The 2020/2021 Philippine Human Development Report (PHDR) with the theme, Socioecononomic Mobility and Human Development, is now available online. This issue of the Philippine Human Development Report explores a new perspective on the advancement of living standards, one that not only documents achieved human development outcomes but also inquires into the processes that allow people and families to improve their condition through time and sustain such improvements across generations. It views welfare changes not only through the usual dichotomy of poor and nonpoor but through a prism that recognizes the increasing social and economic differentiation of families and individuals in the country.

Part 1 of the Report shows that Filipino households have been moving with different welfare trajectories over time and across generations. Therefore, public policies must take into account the differentiated capacities and needs of households and individuals in the entire process of upward social mobility. Part 2 analyzes the progress of human development of different provinces in the country, including Metro Manila, in the 1997 to 2015 period. While some progress during the period has been noted, there is no clear upward path for all provinces. Rather, there is high variability in provincial performance over the period covered.

The Report provides a new analytical framework and useful insights into the public imperatives on meeting the increasingly differentiated characteristics of various socioeconomic groups in the country. The report can also be downloaded from the Human Development website.

The Human Development Index (HDI) has been included in the official statistics of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The PSA Board also approved the official estimation methodology to be used for computing the 2015 HDI and back estimates during its regular meeting last August 25, 2017, at the National Economic Development Authority, Pasig City.

The methodology on generating HDI was presented by Deputy National Statistician Romeo S. Recide to the PSA Board and was approved by the PSA Board Chairperson and NEDA Director-General Ernesto M. Pernia. Over the past few years, HDN and PSA has been working on computing the provincial HDIs and has an agreed memorandum of understanding to use UNDP’s 2011 global methodology.

The Human Development Network (HDN) and the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy (PCID), non-profit organization dedicated to the study of Islamic and democratic political thought held a roundtable discussion on the relationship between neoliberalism and political extremism on May 30, 2017 at the UP School of Economics. Prof. Sanam Anderlini, co-founder and executive director of International Civil Society Action Network, a global association of human rights activitsts, as the keynote speaker.

Prof. Anderlini discussed how the neoliberal context contributes to the rise of extremism. She pointed out aspects of the neoliberal ideology, including wealth inequality among people and the education system further promoting such ideology, that push some people towards radical beliefs. She noted that to address a complex challenge, policies should consider ideas from different fields of study in order to deepen development that is focused on the reduction of poverty and inequality. The discussions that followed tackled how to address this challenge, especially in the context of the Philippines.

The event was attended by representatives from the different sectors, including the academe, civil society and government, and was moderated by Dr. Randy Tuano, project coordinator.

 

The Human Development Network, in coordination with the Institute on Climate and Sustainable Cities, organized a provincial empowerment program workshop at the Governors’ Hall, Leyte Provincial Capitol, Tacloban, last July 27. The workshop was attended by the Provincial Planning and Development Office, headed by Ms. Corazon Alvero, Provincial Planning Officer, and representatives of more than 30 municipal planning offices in the province.

During the workshop, a presentation of the 2012/ 2103 Philippine Human Development Report and its implications to local planning was presented by Dr. Randy Tuaño, HDN coordinator, and an overview of the provincial economic plan was provided by Ms. Alvero. Kairos dela Cruz, ICSC program coordinator, facilitated a workshop on municipal development priorities in the afternoon. Afterwards, a discussion on the different funding mechanisms available for local governments was presented.

Informal Land Markets and Inequality in Maguindanao
by Judy T. Gulane
HDN Working Paper Series
2016-01

The Human Development Network, in coordination with the Philippine Center for Economic Development, presented a seminar entitled, “Human Development Report 2015: Work for Human Development” at the Deutsche Bank Seminar Room, School of Economics, University of the Philippines, Diliman campus, last April 28, 2016.

The speaker in the seminar was Dr. Shantanu Mukherjee, the Leader of the Human Development Report Team at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Shantanu is also a development practitioner and an economist who formerly worked for the Indian Government in various capacities.

The report recommends governments to look beyond jobs to consider different kinds of work such as unpaid care, and voluntary and creative work that are all significant to expand people’s opportunities and choices. The report also suggests that by examining broadly the concept of employment can the benefits of work be truly realized for sustainable development in the globalized world.

The Human Development Network, with the participation of the Republiko, an advocacy campaign supported by the United Nations Development Program to develop and lobby for a policy agenda that would inclusive development in the country, organized a roundtable discussion on decentralization, democracy and development last February 15, 2016, at the Mercedes Concepcion Seminar Room, Philippine Social Sciences Center, Diliman, Quezon City.

The roundtable discussion was held in order to reflect on country experience of democracy and development, highlighted by the gains since the EDSA revolution and the enactment of the Local Government Code, as they affect the quality of both local and central governance and the level and pace of human development. Participants included key personalities from the academe, advocates/development practitioners, national government officials, associations of local government units, independent scholars, and civil society.

Dr. Fernando Aldaba, Dean of Social Sciences of the Ateneo de Manila University and Secretary of the Human Development Network, presented the Philippines’ 2014 Human Development Indices and Rankings during the Regional Launch of the 2015 Human Development Report last January 18, 2016 at the Manila Peninsula Hotel.

In his presentation, it can be concluded that the Philippines, compared to others, slightly improved in terms of human development, as its Human Development Index increased marginally from 0.664 in 2013 to 0.668 in 2014.

Dr. Aldaba’s presentation and the 2015 Global Human Development Report may be viewed and downloaded from the links below:

The Philippines: Human Development Index Ranking

2015 Global Human Development Report

Photo taken from UNDP Philippines

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Human Development Network (HDN) release today preliminary estimates of the subnational Human Development Indices (HDI) for the year 2012 using the interim methodology agreed upon by the former National Statistical Coordination Board (now part of PSA) and HDN in February 2012. The interim methodology was previously applied in estimating the 2009 subnational Human Development Indices.

The full press release, technical notes, and 2012 index may be viewed and downloaded from the links below:

PSA and HDN Jointly Release the Preliminary Estimates of the 2012 Human Development Index [192 KB]

2012 HDI Technical notes [603 KB]

2012 Human Development Index Tables [303 KB]

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), supported by the Human Development Network, organized a 3-day regional workshop entitled “Making an Impact with National Human Development Reporting” last November 17 to 19, 2015 at the School of Economics, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

The workshop aimed to enhance the national human development reporting process throughout different countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Participants shared their best practices and strategies on producing a national human development report. The workshop covered the measurement of human development, selecting and developing a theme, assuring multi-stakeholder ownership, quality and independence, and how the report will make an impact to the society.

Foreign participants came from Afghanistan, Cambodia, Pakistan, and India while local participants came from government agencies such as Philippine Statistics Authority, National Economic Development Authority, and Congressional Planning and Budget Department of the House of Representatives. The participants agreed to undertake an exchange of their human development reports online in the coming months.

Ola Almgren, UN Resident Coordinator, giving his opening remarks

NHDR workshop participants