LESSON 4: The Philippines Socio-Economic
Development in the 21st Century
AGENDA 21 – action plan of the United
Nations (UN) related to sustainable
development and was an outcome of the
United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil in 1992.
- It is a comprehensive blueprint of action to
be taken globally, nationally, and locally by
organizations
- OBJECTIVES: Require substantial
assistance for developing countries; they
need this additional support to cover the
incremental costs of actions to deal with
global environmental problems and to
accelerate sustainable development.
LONG TERM PHILIPPINE DEVELOPMENT
PLAN (LTPDP 2000-2025) – this framework
recognizes that the new millennium will
increasingly call for economic development to
become less ecologically destructive
MEDIUM TERM DEVELOPMENT PLAN
(MTPDP)
PHILIPPINE AGENDA 21 (PA 21) – It provides
for the creation of an enabling environment
which would assist various stakeholders to
integrate sustainable development in their
decision-making processes. One of the
strategies adopted is the institutionalization of
the system of:
ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL
RESOURCES (ENRA) – monitors the stocks
and stock changes of natural assets; this is the
management tool for integrating environment
and the economy.
 AGENDA 21 is a global agenda who
attempted to find the balance between
development fueled by the rapid integration
of nations into the world economy and the
impacts of this process on the environment
and society.
 The Philippine Government under the
RAMOS ADMINISTRATION created the
Philippine Council for Sustainable
Development (PCSD)
PA 21 – nation’s blueprint for sustainable
development.
- Advocates a fundamental shift in
development thinking and approach
- Promotes harmony and achieves
sustainability by emphasizing:
1. A scale of intervention that is primarily
area-based
2. Integrated island development
approaches where applicable
3. People and integrity of nature at the
center of development
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – “an image
of society and a shared vision of the
development path of that society”
- It takes off from an understanding of the
“state” of Philippine society and proceeds
towards an agreed upon development
objective
- Development that meets the needs od the
present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.
3 KEY PLAYERS: Government, Business,
Civil Society
 To promote sustainable development,
“there must be an interplay of market
forces, state intervention, and civil society
participation”
PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION IN
MANAGING THE ENVIRONMENT (PRIME) –
an effort is being made to formulate a Business
Agenda 21, pilot test market-based instruments
(MBIs) in selected industries and ensuring
compliance to Environmental Management
Systems (EMS)
7 DIMENSIONS OF DEVELOPMENT
1. SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT – Filipinos
can never do justice to the strong sense of
Philippine spirituality that permeates PA 21.
2. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT – Human e. GENDER SENSITIVITY (importance of
Development Index (HDI) is an existing complementary roles and empowerment
measure of human development which are of both women and men in
limited to health, education and income, development)
indicate some improvement over time. This f. PEACE, ORDER AND NATIONAL
improvement has in part been achieved UNITY (right of everyone to a peaceful
through greater empowerment of the and secure existence is respected)
populace. g. SOCIAL JUSTICE, INTER-AND-INTRA
3. SOCIAL AND CULTURAL GENERATIONAL EQUITY AND
DEVELOPMENT – Promoting resource SPATIAL EQUITY (equal distribution of
access and upholding property rights; resources to everyone)
promoting environmental awareness, h. PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY (puts
inculcating environment ethics and value in everyone’s participation in the
supporting environment management action decision-making process)
4. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT – i. INSTITUTIONAL VIABILITY (promoting
Empowering the people; maintaining peace joint responsibility, unity and partnership
and order among all)
5. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – j. VIABLE, SOUND AND BROAD-
Maintaining a sustainable population; BASED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
maintaining productivity and profitability of (requires working for development that
environment and natural resources is based on stable economy, where
6. ECOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT – everyone equally shares the benefits of
Adopting environmental management progress)
weapons in policy and decision making; k. SUSTAINABLE POPULATION (needs
protecting the environment and conserving to maintain a number of people that can
natural resources be supported by the limited capacity of
7. PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE our natural resources)
DEVELOPMENT: l. ECOLOGICAL SOUNDNESS
a. PRIMACY OF DEVELOPING FULL (recognizing the earth as a common
HUMAN POTENTIAL (man at center of heritage that belongs to all of us, and
all development efforts) everyone should care for its capacity to
b. HOLISTIC SCIENCE AND support us and the future generations)
APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY m. BIO-GEOGRAPHICAL EQUITY AND
(developing technology to solve COMMUNITY BASED RESOURCE
development problems with due MANAGEMENT (means entrusting to
consideration to its impact to society and the people residing near or within an
ecology) ecosystem the primary right to manage
c. CULTURAL, MORAL AND SPIRITUAL its resources)
SENSITIVITY (inherent strengths of n. GLOBAL COOPERATION (requires
local and indigenous knowledge, international solidarity of every nation’s
practices and beliefs, while respecting effort to build a better life and safer
cultural diversity, moral standards and environment)
the spiritual nature of the Filipinos)
PA 21 VISIONS (envisions a better quality of
d. NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY (self-
life for all Filipinos through the development of
determination at national level to
a just, moral and creative, spiritual,
achieve human, environmental and food
economically vibrant, caring, diverse yet
security)
cohesive society)
1. POVERTY REDUCTION – Poverty is a
central concern of sustainable
development; improve employment,
productivity and income; and attain food
security
2. SOCIAL EQUITY – Social Equity should
mean allocation of resources on the bases
of efficiency and equity to achieve balanced
development. EFFICIENCY AND EQUITY
mean the channeling of resources to
developing areas where greater economic
benefits accumulate when there is greater
need, distribution being dependent on the
practicality and urgency of needs
3. EMPOWERMENT AND GOOD
GOVERNANCE – Empowerment is a
precondition of informal choices. GOOD
GOVERNANCE is a necessary
precondition to empowerment, as
empowerment is to good governance.
4. PEACE AND SOLIDARITY – the cycle of
poverty and conflict goes on as the costs of
war escalate in terms of various kinds of
destruction while withholding funds for basic
services, resulting in more poverty and
underdevelopment
5. ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY – involving
heightened and sustained implementation
of environmental laws, as well as the
continued pursuit of resource conversation,
and environmental restoration or
enhancement programs.