I. NATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR INTEGRATING ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS INTO THE POLICY DECISION PROCESS

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A. National planning and policy-making in the Philippines

1. Structure

Traditionally, national planning in the Philippines is performed by an integrated planning structure, the function of which is coordinated by the central planning agency, NEDA. The NEDA Board is the highest social and economic development planning and policy coordinating body in the Philippines.

The Board comprises the President of the Philippines as chairman, the Director-General of the NEDA Secretariat as vice-chairman, and the following members: the Executive Secretary; the Secretaries of Finance, Trade and Industry, Agrarian Reform, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, Public Works and Highways, Budget and Management, Labour and Employment, Local Government and Interior, Health, Foreign Affairs, Science and Technology, Transportation and Communication, and Culture and Sports; the Governor of the Central Bank; and the Chairperson of the Philippines Assistance Programme.

The NEDA Board is assisted by five Cabinet interagency committees. The committees and their functions are:

• Infrastructure Committee. The committee is chaired by the Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning and co-chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways. Other members of the Committee include the Executive Secretary, and the Secretaries of Transport and Communications, Finance, and Budget and Management. It is mandated to oversee the formulation and monitoring of the Annual Infrastructure Programme, and to ensure that the programme relates to, and supports, the development goals and objectives in the Medium-Term Philippines Development Plan. It also advises the President and the NEDA Board on matters concerning infrastructure development and coordinates the activities of agencies, including government-owned or controlled corporations involved in infrastructure development. Policies concerning telecommunications and civil infrastructure are discussed and drafted into policy instruments for consideration by the NEDA Board.
• Social Development Committee. The committee is chaired by the Secretary of Labour and Employment and co-chaired by the Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning. Other members include the Executive Secretary, and the Secretaries of Education, Culture and Sports, Health, Interior and Local Government, Agrarian Reform, Agriculture, Social Welfare and Development, and Budget and Management. It is mandated to oversee the formulation and coordination of policies related to social development (e.g., health, nutrition, education, employment, social welfare, population, human settlements and the delivery of other social services etc.). Policy recommendation in those areas are then forwarded to the NEDA Board for final approval.
• Tariff and Related Committee. The committee is chaired by the Secretary of Trade and Industry and co-chaired by the Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning. Other members include the Executive Secretary, the Secretaries of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Transportation and Communications, Environment and Natural Resources, Budget and Management, and Finance, the Governor of the Central Bank, and the Chairperson of the Tariff Commission. It is mandated to review and recommend policy changes on tariff- and trade-related matters covering all sectors of the economy. It is primarily responsible for making sure that the commitments by the Philippines to international trade agreements are properly complied with and are consistent with the overall trade liberalization programme of the country.
• Investment Coordination Committee. The committee is chaired by the Secretary of Finance and co-chaired by the Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning. Other members include the Executive Secretary, the Secretaries of Agriculture, Trade and Industry, Budget and Management and the Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines. It is mandated to review, and recommend for approval, the financing of foreign-assisted projects. It is also mandated to review projects proposed for funding by bilateral or multilateral agencies under the Medium-Term Public Investment Programme. Policies related to project approval and funding are formulated and forwarded to the NEDA Board for decision by the committee.
• Development Budget and Coordination Committee. The committee is chaired by the Secretary of Budget and Management and co-chaired by the Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning. It is mandated to review the annual budget of the government as it relates to the development priorities stated in the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan.

At the same time, the creation of the NEDA interagency committees as integral components of the overall planning system has facilitated the translation of broad development plans into specific medium- to long-term investment packages, as well as the allocation of budgetary resources to priority development programmes and projects.

At the regional level, Regional Development Councils (RDCs) were created to provide support to the NEDA Board. RDCs serve to firm up the regional planning process within the overall planning framework. They also serve as mechanisms for synchronizing regional development activities with the overall development effort.

(b)Cabinet cluster system

The Cabinet cluster system was created to enhance interagency coordination in government decision-making processes and to expedite the implementation of vital interagency programmes and projects. Each cluster serves as an advisory committee to the President and the Cabinet and as a venue for deliberating and formulating recommendations on policy and operational matters. Cluster meetings are held either monthly or as necessary. At present, there are eight clusters, the areas of concern and composition of which are:

