SLUM UPGRADING IN THE PHILIPPINES: CHRISTOPHER T. PABLO Senior Operation Officer, EASPS

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Cuthbert Russell
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1 SLUM UPGRADING IN THE PHILIPPINES: THE SCALING UP CHALLENGE CHRISTOPHER T. PABLO Senior Operation Officer, EASPS

40 YEARS OF ATTEMPTING TO ADDRESS THE SLUM CHALLENGE

(e.g. Tondo foreshore project); off site resettlement;

upgrading and resettlement, but with focus on security of

2 40 YEARS OF ATTEMPTING TO ADDRESS THE SLUM CHALLENGE 1960s: Off site resettlement s: On site upgrading (e.g. Tondo foreshore project); off site resettlement; provision of public mid rise i housing s: On site upgrading and resettlement, but with focus on security of tenure, citizen participation and greater involvement of LGUs and NGOs

3 BUT WITH LIMITED HEADWAY THUS FAR Informal dwellers now comprise 30% of the country s total population p Huge and mounting housing backlog (> 4 million) SLUM POPULATION AS % OF TOTAL POPULATION Slums:30% Number of informal settlers requiring immediate attention (around 120,000 households)

4 THE LACK OF COHERENT NATIONAL URBAN POLICY HAS BEEN A KEY CHALLENGE... Resulting in (a) fragmented responses by shelter institutions and development community and (b) systemic underinvestment in housing and urban development Initiatives continue to be ad hoc, project based; mostly financed by own resources and grants Recent Bank assistance has been limited to piloting of approaches through technical assistance and grants Upscaling Urban Poor Community Renewal Scheme ($2M) Urban Partnerships for Sustainable Upliftment, Renewal Governance Project ($1.9M)

WB GRANT FUNDED PROJECTS OFFER BUILDING BLOCKS FOR DESIGN OF SCALED UP WORK Basic Facts: Participants: 5 original cities; expanded to 8 cities Design Elements: Tripartite partnership with LGUs, NGOs

5 WB GRANT FUNDED PROJECTS OFFER BUILDING BLOCKS FOR DESIGN OF SCALED UP WORK Basic Facts: Participants: 5 original cities; expanded to 8 cities Design Elements: Tripartite partnership with LGUs, NGOs and communities in slum upgrading Participatory i t approaches in planning and implementation ti Leveraging of resources (e.g., LGU takes care of land, project provides roads and drainage) Cost recovery schemes Twinning and mentoring between and among stakeholders (city to city, NGO to NGO, village to village, etc.) Number of beneficiaries: around 6,000 households Average cost per household: h approximately $500 per householdh

6 WHERE THERE IS SHARED OBJECTIVES, THERE IS SOLUTION Partnerships can be developed around slum upgrading LGUs: enabling policy and institutional environment, counterpart funding (e.g., land acquisition, rights-of-ways, complementing infrastructure, planning and engineering support, etc) NGOs: social preparation, mobilization and values formation; brokering between communities, LGUs and utility companies Communities: participation in the design cost recovery, construction monitoring, and operation and maintenance

7 CREATING PARTNERSHIPS HAS HUGE BENEFITS Expands limited resources and promotes efficiency Lowers implementation risks and increases likelihood of sustainability Allows for better planning (e.g., considering geo technical issues onsite, setting quality standards for infrastructure, planning for maintenance) Engages stakeholders in various aspects of the project Facilitates learning between and among individuals and institutions

8 SOLUTIONS CAN BE IN THE SLUMS Community participation is critical Community needs should ldbe incorporated in project design to promote greater ownership and sustainability Communities should be part of the process of creating solutions rather than p p g just mere beneficiaries

9 SLUM UPGRADING CAN BE A VIABLE INVESTMENT Cost recovery is possible in poor communities Example: Sitio ii Dormitory, Quezon City A community with 566 household beneficiaries Community infrastructure provided: water system, roads and drainage network Community agreed to pay back 70% of project cost (Php 4.5M) through monthly water bill; almost 100% repayment Repayments are used for the maintenance of the community assets and as seed fund to help other communities

10 SCALING UP IS OBVIOUSLY A NATIONAL GOVERNMENT ISSUE... Is slum upgrading a priority for national development? How much is national government willing to provide to incentivize the local governments to scale up slum upgrading? What are other housing and shelter reforms needed to support slum upgrading? How can the Bank assist NationalGovernment in dealing with How can the Bank assist National Government in dealing with the slum challenge? What are the plans by the Bank?

11 THANK YOU

Towards the Formulation of the Philippine Slum Upgrading Strategy

Towards the Formulation of the Philippine Slum Upgrading Strategy Mark Woodward Sector Manager, Sustainable Development Network World Bank Coconut Palace, Manila 19 December 2011 Developing a National