Aquino, J. L. (2001). Development planning in ...
Aquino, J. L. (2001). Development planning in selected provincial governments in
the Cordillera Administrative Region. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). La
Trinidad: Benguet State University.
Physical location: University of the Cordilleras Library, Baguio City
ABSTRACT
People’s needs continue to increase, and yet, government’s resources remain
to be limited. In the midst of scarce resources, the government must prioritize the
use of whatever resources it has to ensure that the most-felt needs of the citizens
are satisfied. Development planning is one tool it can be use in determining the
courses of action that will provide the maximum satisfaction to the most number of
beneficiaries and in facilitating the achievement of development goals.
Recognizing the importance of development planning, this study aimed to find
out the following: the adequacy of provincial government resources for development
planning, the extent of involvement of non-government organizations and people’s
organizations, the extent of implementation of planning structures, the level of
accomplishment of planning outputs, and the problems of local government units as
regards development planning. The primary data were obtained from 84
respondents through a questionnaire, interviews with key informants, and content
analysis of existing records and plans of local government units.
The local government technical resource and leadership support are
perceived to be adequate, but financial resource is not. Perceived satisfactory are
the extent of involvement of non-government organizations and people’s
organizations in development planning; the extent of implication of planning
structures; and the level of accomplishment of planning outputs.
Although the technical resource is generally adequate, its determinants are
perceived differently. Educational attainment and length of service of the planning
staff are adequate, but training and actual work experiences are not. A great majority
of the planning staff have been in the planning office for 11 years or more. Of the 14
training programs required for development planners to undergo, only three are
deemed adequate, as follows: project proposal/ feasibility study preparation,
development plan framework, and situation analysis. The technical staff’s
contribution in the formulation of development plan comes in the form of data
collection, analysis, and dissemination.
As to financial resource, perceived not adequate is the budgetary support for
activities such as accreditation and orientation of non-government organizations and
people’s organizations, conduct of forums and symposia on planning, hiring of
consultants, and updating the provincial development council. On the other hand,
perceived adequate is the financial support for the administrative requirements of the
Provincial Planning and Development Office.
Leadership support is likewise perceived to be adequate as the Provincial
Governors have manifested interest in long-term development planning and in
enjoining other sectors in the local community to actively participate in development
planning, except that of the Congressman or his representative.
The involvement of non-government organizations and people’s organizations
seeking accreditation from the local governments are more interested in partaking of
rather than augmenting local government resources. In addition, local governments
have fallen short in providing the non-government organizations and people’s
organizations the proper motivation to continue their participation in local planning
activities.
The level of accomplishment of planning outputs is satisfactory with the
Provincial Development Plans the most appreciated.
The problems perceived to adversely affect the development planning at the
local level are lack of local funds to support planning activities, lack of interest and
skills among Sanggunian Panlalawigan members to competently review
development plans, and lack of funds to implement planned programs and projects
which discourages long-term planning.
Conclusions
Development planning as responsibility of the local government has gained
considerable attention, compared to the situation during the pre-Code period. This
change has been manifested by how the subject provincial governments attempted
to provide support to development planning, to involve the citizens, to put in place
the prescribed planning structures, and to generate the planning outputs as
prescribed by national laws and directives.
However, development planning in the provincial governments in the
Cordillera Administrative Regions still has to be fully appreciated as a tool to fast-
track local development.
Based on the findings, the following conclusions are drawn:
1. Provincial governments in the Cordillera have not reached their full
potential for development planning. The technical capabilities of the planning staff,
although perceived to be adequate, still need to be enhanced. Currently, the
competence of the planning staff is limited to project proposal and feasibility study
preparation, the outputs of which become relevant only during the investment
programming period. The very basic of development planning, i.e., development
planning framework, is a weak spot among the planning personnel. Fundamental
concepts like development goals, development objectives and targets, and
development strategies are still vague to the planning technicians so much so that
articulation of the same concepts in the development plans come in confused forms.
Likewise, the assigned tasks of the planning staff, excluding the PPDC, are limited to
data gathering and data analysis, thus hampering the development of the staff’s
potentials in the era of development policy analysis and formulation.
2. The present level of local government support to development planning in
terms of financial resource for creating opportunities and venues for sharing and
exchange of information on development with the broad mass of society is still far
below than what is desired. Somehow, the income generating capacity of local
governments affects their ability to provide support to such development planning
activities.