• Cluster A: Agro-industrial Development. Chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture, this cluster comprises the Secretaries of Trade and Industry, Finance, Agrarian Reform, Labour and Employment, Environment and Natural Resources, Tourism, Science and Technology, the Director-General of NEDA (who is also the Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning) and the Chairperson of the Presidential Council on Countryside Development.
• Cluster B: Macroeconomy and Finance. Chaired by the Secretary of Finance, this cluster comprises the Secretaries of Budget and Management, Trade and Industry, the Director-General of NEDA, the Chairperson of the Coordinating Council for the Philippine Assistance Programme and the Governor of the Central Bank.
• Cluster C: Human Resources and Development. Chaired by the Director General of NEDA, this cluster comprises the Secretaries of Social Welfare and Development, Health, Education, Culture and Sports, Labour and Employment, Interior and Local Government, Agrarian Reform, and the Chairpersons of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, the Presidential Council for Countryside Development, and the Presidential Commission to Fight Poverty. The cluster is the functional equivalent of the NEDA Committee on Social Development.
• Cluster D: Physical Infrastructure Support. Chaired by the Director-General of the NEDA, this cluster comprises the Secretaries of Public Works and Highways, Transportation and Communications, Finance, Energy, Interior and Local Government, Budget and Management, Tourism, and the Chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council. The cluster is the functional equivalent of the NEDA Committee on Infrastructure;
• Cluster E: Security and Political Development. Membership in this cluster includes the Secretaries of Foreign Affairs, National Defence, Interior and Local Government and Justice, and the Director-General of the National Security Council as well as the Presidential Legislative Liaison Officer for the Senate and the House of Representatives.
• Cluster F: Development Administration. Membership in this cluster includes the Secretaries of Budget and Management, and Finance, the Director-General of NEDA, the President of the Development Academy of the Philippines, and representatives from the Civil Service Commission and the Commission on Audit.
• Cluster G: Water Resources Management. Chaired by the Secretary of Public Works and Highways, this cluster serves as an advisory committee to the President and the Cabinet on all matters related to water resources management. It comprises the Secretaries of Environment and Natural Resources, Finance, Budget and Management, Science and Technology, Energy, Agriculture, Interior and Local Government, and Health, the Director-General of the NEDA, the Presidential Assistant for the Environment, the Administrator of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, the President of the National Power Corporation, and the Administrator of the National Irrigation Administration. This cluster was previously the Energy Cluster, established in 1993 to address the power-related crisis which occurred at that time. When the power crisis was resolved, the cluster was reconstituted. All energy and power-related matters and concerns were subsumed under Cluster D. The reconstitution was part of efforts to constantly review the cluster system in accordance with current and emerging developments and priorities of the government.
• Cluster H: International Relations. This cluster was created to facilitate the effective implementation of diplomacy for development and to strengthen horizontal coordination among government agencies, especially in the articulation of the international position of the Philippines. It is also mandated with the projection of a unified national stance on foreign policy issues and the judicious utilization of resources for promotional efforts in the international arena. The cluster is chaired by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and its members include the Cabinet Cluster Chairpersons; the Director-General of the National Security Council, and the Chairpersons of the Bases Conversion Development Authority, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, and the Presidential Committee on Flagship Programmes and Projects.

Recent years have seen considerable expansion in the membership of the various clusters, making them more multi-agency and multidisciplinary, thus paving the way for a more integrated decision-making process. The diverse membership of NEDA as the agency having a purview over the whole national Development Plan in virtually all clusters should facilitate the integration of all relevant concerns, including environment and sustainable development in high level decision-making. The fact that NEDA chairs the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development has proved expedient in that regard.

(c)Legislative-Executive Advisory Council

The Legislative-Executive Advisory Council (LEDAC) is an advisory and consultative mechanism which was established to ensure consistency in coordinating executive development planning and congressional budgeting. It is chaired by the President and its members comprise: the Vice-President, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, seven members of the Cabinet, three members each from the Senate and the House of Representatives, one representative each from local government units, the private sector and youth. LEDAC has the following functions:

• To determine and recommend socio-economic development goals in pursuance of established policies which will guide the formulation and implementation of national Development Plans;
• To provide policy advice to the President on vital issues affecting the socio-economic development of the country;
• To direct studies on measures to ensure that regional development plans and programmes are integrated into the national Development Plan;
• To analyse reports on measures for improving the implementation of official development assistance from multilateral and bilateral entities;
• To assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the national Development Plan;
• To integrate environmental concepts, principles and practices into the national Development Plan for a balanced and cohesive approach to national development;
• To review the relationship between the legislative agenda and the agenda of the national Development Plan to ensure the integration of both;
• To study and recommend to the President and Congress various sources of revenue as well as measures to reduce unnecessary expenditures.

