Okay, this is an excerpt of one project proposal that i wrote for the office. I am sharing this as a prelude to a future blog with the title, “In defense of technical writing”, or something like that. Anyway, here it is…
DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT
The global trend points to the concentration of people in cities, a phenomenon otherwise known as urbanization. Projections have it that by 2030, 61% of the world’s population (around 5 billion people) will be living in urban areas. This figure indicates a giant leap from 2003’s 48% or roughly, 3 billion urban dwellers.
The even darker side of this trend is the increasing number of urban poor/slum dwellers worldwide. In 2000, the world’s urban poor population was estimated at 924 million. It is expected that by 2020, 500 million more will be added, thereby reaching a total of 1.425 billion.
The Philippines is not exempted from this global trend. In fact, it has been identified as one of the world’s fastest urbanizing countries, going at an average rate of 5% annually between 1980 and 1990. Should this urbanization rate continue, an estimated 65% of the total population will be living in urban areas by the year 2020.
The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) identifies rural poverty as the root cause of rural-to-urban migration. Sadly, the cities do not necessarily offer economic opportunities to those migrants lacking in skills and educational background. Many of them are then forced to settle at the fringes, where they suffer from congestion, and the lack of basic social services, including decent shelter.
The Medium Term Philippine Development Plan for Shelter has estimated the country’s housing need at 3.3 million units for 1999 to 2004, and 3.75 million units for 2005 to 2010.
Through continued lobbying and advocacy by various civil society groups, the Philippine Government was able to craft programs, policies, and legislations towards addressing the country’s ever-growing housing need. One landmark piece of legislation is Republic Act 7279, otherwise known as the “Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA) of 1992”.
UDHA outlines a three-point agenda: 1) fostering people’s participation in the urban development process, 2) empowerment of local government units (LGUs) to address urban development issues particularly homelessness; and 3) private sector participation in the national shelter program (i.e., UDHA requires developers to set aside 20% of all proposed subdivision areas for socialized housing).
In response to this law, the Cebu City Government, has, among other things, convened the Local Housing Board; formed an office for urban poor affairs known as the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP), as well as passed resolutions and ordinances to localize the provisions of UDHA.
Also, the City has purchased lands intended for relocation. To date, Cebu City has a total of 43 relocation sites, one of which is fully developed, 35 are partially developed, and seven remain undeveloped.
On the other hand, non-government organizations have incessantly lobbied for the implementation of UDHA and other related legislations. FORGE has actively participated in the Local Housing Board as the NGO Sector representative for the past five years or so. It has pushed for such pro-poor policies as the Beneficiary Selection Guidelines, which have helped ensure that parcels of lot are awarded to bonafide socialized housing beneficiaries. It has likewise provided consultancy service to DWUP towards the installation of the office’s systems and procedures, which in turn, are expected to improve its service delivery.
Aside from its engagement with government, FORGE has also been active on the ground. For 19 years, it has been organizing urban poor communities for collective action towards the resolution of issues like demolition/eviction threats and limited access to basic social services.
In the last three years alone, FORGE has assisted around 1,000 urban families to acquire relocation sites. However, experiences of partner-communities brought out the insight that the struggle for decent living does not end in the acquisition of a relocation site. As the urban poor embark on a new chapter in their lives, they find themselves confronted with a new set of challenges ranging from the absence of basic social services, to the absence or limited livelihood opportunities, to the relocation site’s considerable distance from the city, not to mention its steep terrain and vulnerability to disasters like landslides and flood.
Compounding the aforementioned challenges is the City Government’s limited financial and human resources to carry out site development in all the relocation areas. For these reasons, the Local Housing Board found it a necessity to farm out the work to the private sector, specifically, non-government organizations.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 2:29 pm
When the year started, I had this resolution that I should start a blog to enhance my writing skill. I tried convincing myself that writing as much as I could would lead me somewhere. Well, that “somewhere” might not necessarily be a weekly column in a local daily; or the Daily Inquirer’s “Youngblood” section; or an on-line copy editing job. It could simply be a boost in my battered self-confidence.
Just a background, I never really believe that I am or can be a good writer. Every time I write something, whether it’s an office document or an academic paper (back then when I did my Master’s), I have this feeling that I am not good enough for the task. Always, always I hear this tiny voice inside me, telling me that someone is better…that my knowledge about the topic is not enough, and so I have no authority to write about it.
At one point, I tried ruling out the causes not just of my writing insecurities, but of all my insecurities in life. One possible cause was the fact that I was seldom appreciated by my parents when I was a child. I remember how Mama scolded me every time I got an imperfect score in quizzes and exams. One time also, when I reported to Papa that I was third placer in the class’ honor roll, I got a grimace. He said that being third placer was not good enough. But I don’t blame my parents. Certainly, they are products of their parents’ ways and eccentricities.
But going back to my resolution…the fighter in me will not readily give in to self-doubt and insecurity. I will try. And this blog is but a start. Who knows, someday, I might bear witness to the old cliché that goes, “writers are made, not born”.
(An original post on friendster | Tuesday | February 19, 2008.)
Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I’ve always disliked Mondays. To me, Mondays mean work, work, and a lot of work. I also work hard on other working days, but there is something maddening about Mondays. Perhaps, it is this feeling that my working week has just started and that it will take four more days before I could relax. It could possibly be this feeling that the weekend is not enough because, as always, I can hardly rest on weekends—there is the laundry waiting to be done, the bedroom to be tidied, the boyfriend who deserves “quality” time (whatever that means), the hair that badly needs deep conditioning, not to mention the face that needs exfoliating…and the list could go on and on.
But on hindsight, I ought to be thankful for Mondays. We ought to be. Because no matter how inconvenienced we may be, Mondays mean that we have jobs that pay the rent. They mean that we can look forward again to the weekend. Most importantly, they mean that we are truly alive—capable of feeling, thinking, conquering challenges, failing, and redeeming ourselves. We should always remember that like any other obstacle, Mondays, too, shall pass.
(An original post on friendster | Monday | February 18, 2008.)
Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 1:52 am