3. The support of local leaders in development planning is important to make
local development planning really work. When leaders are sincere in their desire to
pursue local development objectives, the will to provide the necessary technical and
financial resources will manifest. However, most of the local leaders have not really
come out of the traditional thinking that decision-making for local development is
their sole concern rather than shared responsibility. Local leaders are fearful that
people participation in development planning may threaten their leadership position
and weaken their power base.
4. People participation in development planning is more than ever apparent in
development and development-related activities. The involvement of NGOs and
GOs in development planning can make development plans more responsive to the
community’s needs. However, the area where citizen’s groups are more interested in
is not o much to argument but to partake of the scarce resources of the local
government.
5. Local government planning structures are in place but not in accordance
with the national prescriptions. Local leaders decide what and how planning
structures are to be established. Such action may facilitate decision-making, but may
also create suspicions about leadership motives.
6. The planning outputs produced by the local government still leave much to
be desired. Lack of misunderstanding of the basic development planning concepts
results to poor quality outputs. In addition, plans remain to be political tools that
ensure the reelection of elective officials who would always favor inclusion of
infrastructure projects in plans. Preference for infrastructure projects widens the
disparity among development sectors, with the infrastructure sector receiving the
lion’s share of the scare local resource.
Recommendations
Based on the findings and conclusions of the study, the following
recommendations are forwarded:
1. A Development Planning Manpower Training Program be formulated and
implanted by the Local Government Academy of the Department of Interior and
Local Government in coordination with the National Economic and Development
Authority and the League of Local Governments. The program will be a package of
basic development planning courses/strategic planning framework, situation
analysis, policy formulation and analysis, project development, sectoral development
planning, physical planning, rural development planning and urban development
planning. It should also include a special module in development communication
through which both the oral and written communications skills of development
planners can be improved.
2. A special training package for local chief executives and Sanggunian
members on their roles as leaders and as planners should also be institutionalized. It
shall focus on the local leaders’ functions and responsibilities as primary
development planners and policy makers, motivators, resource allocators, and
decision-makers. The training shall be conducted during the first three months of the
term of newly-elected officials and rescheduled for updates every year. Relative to
this, the Lakbay Aral Program for local officials may be enhanced by requiring the
participants in the program undergo in-depth study and assessment of the different
administrative and technical systems existing in the local governments they visit.
These can include the development planning, financial, and project implementation
systems, among others, about which a paper shall be prepared and disseminated by
the program participants.
3. Local governments should set aside a portion of their IRA 20 percent
development fund for development planning activities such as the regular conduct
of symposia, forums, training programs, consultations- to enhance people
participation in setting and attaining the development goals of the local community.
The appropriation for development planning activities will require the authorization
from the national government through an Executive Order from Malacañang.
4. Local governments who comply with the development planning directives
should be provided additional incentives. The quarterly releases by the Department
of Budget and Management of the 20 percent development fund based on submitted
Annual Investment Plans should be maintained to compel LGUs to prepare such
plan. However, the generation of other local development plans may be enforced
and reinforced through additional incentives like national fund grants for special
projects of the local government or through discounted interest rates on LGUs loans
from Government Financing Institutions, and similar motivational programs. Such
incentives can also be applied to LGUs with intact planning structures like the PDCs
and its committees, more so to LGUs who implement strategies that enhance
participation of the broadest mass in development planning. The case of Benguet
province in expanding the number of sectoral committees corresponding to the
number of its municipalities so that each mayor can assume coordination
responsibilities and where NGOs and Pos operating in locality can participate is
worth mentioning as one good strategy.
5. Non-government organizations needs to be encouraged to participate in
local development planning more than ever as their contribution in making the
development plans more responsive to the community’s needs has been
established. The local governments should ensure that one-fourth of the total
membership of the local development councils is properly allocated for NGOs.
During council meetings, a regular part or agendum should be provided for the
member NGOs. Such part come in form of a presentation of NGO programs and
projects or of their development concerns, thus, enabling the citizens express their
thoughts and share information to the planning body. Provision of such opportunities
to NGOs during councils meetings will encourage attendance and active
participation, not only in the meetings but also in other development planning-related
activities of the local government.
6. The infrastructure-orientation of local governments, especially among
politicians, must be corrected. The intervention to correct such orientation can be
issuance of a national directive that not more than 50 percent of local government
investment programs be allocated for infrastructure projects. Doing so ensures that
other sectors like the social, economic, and development administration sectors
receive proportionate attention.
Figure 3 presents a local development planning model that incorporates the
foregoing recommendations. The model illustrates an input-process-output-outcome
relationship of the variables that figured in the study.