• To involve those sections of the private sector, relevant non-government groups and peoples' organizations concerned in the processes of economic planning, implementation and monitoring;
• To bring about the effective integration of priority development programmes and projects;
• To accelerate the study and formulation of projects and programmes;
• To hasten the utilization of grants and concessional loans;
• To recommend measures that will strengthen mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of development projects and for promoting efficiency of execution and timeliness of completion.

The development planning exercise in the Philippines consists of the following major phases: (a) plan preparation and formulation; (b) approval and adoption; (c) implementation; and (d) monitoring, evaluation and review. At various stages in the process, national planning adopts a mix of the "top down" and "bottom up" approaches and involves the participation of the following key entities: government (national and local levels), the private/business sector, people's organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the legislature and academics.

The preparation of the Development Plan is initiated through the issuance of a presidential directive instructing all departments, agencies and other offices mechanisms of government to prepare their respective medium-term plans for submission to NEDA. On that basis, NEDA issues guidelines which serve as the framework for the preparation of the plan.

An important activity that is undertaken prior to the issuance of the planning guidelines is a multisectoral visioning and frame working exercise. Various stakeholders and experts are convened to solicit their views on the vision for the period covered by the plan, as well as to pool ideas on the guiding principles for formulating such plan. Those inputs provide the bases for establishing the planning guidelines and parameters which underscore the basic elements of the plan, i.e., the development goals and objectives, strategies, policy framework, measurable targets consistent with broader development objectives as well as the legislative agenda. Hence, the effective participation of the general public and stakeholders in environment and sustainable development in the initial stage of the planning process serves as a powerful mechanism for influencing the structure and content of the plan. That participation has an important bearing on the overall policies that will be instituted in implementing the plan. For the five-year Medium-Term Philippines Development Plan, 1993-1998, the guidelines stipulated that environmental/ecological considerations should be accorded priority attention as they strongly influence the sustainability and desirability of development.

The planning guidelines also stipulate the creation of steering and coordinating, the main mandate of which is to ensure balance and consistency in the various sectoral plans, policies and programmes. Technical planning subcommittees are also formed to provide the substantive details of the various chapters of the plan which, for the current plan period, consist of macroeconomy and development financing, agri-industrial development, human and infrastructure development, and development administration. Those chapters reflect the increasingly integrated approach in planning compared to the highly sectoral approach that had been previously adopted. The environmental sector, for example, is subsumed under the agri-industrial development chapter which treats all the economic production sectors in an integrated manner. However, environmental and natural resources, in this case, are mainly perceived as a resource base. The issue that the environment is not only important as a production sector but also as a provider of ecological services is not adequately highlighted in the plan.

With the planning guidelines and the organizational structure in place, agencies undertake the preparation of their respective sectoral plans. At the regional level, sectoral working groups formulate the regional sectoral plans. At that stage of the planning process, the plan is still largely sectoral in nature. NEDA, then integrates the various sectoral plans and prepares the different chapters of the plan. At least one public hearing/private sector consultation is held at that juncture in order to solicit views on the draft chapters. While the sectoral and regional plans are being prepared, NEDA firms up the national or macroeconomic plan in consultation with the different bodies preparing the sectoral and regional plans. Finally, the various components are consolidated to form the medium-term plan. That process shows that consultations are conducted even before the plan is consolidated, thus providing significant opportunities for various interests to be considered, including environmental interests. However, since at that stage the consultations will be focused on sectoral concerns, it will not be possible to consider environmental issues effectively unless a conscious effort is made to include the participation of a significant number of environmentalists in such fora.

Once the consolidated plan is complete, consultative meetings are held at the national and regional levels to gather inputs, and validate and affirm the policy thrusts and priorities of the plan. The hearings are attended by representatives of the business sector, professional societies, academe, church, media, farmers' groups, youth and other basic sector groups. The Development Plan is then approved and adopted by the government through a presidential proclamation. That proclamation also directs NEDA to coordinate the periodic assessment and updating of the plan. The private sector is, likewise, enjoined to align and coordinate its objectives and activities with the approved plan.

The foregoing discussion illustrates the many possibilities for private sector involvement in the planning process, either formally through membership in the various committees or informally through the various consultations and public hearings conducted to validate the draft chapters and the plan itself. The private sector may be able to incorporate its perspectives, vision and plans through pro-active participation in those forums. The multi-stakeholder character of such forums almost guarantees the inclusion of private sector concerns as long as those concerns are effectively articulated. In the visioning/frame working exercise, in particular, the private sector is requested to prepare and present papers as discussion documents to enable its representatives to fully and clearly articulate their sentiments on the relevant issues.

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