1.0   BASES OF THE PLAN

D.     Human and Social Development Sector

1.2.36    Emerging Issues and Concerns

As the City moves towards its place in the BIMP-EAGA and in a globalized community, the need for connectedness among our people’s concerns becomes more and more pronounced in certain areas. There is urgency for specific action and policy pronouncement not only at the nationwide and global level but also at the local level. Among the major issues and problems that the City must address in this Social Development Master Plan is:

Reduction of Poverty Incidence Issue

The relatively high percentage (38.5%) of families below the poverty threshold. For Zamboanga City, this proportion of the total population is about 225,000 people. The rural poverty level in the rural areas has been found to be generally higher than the urban poverty level. The City’s Master Plan should review the anti-poverty programs and other related measures being implemented based on the premise that the human development and alleviation of poverty are best achieved through the direct and combined efforts of people themselves. Human capabilities are best expanded through their direct exercise. Sectoral biases to addressing poverty should be checked and more converging efforts and activities should be done in responding to the needs of the masses of poor.

Literacy and Education

The literacy rate of the school-age population (between 82% and 88%) and adult population (79%) has been relatively low. In poverty studies, education has been considered to be the fulcrum that tips and breaks the poverty cycle. It should also be noted that language and literacy learning are interrelated. The classrooms in the 12 districts and 21 secondary high schools in Zamboanga City contain a mixture of cultures, experiences and social backgrounds. Some, if not a majority, of the children are bilingual, speaking a language other than English in their own home into the classroom with diverse oral and literate competencies.

The substantial proportion of primary school children who fail to acquire basic learning skills by the end of the primary cycle is also a major concern. Such non-achievement can result in high dropout rates and class repetition rates. Finally, there is a growing awareness and concern for the increasing number of people with special physical, social and mental needs. Thus, the need to establish special educational institutions4 in the City is being considered. However, as of date, there is really no such school in the City yet.

Relevant Education and Training

There is a need to review and assess the educational standards for post-secondary education within the framework of the Zamboanga Economic Zone and the BIMP-EAGA initiatives. Improvements in the curricular programs and services should be made more accessible through telecommunications, quality improvement of instruction considering the stringent budgets and the installation of quality assurance mechanism. In the future, a city university should be considered. In line with the philosophy of cultural pluralism, this city university should instill harmony, mutual trust and acceptance despite diverse cultures and beliefs, and it should promote peace and development education.

Health Care System

In the past five years, health care in Zamboanga has improved and reached more parts of the City. These improvements included a more focused health care delivery system built on a network of health, diagnostic and treatment facilities operated by the government and a loosely linked aggregation of privately operated medical facilities. The City should initiate a comprehensive health program based on the so-called 10 Ps Policy which includes: (a) primary health care; (b) preventive and promotive health; (c) people empowerment and participation; (d) the periphery as biased; (e) population management; (f) Philippine medicine; (g) pesos for health; (h) partnership with organized groups; (i) peace-building initiatives; and (j) positioning for performance. These policies hope to invigorate health delivery so it is affordable, reaches the most marginalized and meets the needs of the poor.

Shelter Program and Housing Backlog

There certainly has been continuing efforts to address the housing needs of the growing populace, particularly for the less privilege and homeless. Although the local government has embarked on programs such as the MMP, sites and services, and resettlements, geared towards the provision of decent housing for the poor, the desired impact has apparently been wanting. As of recent estimate, the City’s housing backlog is about 28,000 dwelling units. The government has taken strategic steps to improve the housing delivery, starting with changing prevailing notions about the government’s role in providing shelter. First, it has promoted housing provisions as a social responsibility. Second, the government has shifted from its role as housing producer to that of enabler and facilitator. Third, through the creation of the Urban Development and Housing Act, the government (both national and local) has forged a strategic alliance with the private business sector, NGOs, people’s organizations. Cooperatives, and housing beneficiaries themselves anchored on the principle of active partnership.

Urbanization and Mushrooming of Urban Poor Colonies

The disintegration of families and communities is due to the increasing urbanization of Zamboanga City, making it a major concern. Urban barangays have grown at the expense of the rural areas. However, the slum areas, visible in many sections of the city, are not just a result of the lack of the housing in the city. Slums are seen to accommodate the poor and their needs for cheap shelter, health, jobs and a web of support. Slums reduce the social displacement of rural migrants.

