Metropolitan Arrangements in the Philippines: A New Urban Development Challenge

The formation of metropolitan arrangements has recently become the trend. As these are still in the early stage of developing their identity, this note deals with the policy issues concerning metropolis and how to sustain such arrangements. It also presents the profile of the different emerging metropolis in the country.urban management, urbanization, metropolitan structure, metropolitan planning and development

The Philippine electricity sector reform and the urban question: How metro Manila's utility is tackling urban poverty

International audienceIn the early 2000s, the Philippine government reformed its electricity sector following neoliberal principles: unbundling of the power industry, privatisation of assets and commodification of electricity. This paper shows that the reform was primarily driven by the need to secure electricity supply and cut down tariffs. These national objectives ousted other issues, and notably those that find their expression at the urban level, among which the question of access to electricity in Metro Manila's urban poor communities. The central state withdrew its attention from the issue of electrification, and local actors had to react as they were confronted to social tensions and practices of pilferage. As a consequence, city governments and local administrations are getting involved in this issue, which opens the way to participation of civil society. This paper shows how the “rolling back” of the central state led to new partnerships and arrangements between the distribution utility, local governments and community organisations. This movement points to an urbanisation of energy issues, which could bring positive results for end-users provided that it is accompanied by a clearer regulatory framework

Compliance of balanced housing policy in the Philippines: the case of Davao City

The Philippines have quintessentially suffered setbacks in providing the housing needs for the underprivileged and homeless urban poor. The reformist policy through the balanced housing principle of the Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA) has augured well as a strategy to cope with the socialized housing requirement brought by rapid urbanization. This paper assesses the compliance of balanced housing policy by the State and the private housing developers in the city of Davao. The study explores the mechanisms used by government to ensure compliance and the modalities availed by housign developers, and provide policy recommendation for the efficient implementation and compliance with the policy. Although there was compliance from the private sector, the policy was tweaked which resulting in considerable loss of socialized housing units in Davao City due to ambiguous application of balanced housing policy. Equally significant difficulty for an efficient implementation is the weak administrative mechanisms, causing a failure in the compliance and monitoring aspects, coupled with lack of understanding and the determination to implement the balanced housing policy. Thus, the government of Davao city needs to approach the growing urban homelessness with resolve and urgency thereby accelerating the production of socialized housing through the balanced housing policy

Waste management in the coastal areas of the ASEAN region: roles of governments, banking institutions, donor agencies, private sector and communities

Waste disposal, Marine pollution, Pollution control, Coastal zone management, Environment management, ASEAN,

The Trail of Education in Two Cities: Omaha and Manila

Never, perhaps, in the history of local communities has the educational system been recognized openly as being interwoven with the community as it is now. In individuals\u27 aspiration, for better lives and as a primary component of the equation of education and community, education is viewed as an avenue of promise. There can be no doubt of its universal acceptance as the key to the most fervently desired goals, security for the future and an understanding of self and others

Transforming the urban landscape : an analysis of patterns, problems, and prospects of metro Manilla

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1997.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-70).by Maria Luisa I. Eusebio.M.C.P

Drinking Water Issues and Management in the Republic of the Philippines

Major drinking water issues and management schemes in the Republic of the Philippines are examined utilizing a political geographic perspective. By examining these issues and management schemes, administrators in developing countries, such as the Philippines, can provide more effective drinking water management for their citizens. Effective drinking water management is an essential building block in the foundation of sustainable development. This type of socio-political and economic research demonstrates the importance of equity in safe drinking water distribution, and the value of watershedbased and integrated natural resource management. The importance of recognizing the provision of safe drinking water as a human rights issue in order to promote environmental and social justice in the Philippines is underscored

Can Markets Secure Human Rights?

In recent years, State inefficiency in delivering some public goods to everybody has been the main argument set forth by those who sustain that markets should play a more active role in providing those goods and services that are needed to secure human rights. In result, in many parts of the world, we have been witnessing extensive privatization of social security and water distribution, for example. This article argues that markets are not fully equipped to play the role of a supplier of goods and services as human rights, and more specifically of the right to social security and the right to water. The main reason for this is that in the language of markets capability to pay is the key question whereas within the rights language it is entitlement. If in the first case exclusion and inequality are acceptable in the second case the only acceptable situation is the one characterized by inclusion and equality. In other words goods and services can be unequally distributed, rights cannot. Secondly a provider of goods and services as human rights must be a democratically accountable institution, whereas markets are anonymous, and therefore, unaccountable by definition. Finally, markets are also inefficient in providing goods and services as human rights, either because human rights “markets” are not competitive or because market incentives for private provision of human rights are notoriously weak.