 99 percent coverage, all provinces and cities performed below the benchmark coverage of 95 percent.  The low performance is due to (1) irregular vaccination schedules and poorly disseminated vaccination sessions at the local levels,(2) lack of follow-up of defaulters, (3) lack of training for health workers, (4) deterioration of the cold chain system, (5) poor stocks management, and (6) inadequate funds of the LGUs for the provision of injection equipments, conduct of training for health workers, and logistic support for the conduct of EPI sessions.

• The percentage of births delivered by skilled attendants consisting of doctors, nurses and midwives was 48.00 percent compared to last year's 49 percent which still falls short of the targeted 70 percent. Percentage of births delivered in a health facility was only 19 percent.

• Public health programs implemented at the local level focused on four priorities, namely Safe Motherhood and Family Planning, Child Care, Control of Communicable Diseases and Healthy Lifestyle. 

• Under Safe Motherhood and Family Planning, safe motherhood services were made accessible to mothers and their newborn babies to detect life-threatening complication. What is most alarming though is the prevailing low coverage for tetanus toxoid immunization(60%) and iron supplementation 62%) and the low percentage of births delivered in health facilities and by trained health personnel .

• Under Control of Communicable Diseases Control Program, the TB Control Program has been vigorously pursued. TB Detection Rate has improved to 99 percent due largely to the intensified quality assurance measures implemented in four provincial QA laboratories.  TB Cure Rate has reached 84.3 percent due largely to treatment administered by trained health personnel and the establishment of three public and one private mix DOTS facilities.

• The Medicare Para sa Masa Program increased from 236,786 enrollees in 2005 to 344,622 in 2006.       

Nutrition

• Programs focused on home and community food production, micronutrient supplementation, food fortification, food assistance, training and advocacy. Nutrition information, communication and education has also been enhanced

• There has been a decrease in the proportion of clients provided with micronutrient supplements in 2006. 66,636 or 62 percent pregnant women were given iron dosage compared to 59 percent in 2005 and 113,887 or 74 percent of 9-11 months old children were given Vitamin A supplementation. 83,222 pregnant and 71568 lactating women were given complete iron dosage while at least 1,827 women 15-49 years old were given iodized oil capsules.

• In the formal school system, various nutrition programs, i.e. School Feeding Program, Breakfast Feeding Program, Fresh Milk Feeding Program, Food for School and School Nutrition Program were implemented.

Family Planning and Reproductive Health

 

   The Family Planning Program has played a vital role in the advancement of the health and socio-economic status of the Bicolanas.  There has been an increase in the number of users of family planning methods.  However, those not using any method (56.8 %) still outweigh both those using modern methods (43.2%) and the traditional methods (20.1 %).  The Family Planning Survey 2005, reveals that the reasons for non-use of contraceptives are fertility-related such as wanting to have as many children as possible or the women are already in the menopausal stage, fear of side effects and health concerns, and opposition to use.

Table 1 Program Accomplishments: Vital Health, Nutrition and Population
and Family Planning Indicators, 2005-2006

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