On the down side, rapid urban growth reduces the gains of urban poverty alleviation programs. The growth of slums from continued migration raises conflicts between slum and urban dwellers. They cause tension because of social crowding and increased competition for scarce community resource. The number of squatter families has mushroomed and brought about by many social problems in the process. The City has to consider resettlement sites for peace and order found in most of these slum areas is another issue that has to be tackled.

1.2.37    Conflicts among Christian and Muslim and Lumads

Surrounded by an internal armed conflict, the Muslim secessionist movements of the MILF, the City in coordination with the National Leadership, has placed the pursuit of peace in its priority agenda. A national unification process is ongoing, consistent with the recognition that political stability and national/regional unity are major prerequisites for socio-economic developments.

There is really a need to study and consider the socio-cultural differences between Christians and Muslims in the preparation of the Social Development Masterplan. Some of the expressed observations on the sources of the Muslim-Christian conflict include land disputes, the minoritization of the Moro Population within their traditional homeland, the shifting of political power from traditional Muslim leaders to Christian settlers and the economic displacement of Muslims, among others.

1.2.38    Nutrition

The malnutrition problem in the city has been remarkably improving as shown by the gradually decreasing prevalence of severely and moderately underweight pre-schoolers. From 7 cases per thousand in 1992, the prevalence of severe malnutrition has declined to 4.37 cases per thousand children in 1996. Prevalence of moderate malnutrition has likewise declined from 78.13 cases per thousand children down to 37.61 cases per thousand during the same period. The “Operation Timbang” activity undertaken in 1996 to determine the nutritional status of children aged 0-83 months revealed that of the total eligible children weighed (98,970 or 96 percent of the total), 451 or 5.0 percent were severely underweight; 3,881 or 4 percent moderately underweight; 23,188 or 23 percent mildly underweight; and 10,335 or 10 percent overweight. The rest, 61,115 or 62 percent had normal weights.

1.2.39    Health Status Indicators

Health and Nutrition Status Indicators: Zamboanga City
 

1.2.40    Social Hygiene

In 1996, there were 724 total number of registered commercial sex workers, an increase of 11 percent from the previous year’s count. The figure was accordingly an underestimate of the actual number of sex workers in the city as it excluded a significant number of freelancers or transient sew workers which is estimated to be almost half of the number registered. Control and prevention of STDs should be another health concern of the City as most of those who are prone to be afflicted of such diseases belong to the more economically productive segment of its populace. Monthly prevalence of sexually transmitted disease (STDs) was on a fluctuating trend in 1996. The most prevalent types of STD in the city were identified as gonorrhea, syphilis, mucopurrulent cervicitis, trichomonas vaginatis and candidiasis. HIV tests administered to the registered sex workers, however, yielded zero positive result.

1.2.41    Health Gaps and Unmet Needs

Inception activities under the Social Reform Agenda (SRA) included the identification of unmet needs at the household level. Initial results of the SRA survey (covering 63 barangays) conducted in 1996 indicate the magnitude of resources and range of services that will be required to operationalize the SRA’s ultimate goals of poverty alleviation and countryside development. Table V-7, annex of Volume 2, shows the health gaps in each barangay measured in terms of absolute number of households plague with specific health problem and thus, wanting in specific health services. Apparently, as suggested the barangay-level data on unmet needs, proximity of residence to the city proper is not an assurance of effectively meeting the household’s basic health needs. For instance, Barangays Baliwasan and Rio Hondo, which are situated almost at the heart of the city, have the most number of households with lesser access to basic health services and with seemingly lower health status.

1.2.42    Education, Culture and Sports

Basic Learning Skills

There were a substantial proportion of primary school children who failed to acquire basic learning skills by the end of the primary cycle. Such non-achievement can result in high dropout rates, early dropping out of school and high repetition rates. In addition, children who remain in school may fail to achieve a level of education at which learning skills can be used for further secondary and eventually tertiary learning. This becomes another problem of underachievement.

