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Friday, August 19, 2005
RP a place of nipa huts no more
By Albert B. Lacanlale
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- If the name Philippines still brings to mind a vision of rice fields, nipa huts, and smiling farm folk, take a good, hard second look.
According to the State of the Philippine Population Report (SPPR) 2004 issued by the Commission on Population (Popcom) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a peaceful barrio lifestyle is no longer a Filipino ideal.
The SPPR, Popcom Region-3 director Rose Fortaleza said, provides evidence that the Philippines, a formerly agricultural country, is fast becoming urbanized, not at the ponderous pace of the paragos (sled made from bamboo poles), but rushing along with all the flamboyance of a Sarao jeepney, with engines thrumming and lights flashing.
In 2000, the SPPR states that urban population in the Philippines was pegged at 48 percent of the total population, compared with 37 percent more than two decades ago.
Outside of the National Capital Region (NCR), urbanization rates in the country have been highest in Regions 3 (Central Luzon), 4 (Southern Tagalog), 7 (Central Visayas), 10 (Northern Mindanao) and 11 (Southern Mindanao) since the 1970s. Studies, according to Fortaleza, predict that the Philippines will be more or less 65 percent urbanized by 2020.
To many rural dwellers, SPPR stated, urban areas offer a life of asenso (progress), in sharp contrast with the buhay na walang patutungahan (aimless existence) on the farm. Better jobs, a higher living standard, and access to health and other services in town and cities act as the proverbial flames that attract countless moths - demographic and socioeconomic data show that the regions with the highest urbanization rates also have some of the highest average annual family incomes in the country.
Urban population generally grows much faster that a country's total population. The three main sources of urban population growth, SPPR revealed, include natural increase (birth minus deaths); net migration; and reclassification of previously rural to urban areas.
Recent trends also indicate that smaller towns and cities are starting to grow faster than the larger ones probably because more people are migrating to smaller urban centers than to the larger ones.
Although the total urban population is still largely concentrated in large cities such as Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao, trends seem to reveal a gradual geographic deconcentration of the urban population.
The SPPR 2004 describes cities as "awash with money", as a result of an expanding tax base and agglomeration economies. According to the report, cities are generally able to provide services, as indicated by better performance in most of service outcomes compared to the national average and surrounding areas.
However, due to the elusive "better life" that migrants expect in urban areas, many are forced into the so-called "informal sector" - unregistered commercial enterprises, or noncommercial enterprises with no formal organizational and operational structure where workers usually don't have defined rights and benefits.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) warns that a large informal sector signals an underdeveloped economy.
Due to this, the SPPR notes the need for better urban planning. "Good planning helps ensure the efficient use of resources to achieve the city's vision. Without long-term plans, it is very difficult to know what is needed in managing the city, and to check whether goals are being met," Fortaleza said.
Today, she said, many urban centers in developing countries face difficulties in providing clean water, reliable transportation, safe and healthful environment, and development opportunities for their constituents.
"With the enactment of the Local Government Code of 1991, much of the responsibility for managing rapid urban population growth has been transferred from the National Government to the local government units (LGUs). Thus, it is in the hands of the LGUs to take steps to ensure that urbanization will produce more good than harm for the typical Filipino," Fortaleza said.
(August 19, 2005 issue)
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