INPUTS
PROCESSES
OUTPUTS
OUTCOME
RECOMMENADATIONS
ACTORS
Information
Socio-
gathering situation
economic
Training on:
Local chief
analysis
profile
Responsible leadership
executives
Management functions:
Heads of office
IMPR
- Resource allocation,
Municipal LCE
Plan Formulation
OVED
- Negotiation/Decision
- Vision, Mission,
- Provincial
QUAL
making
Goals
development
ITY
Development planning
- Objectives/
plan
OF
Sanggunian
targets
- Physical
LIFE
Training on:
panlalawigan
- Strategies and
framework
- Program/project prioritization
policies
plan
- Budgeting
- Policy making
- Provincial
Investment
development
Incentives as LDC members
NGOs
Programming and
investment
Orientation on PP
budgeting
program
- Project
- Annual
Development manpower
Technical staff of
identification
development
Training program
PPDO
- Project
Incentives
development
- Investment
Incentives
Local government
programming
EO on IRA share and allocation
- Budgeting
Implementation
of Plans
Figure 3. A proposed model for local development planning in the Cordillera Administrative
Region.
The inputs are the recommendations of the research. Specific
objects/projects are to be produced and implemented to enhance the skills and
improve the attitudes of particular groups of individuals involved in local
development planning at the local level. Equipped with the appropriate skills and
attitudes, the concerned actors will be more prepared to undertake the various
processes or steps in planning. These processes will result to tangible outputs in the
form of documents. The process of gathering information on the existing situation in
the community, including the resources, services, and needs of the population, ends
with the generation of socio-economics profiles. The SEP is then used as a basis in
the formulation of plans, which include the development plan and physical
framework plans. To implement the plans, programs and projects that are
responsive to the community’s needs will have to be identified. These programs and
projects are listed in the investment programs and annual plans with corresponding
budgets.
Plan implementation is operationalized when the identified programs and
projects begin to generate benefits for the community and its population. Such
benefits are manifested through the changes in the lives of target population.
Combined, the changes are shown through improved quality of life-the end product
of the model.
7. Lastly, it is recommended that further studies on the status of development
planning at the local level be conducted, with the inclusion of the municipal and
barangay levels. Another researchable area that may be considered is a study on
the number and types of NGOs and Pos existing at the local level with focus on their
capability in development planning and project implementation. Such studies can
provide more substantive information of and insights into the magnitude of
development planning as it is being used as a tool to fast-track local development.
the Cordillera Administrative Region. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). La
Trinidad: Benguet State University.
Physical location: University of the Cordilleras Library, Baguio City
ABSTRACT
People’s needs continue to increase, and yet, government’s resources remain
to be limited. In the midst of scarce resources, the government must prioritize the
use of whatever resources it has to ensure that the most-felt needs of the citizens
are satisfied. Development planning is one tool it can be use in determining the
courses of action that will provide the maximum satisfaction to the most number of
beneficiaries and in facilitating the achievement of development goals.
Recognizing the importance of development planning, this study aimed to find
out the following: the adequacy of provincial government resources for development
planning, the extent of involvement of non-government organizations and people’s
organizations, the extent of implementation of planning structures, the level of
accomplishment of planning outputs, and the problems of local government units as
regards development planning. The primary data were obtained from 84
respondents through a questionnaire, interviews with key informants, and content
analysis of existing records and plans of local government units.
The local government technical resource and leadership support are
perceived to be adequate, but financial resource is not. Perceived satisfactory are
the extent of involvement of non-government organizations and people’s
organizations in development planning; the extent of implication of planning
structures; and the level of accomplishment of planning outputs.
Although the technical resource is generally adequate, its determinants are
perceived differently. Educational attainment and length of service of the planning
staff are adequate, but training and actual work experiences are not. A great majority
of the planning staff have been in the planning office for 11 years or more. Of the 14
training programs required for development planners to undergo, only three are
deemed adequate, as follows: project proposal/ feasibility study preparation,
development plan framework, and situation analysis. The technical staff’s
contribution in the formulation of development plan comes in the form of data
collection, analysis, and dissemination.
As to financial resource, perceived not adequate is the budgetary support for
activities such as accreditation and orientation of non-government organizations and
people’s organizations, conduct of forums and symposia on planning, hiring of
consultants, and updating the provincial development council. On the other hand,
perceived adequate is the financial support for the administrative requirements of the
Provincial Planning and Development Office.
Leadership support is likewise perceived to be adequate as the Provincial
Governors have manifested interest in long-term development planning and in
enjoining other sectors in the local community to actively participate in development
planning, except that of the Congressman or his representative.