School Achievement

Officials from DECS Regional and Division offices and members of the local Scholl Board also decried the quality of educational delivery in the school system as evidenced by low school achievement performance especially in the rural and under-served communities. The achievement performance in the 1996-1997 regional examinations of elementary school children in Zamboanga City has been reported to be 54.52 for Grade IV and 54.88 for Grade VI—too low for successfully learning difficult concepts at the secondary and tertiary levels. It was also discussed that reading comprehension and English grammar skills were very poor. The major problems appear to be in the areas of communication (English and Filipino) and Mathematics.

Instructional Aids

The availability and creative use of relevant classroom instructional teaching aids and materials still remain to be a problem. There seems to be a need to assist teachers in making available resource materials, instructional teaching aids, workbooks and textbooks for these teachers to effectively teach concepts in the different subject areas. There is a scarcity of modules, printed texts and concrete hands-on materials for use during classroom instruction. A number of teachers are found not adept in the imaginative and creative use of local materials in the classroom. Moreover, classroom facilities like desks, chairs and writing tables are still lacking in some schools.

Teachers Selection and Appointment

In terms of the selection and appointment of teachers, it was discussed that many teachers are in big urban central schools. The best teachers seem to be mostly assigned in the urban area when their expertise could be made more meaningful if some could also be deployed in the rural areas. There was also the concern of the manner and procedure of reviewing the selection, recruitment, promotion and eventual assignment of teachers. There was discussion on the degree of training given to prospective teachers in teacher-training institutions. It was also noted that there were stark differences between the cultural and socio-economic demography of rural and urban children and the relative homogeneity of the current teaching force and new graduates.

The teaching profession is overwhelmingly female and the percentage of teachers belonging to cultural groups is very small. Moreover, many teachers come from middle-class backgrounds unlike the rural students whose families mostly are poor. As a result of these different experiences, teacher’s expectations about their students reflect their own cultural orientation. They often disregard the experiences and orientation of the students. Teacher-training programs should be made more relevant. One area explore and emphasize is the ability of new teachers to work with culturally and socio-economically diverse student learning groups.

1.2.43    Performance Indicators in Government Schools

The participation rate or net enrolment ratio is the ratio between the enrolments in the school age range to the total population of that age range. Date shows participation rate to be high for the elementary grade level (as much as 94.61%), which is a significant increase from the 79.99% in 1992-1993. Participation rate of 42.62% is very low, however, in the secondary level, lower than the rate of 44.13% during 1993-1994.

Cohort-survival rate (CSR) is the proportion of enrollees at the beginning grade or year who reach the final grade or year at the end of required number of years of study. The Cohort-Survival Rate for the elementary level at 53.93% is moderate, while in the secondary level it is 68.38%. The transition rate is the percentage of pupils who graduate from one level of education and moved on to next higher level. Data in Table V-21, Volume 2 shows that the transition rate is high at 90.35% for the elementary level and very low for the secondary level (58.21%).

End-of Year performance indicators include completion rate or survival rate. Completion rate is the percentage of first year entrants in a cycle of education surviving to the end of the cycle. This is low at 59.61% for the elementary level and 64.58 for the secondary level in the last academic school year. The dropout rate is the proportion of pupils who leave school during the academic school year. This is 0.13% for the elementary level and 5.10% for secondary students. The graduation rate is the proportion of pupils who finish Grade VI or Year IV in the present year to the number of pupils who enrolled in Grade VI or Year IV in the present year.

1.2.44    Cultural/Ethnic Group/Communities

The Commission on National Integration (CNI), created in 1967, made an official listing of the national cultural communities. Mindanao has 27 of these cultural communities of which 10 are listed under the term “moro”. Among the moro group in Mindanao and Sulu, the following are recognized; Badjaw, Maguidanao, Iranun, Kalibugan, Maranaw, Pullun, Mapun, Samai, Sanguil, Tausug and Yakan.

The ethnic groups of Western Mindanao constitute around 36% of the total population of almost 3.2 million people. The Tausogs of Sulu are most numerous consisting of 41.8 percent of the total ethnic group. The Samals who predominate in Tawi-Tawi and its environs constitute 29.6% while the Subanons of the two Zamboanga provinces represent 18.4% of the total ethnic population.

The Moro people are made up of 13 ethnolinguistic groups. Although classified under general headings of Muslims, these cultural minority groups are distinct from one another in many ways like language, costumes and artifacts. These indigenous cultural communities in Mindanao and Sulu regard themselves as the real owners of the greater part of the region.

