2. PURPOSE OF COMMUNITY
ACTION
THE PURPOSE OF COMMUNTIY ACTION
IS FOR THE PEOPLE TO WORK IN
SOLIDARITY IN ORDER TO ADDRESS A
CERTAIN SOCIAL PROBLEM
five major social issue: education,
health, livelihood, environment and
disaster
MARCH 2023
3. EDUCATION
IN 2008, THE BASIC LITERACY IN THE
COUNTRY WAS 95.6%
FUNCTIONAL LITERACY WAS 84.1%
MARCH 2023
4. EDUCATION
there is a geographic gap wherein urban centers
have higher literacy rates (NCR being the highest)
compared to the rural areas (Okabe 2013).
MARCH 2023
To address this problem and further increase adult
literacy rate in the country, the Department of
Education (DepEd) initiated the Alternative Learning
System (ALS) program for out-of-school
youths and adults.
Moreover, the government has enacted the
Kindergarten Act of 2012 (making
preschool free, mandatory, and compulsory) and the
Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013
(otherwise known as the K to 12 Law) in order to
improve the overall educational system of the
country
According to UNESCO, only 69 percent of grade school
graduates among the poorest families proceed to high
school, in contrast to 94 percent among the richest families
(Philippines National Commission for UNESCO 2015). For
poor families, specifically, only seven out of 10 are able to
complete grade school; of these seven, only three finish
high school; and of these three, only one is able to graduate
from college (Durban and Catalan 2012).
5. 1
3
4 out of 10 Filipinos have never seen a health
professional in their entire lives, while 6 out of 10
Filipinos die without being attended to by health
professional (Quitangon 2013). Most human
resources in the health care sector are concentrated
in urban
areas, with fast staff turnover and oversupply of
personnel (NEDA 2011). Medicine remains to be
expensive for most poor people, especially for those
situated away from urban centers (CODE-NGO
2016).
2
The health status of the Philippines has improved in the
last decades as evidenced by longer life expectancy at
birth (65 for males and 72 for females), lower maternal
mortality ratio, lower child and infant mortality rates, and
better health outcomes in the management of
many important diseases
When it comes to diseases, ischaemic
heart disease is the leading cause of
death, followed by vascular diseases,
and cancer (WHO 2011). Degenerative
diseases and traumatic injuries (such as
motorcycle accidents), which is apparent
among working-age population, now
rank fourth among the leading cause of
mortality (NEDA2011). Micronutrient
deficiency continues to be a public
health
concern, especially among pregnant
women and young children; this makes
children underweight, stunted, and
emaciated (NEDA2011). On the other
hand, many adults face conditions of
being
overweight, obese, and hypertensive
(NEDA2011).
HEALTH
MARCH 2023
6. LIVELIHOOD
reported that extreme poverty in the Philippines
(proportion of Filipinos who are not able to meet
basic food needs and satisfy nutritional
requirements) decreased to 9.2 percent in 2015
from 10 percent in 2012. Likewise, poverty
incidence (the proportion of Filipinos whose
annual per capita income falls below the annual
per capita poverty threshold) decreased to 26.3
percent in 2015 from27.9 percent in 2012
the Philippines has the third highest poverty
incidence, while Bangladesh and Laos have
the first and second highest poverty
incidence, respectively (ADB 2015). In the
country, high rates of poverty are especially
observed among rural households who are
dependent on agricultural and fishing
industries (NEDA 2011; World Bank 2016).
According to the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD) (2012),
(1) “decline in the productivity and profitability
of farming due to unsustainable farming
practices that have led to deforestation and
depleted fishing waters” and (2) “poor people
in rural areas have little access to productive
assets and business opportunities, have few
non-farm income-generating activities, and
lack access to microfinance services and
affordable credit.”
FROM 2012 TO 2016, THE PHILIPPINES WAS ABLE TO SUSTAIN AN ECONOMIC GROWTH OF FIVE to six percent primarily due
to robust private consumption fueled by overseas remittances, growing tourism and business process outsourcing (BPO) industries,
and continuous government spending
(ADB 2016; World Bank 2016).
PHILIPPINE STATISTICS
AUTHORITY (PSA) (2016)
IN SOUTH AND
SOUTHEAST ASIA
CAUSES OF RURAL
poverty in the Philippines
MARCH 2023
7. ENVIRONMENT
• SERIOUS DEGRADATION
OF FOREST LANDS AND
WATERSHEDS
• loss of critical habitat and
unique biodiversity (including
marine life)
• OVEREXPLOITATION OF FISHERIES AND
PERMANENT LOSS OF COASTAL
ECOSYSTEMS
• deteriorating quality of air and massive water
pollution (in lakes, rivers, and coastal waters,
among others) in key urban areas such as Metro
Manila
• increasing solid and toxic waste generation and
improper waste management
• DETERIORATING QUALITY OF FARMLAND
DUE TO UNSUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL
PRACTICES (SUCH AS AGGRESSIVE
use of fertilizers and pesticides), leading to ever
increasing loss of soil fertility
• saltwater intrusion into wells and aquifers
resulting to scarcer water supply
While the Philippines has some of the best environmental laws and policies, it still suffers from weak implementation primarily due to inadequate monitoring and financial
capacity, both at the local and the national levels (World Bank 2009). This is further aggravated by confusion in the implementation of environmental laws due to conflicting
policies, coupled with overlapping government jurisdictions and information systems (Human Development Network 2013). According to the environmental analysis
reports generated by the World Bank (2009), the Asian Development Bank (2009), and the Human Development Network (2013), the country isnow facing the following
environmental problems:
MARCH 2023
8. About half of the Philippine archipelago and more than 80 percent of the Filipino population are considered vulnerable to natural
disasters. Specifically, a large segment of the poor are situated in disaster-prone areas (World Bank 2009). In fact, the 2015 World
Risk Report revealed that the Philippines ranked as the third most disaster-prone out of 173 countries due to frequent threats of
typhoons, floods, earthquakes, and landslides caused by soil erosion (United Nations University 2015). Of the disasters that hit the
country, the most devastating are typhoons; on average, around 20 typhoons hit the Philippines per year. The effects of typhoons
become more severe due to climate change (Human Development Network 2013). Among the identified areas in the country that are
seriously affected by typhoons and flooding are the rural areas in Eastern Visayas and in Southern, Central, and Northern Luzon.
Disaster victims from these areas account to almost eight million from 2004 to 2006 (NEDA 2011). The Philippines is also vulnerable
to the rising sea level because 70 percent of the country’s 1 500 municipalities are found along the coast (World Bank 2009).
DISASTER
BEING A COUNTRY SITUATED IN THE TYPHOON BELT AND THE PACIFIC RING OF FIRE, NATIONAL Economic
Development Authority (NEDA) (2011) and the Commission on Audit (2014) identified natural and anthropogenic
disasters as the major causes of poverty and vulnerability in thePhilippines.
MARCH 2023