The involvement of non-government organizations and people’s organizations
seeking accreditation from the local governments are more interested in partaking of
rather than augmenting local government resources. In addition, local governments
have fallen short in providing the non-government organizations and people’s
organizations the proper motivation to continue their participation in local planning
activities.
The level of accomplishment of planning outputs is satisfactory with the
Provincial Development Plans the most appreciated.
The problems perceived to adversely affect the development planning at the
local level are lack of local funds to support planning activities, lack of interest and
skills among Sanggunian Panlalawigan members to competently review
development plans, and lack of funds to implement planned programs and projects
which discourages long-term planning.
Conclusions
Development planning as responsibility of the local government has gained
considerable attention, compared to the situation during the pre-Code period. This
change has been manifested by how the subject provincial governments attempted
to provide support to development planning, to involve the citizens, to put in place
the prescribed planning structures, and to generate the planning outputs as
prescribed by national laws and directives.
However, development planning in the provincial governments in the
Cordillera Administrative Regions still has to be fully appreciated as a tool to fast-
track local development.
Based on the findings, the following conclusions are drawn:
1. Provincial governments in the Cordillera have not reached their full
potential for development planning. The technical capabilities of the planning staff,
although perceived to be adequate, still need to be enhanced. Currently, the
competence of the planning staff is limited to project proposal and feasibility study
preparation, the outputs of which become relevant only during the investment
programming period. The very basic of development planning, i.e., development
planning framework, is a weak spot among the planning personnel. Fundamental
concepts like development goals, development objectives and targets, and
development strategies are still vague to the planning technicians so much so that
articulation of the same concepts in the development plans come in confused forms.
Likewise, the assigned tasks of the planning staff, excluding the PPDC, are limited to
data gathering and data analysis, thus hampering the development of the staff’s
potentials in the era of development policy analysis and formulation.
2. The present level of local government support to development planning in
terms of financial resource for creating opportunities and venues for sharing and
exchange of information on development with the broad mass of society is still far
below than what is desired. Somehow, the income generating capacity of local
governments affects their ability to provide support to such development planning
activities.
3. The support of local leaders in development planning is important to make
local development planning really work. When leaders are sincere in their desire to
pursue local development objectives, the will to provide the necessary technical and
financial resources will manifest. However, most of the local leaders have not really
come out of the traditional thinking that decision-making for local development is
their sole concern rather than shared responsibility. Local leaders are fearful that
people participation in development planning may threaten their leadership position
and weaken their power base.
4. People participation in development planning is more than ever apparent in
development and development-related activities. The involvement of NGOs and
GOs in development planning can make development plans more responsive to the
community’s needs. However, the area where citizen’s groups are more interested in
is not o much to argument but to partake of the scarce resources of the local
government.
5. Local government planning structures are in place but not in accordance
with the national prescriptions. Local leaders decide what and how planning
structures are to be established. Such action may facilitate decision-making, but may
also create suspicions about leadership motives.
6. The planning outputs produced by the local government still leave much to
be desired. Lack of misunderstanding of the basic development planning concepts
results to poor quality outputs. In addition, plans remain to be political tools that
ensure the reelection of elective officials who would always favor inclusion of
infrastructure projects in plans. Preference for infrastructure projects widens the
disparity among development sectors, with the infrastructure sector receiving the
lion’s share of the scare local resource.
Recommendations
Based on the findings and conclusions of the study, the following
recommendations are forwarded:
1. A Development Planning Manpower Training Program be formulated and
implanted by the Local Government Academy of the Department of Interior and
Local Government in coordination with the National Economic and Development
Authority and the League of Local Governments. The program will be a package of
basic development planning courses/strategic planning framework, situation
analysis, policy formulation and analysis, project development, sectoral development
planning, physical planning, rural development planning and urban development
planning. It should also include a special module in development communication
through which both the oral and written communications skills of development
planners can be improved.
2. A special training package for local chief executives and Sanggunian
members on their roles as leaders and as planners should also be institutionalized. It
shall focus on the local leaders’ functions and responsibilities as primary
development planners and policy makers, motivators, resource allocators, and
decision-makers. The training shall be conducted during the first three months of the
term of newly-elected officials and rescheduled for updates every year. Relative to
this, the Lakbay Aral Program for local officials may be enhanced by requiring the
participants in the program undergo in-depth study and assessment of the different
administrative and technical systems existing in the local governments they visit.
These can include the development planning, financial, and project implementation
systems, among others, about which a paper shall be prepared and disseminated by
the program participants.