Other indigenous inhabitants constitute the Christian converts during the Spanish Period. Today, except for four provinces and a few other towns for the Muslims and about 8 or 10 towns for the Lumad, these ethnic groups have become minorities in their ancient territory. Pressed to their limits, deprived of land and dignity, decisions have been made to take their survival into their own hands.

In 1972, the Moro National Liberation Front (MILF) launched its revolutionary war of independence for the Bangsa Moro. In Mi1986, Lumad Mindanaw initiated and led the Lumad struggle foe self-determination. Other sources of conflict are illustrated in Table V-28 (annex of Volume 2).

Tausug, considered the most “politically” dominant group, is dispersed into communities in the smaller islands of Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, and Southern Palawan. Fishing is one occupation many Tausugs are engaged in. As farmers, they engage in planting upland rice intercropped with cassava, coconut, abaca and others.

Subanons, “people of the river”, are considered the aborigines of Zamboanga City upland rice, corn and root crops.

Badjaos, “sea gypsies”, spend their lives on their small boats and also in the coastal areas in the city.

Samals, also a major group, generally inhabit the shorelines of the Zamboanga peninsula.

The Yakans is another tribe whose home base is in the biggest district of Basilan, Lamitan.

The Kalibugans are a class of people who are generally Subanen who have embraced Islam. They are an ethnic group splintered from the Subanen tribe found in the coastal towns of Ipil, RT Lim, Tungawan, Olutanga Island and in the interior town of Siay. Some of the Kalibugans who had migrated are now located in the villages of Vitali, Labuan, Limpapa, Patalon, Ayala and Cawit in Zamboanga del Norte.

Like most cities in the Philippines, Zamboanga City is predominantly Roman Catholic (70%). A sizeable Muslim community is in Zamboanga where 11 barangays have a 100% Muslim residency. P.D. 291 recognized the City as part of Muslim Mindanao by declaring a number of Muslim Mindanao by declaring a number of Muslim religious holidays as official holidays. Ironically, the City voted overwhelmingly to be excluded from the ARMM.

1.2.45    Public Safety and Protective Services

The maintenance of law and order and the establishment of peace is a basic right of people. A growing urban center’s characteristics have traditionally been observed as pull factors for the convergence of a wide range of people which eventually results in the deterioration of the ideal of a crime-free system. Zamboanga City has, over the last over 20 years, been in the headlines where the commission of crimes common in many Philippine cities are bannered. It is also one of continuous government. It is also one of the premier cities in Mindanao – the center of continuous government and secessionists’ confrontations. The incidents occur despite the city’s being the center of police and military operations in the region. Incidentally, it is the seat of the Southern Philippine’s Military Command.

1.2.46    Social Welfare

Social welfare and development programs, projects and activities in Zamboanga as in other towns and cities of the country are focused on those marginalized by various circumstances due to their disadvantage position. They belong to 20% of the poor families in the city. Program beneficiaries/clientele include indigents, street and urban, working children, out-of-school youths, juvenile delinquents, drug users, pre-schoolers, disabled persons, tribal communities, senior citizens, rebel returnees, evacuees, women and others.

One of the main programs to improve individual and family welfare is the Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) Program. This has provided opportunities for the clients to engage in productive undertakings/income generating projects either through open, sheltered or self-employment. Another is the Comprehension and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (CIDSS), a project for the disadvantaged and marginalized families. The city also participates in the CIDSS DSWD Program for Women in Especially Difficult Situations, Reception and Study Center for Children (Center for Street Children), and the Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Persons.

However, the general findings of the January 1997 Minimum Basic Needs Survey in 63 barangays out of the 98 indicated that an averaged of 45-55 percent of the needs were met. There are definitely a number of welfare services that still need improvements as well as needs that must be addressed more adequately.

Day Care Service

Changed lifestyles find parents with less time for quality parenting as a result young children grow up not given adequate care and attention by their parents. This situation prompted the CSWDO to push for the establishment of at least one day care center in every barangay to serve children who do not have access to private preparatory schools or early childhood learning experiences. A vital social infrastructure of the city that can carry out The Family and Child Welfare Programs is the Day Care Center plan for every barangay. To date, the city has a total of 145-Day Care Centers in 71 barangays.

For the past four years, The City Government has been appropriating between P7M to P11M to Social Welfare Services and Infrastructural Support. In 1997, to fully implement the program, the City Government appropriated P7, 006,000.00 to sustain the operations and improved the quality of pre-school education citywide. About 88% of the budget went to the construction of permanent concrete and safe day care centers. Another 11% went to the monthly allowance of Day Care Workers, which is P500.00 per month for each of the 130-Day Care Workers. This is augmented by monthly contributions of parents amounting to P20.00 to P25.00 per child per month. In addition, 12 barangays namely Baliwasan, Tugbungan, Mampang, Lumbangan, Taluksangay, Guisao, Tolosa, Vitali, Culianan, Mercedes, Limoco and Tictapul appropriated an honorarium to DCW of not more than P500.00 per month. However, only four percent of the budget went to program implementation activities.

Community Action Service Division

As in previous years, the year 1996 has provided a number of occasions for the staff of the Office of the City Social Welfare and Development Office to meet the clients’ emergency needs borne out of natural and man-made disasters. They have also had to assist individuals in crisis that needed immediate government intervention.

Services of the division have not been limited to the City’s constituents alone. Services have also been extended to out-of-town clients who need service interventions to be able to uplift their emotional and social well-being.

In 1996, the Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery Services Community project’s physical target was 20,012, but only 8,072 (26%) was accomplished. The same year, financial allocation for this project was P10,9 million, but only P3.8 million was expended. This kind of situation indicates that the CSWSDO should be better organized and managed to effectively carry out the social welfare services. However, it is worthwhile to note that services were delivered smoothly in accordance to the needs of clients that came to the office.

E.     Transportation and Infrastructure

1.2.47    Circulation Network

Land Transportation

Zamboanga City, one of the largest cities in the world in terms of land area, has a low population density of 1,102 persons per sq. km. (or 11 persons per ha.) in 1995. However, urban development has been concentrated just within 7km. radius from the city core thus creating a number of problems related to provision of basic services, one of which is transportation. The number of registered motor vehicles in Zamboanga City is about 44% of the total for the whole Region IX. Despite the relatively low motor vehicle registration within the city (estimated at 5 vehicles per 1oo population), heavy congestion has been a major problem (Table VI-1, Volume 2).

Road Network

The road length is by system classification and surface type within Zamboanga City. The road density of Zamboanga City is roughly 1.04 km. per sq. km. based on 1990 data (Table VI-2, Volume 2). This ratio is good enough in terms of accessibility (The country’s average density is about 0.56 km. per sq. km.). However, it must be noted that the more than 300 kn.-barangay roads within the city are of the gravel type (Table VI-3, Volume 2).

City Proper

The road network within the city proper was originally planned for horse-driven calesas. No adjustments were made even when big commercial establishments continued to develop. This led to small blocks with narrow roads. Intersections became very close to each other causing frequent interruptions in traffic flow due to lack of appropriate traffic management. There is no clear separation of vehicles and pedestrians as vendors occupy most sidewalks. There is practically no control over the pedestrians—they can cross anywhere and are not restricted to use carriageway. This practice definitely reduces the capacity of the road network. This also adds to the high risk of accident occurrence. Off-street parking has aggravated the situation of the road network. Due to lack of off-street parking facilities, on street parking, and in particular, diagonal parking is being practiced on many streets. Effectively, parked vehicles occupy almost two thirds of the total road width.

Urban Public Transport Modes

Public transport modes range from the non-motorized pedicabs to buses. The city mainly depends on jeepneys (utility vehicles, for hire) and tricycles for commuting to and from work and school. Buses largely serve provincial trip. Except on a few roads and streets, the tricycle operates in all national and city roads. Under Ordinance 1996, it was decided not o phase out motorized tricycles mainly due to the employment opportunities. Many operators and drivers depend solely on their earnings for their basic needs. Pedicabs have been earning limited to barangay areas particularly serving subdivisions.

1.2.48    Sea Transport

The present seaport can still meet the present demand. However, based on traffic trends and berth capacity, the Philippine Transport Strategy Study (PTSS) strongly suggests that there will soon be an urgent need for more capacity at the Zamboanga Port. Two plans are suggested to meet the growing demand. O