3. Local governments should set aside a portion of their IRA 20 percent
development fund for development planning activities such as the regular conduct
of symposia, forums, training programs, consultations- to enhance people
participation in setting and attaining the development goals of the local community.
The appropriation for development planning activities will require the authorization
from the national government through an Executive Order from Malacañang.
4. Local governments who comply with the development planning directives
should be provided additional incentives. The quarterly releases by the Department
of Budget and Management of the 20 percent development fund based on submitted
Annual Investment Plans should be maintained to compel LGUs to prepare such
plan. However, the generation of other local development plans may be enforced
and reinforced through additional incentives like national fund grants for special
projects of the local government or through discounted interest rates on LGUs loans
from Government Financing Institutions, and similar motivational programs. Such
incentives can also be applied to LGUs with intact planning structures like the PDCs
and its committees, more so to LGUs who implement strategies that enhance
participation of the broadest mass in development planning. The case of Benguet
province in expanding the number of sectoral committees corresponding to the
number of its municipalities so that each mayor can assume coordination
responsibilities and where NGOs and Pos operating in locality can participate is
worth mentioning as one good strategy.
5. Non-government organizations needs to be encouraged to participate in
local development planning more than ever as their contribution in making the
development plans more responsive to the community’s needs has been
established. The local governments should ensure that one-fourth of the total
membership of the local development councils is properly allocated for NGOs.
During council meetings, a regular part or agendum should be provided for the
member NGOs. Such part come in form of a presentation of NGO programs and
projects or of their development concerns, thus, enabling the citizens express their
thoughts and share information to the planning body. Provision of such opportunities
to NGOs during councils meetings will encourage attendance and active
participation, not only in the meetings but also in other development planning-related
activities of the local government.
6. The infrastructure-orientation of local governments, especially among
politicians, must be corrected. The intervention to correct such orientation can be
issuance of a national directive that not more than 50 percent of local government
investment programs be allocated for infrastructure projects. Doing so ensures that
other sectors like the social, economic, and development administration sectors
receive proportionate attention.
Figure 3 presents a local development planning model that incorporates the
foregoing recommendations. The model illustrates an input-process-output-outcome
relationship of the variables that figured in the study.
INPUTS
PROCESSES
OUTPUTS
OUTCOME
RECOMMENADATIONS
ACTORS
Information
Socio-
gathering situation
economic
Training on:
Local chief
analysis
profile
Responsible leadership
executives
Management functions:
Heads of office
IMPR
- Resource allocation,
Municipal LCE
Plan Formulation
OVED
- Negotiation/Decision
- Vision, Mission,
- Provincial
QUAL
making
Goals
development
ITY
Development planning
- Objectives/
plan
OF
Sanggunian
targets
- Physical
LIFE
Training on:
panlalawigan
- Strategies and
framework
- Program/project prioritization
policies
plan
- Budgeting
- Policy making
- Provincial
Investment
development
Incentives as LDC members
NGOs
Programming and
investment
Orientation on PP
budgeting
program
- Project
- Annual
Development manpower
Technical staff of
identification
development
Training program
PPDO
- Project
Incentives
development
- Investment
Incentives
Local government
programming
EO on IRA share and allocation
- Budgeting
Implementation
of Plans
Figure 3. A proposed model for local development planning in the Cordillera Administrative
Region.
The inputs are the recommendations of the research. Specific
objects/projects are to be produced and implemented to enhance the skills and
improve the attitudes of particular groups of individuals involved in local
development planning at the local level. Equipped with the appropriate skills and
attitudes, the concerned actors will be more prepared to undertake the various
processes or steps in planning. These processes will result to tangible outputs in the
form of documents. The process of gathering information on the existing situation in
the community, including the resources, services, and needs of the population, ends
with the generation of socio-economics profiles. The SEP is then used as a basis in
the formulation of plans, which include the development plan and physical
framework plans. To implement the plans, programs and projects that are
responsive to the community’s needs will have to be identified. These programs and
projects are listed in the investment programs and annual plans with corresponding
budgets.
Plan implementation is operationalized when the identified programs and
projects begin to generate benefits for the community and its population. Such
benefits are manifested through the changes in the lives of target population.
Combined, the changes are shown through improved quality of life-the end product
of the model.
7. Lastly, it is recommended that further studies on the status of development
planning at the local level be conducted, with the inclusion of the municipal and
barangay levels. Another researchable area that may be considered is a study on
the number and types of NGOs and Pos existing at the local level with focus on their
capability in development planning and project implementation. Such studies can
provide more substantive information of and insights into the magnitude of
development planning as it is being used as a tool to fast-track local development.