After more than three decades of development work in the Philippines, CESO and its partners committed to a five-year plan (2009-2014) to improve manufacturing, agricultural business, tourism and municipal governance.
Manufacturing
CESO and its partner,
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Region 4a
(Calabarzon), boost economic development within manufacturing by helping small businesses grow, promoting entrepreneurship and creating lasting jobs.
Agriculture and Food Processing
According to the 2004-2010 Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan, agriculture makes up 20% of the gross national product, the value of all goods and services in the country, and one-third of those employed are in agriculture or related industries. In 2008, the value of agricultural production in the country increased 19.32% because of an rise in production and prices. With such high stakes in this sector, CESO has partnered with The National Apiculture Research, Training and Development Institute’s (NARTDI), an organization that educates and trains beekeepers, to improve beekeepers’ efficiency and ability to develop products and write project proposals.
CESO also partners with
the Department of Trade and Industry in Region 2 (the Cagayan Valley), specifically with the Philippine Carabao Center, a group dedicated to improving the well-being of rural farming families,
and state universities and colleges, to improve the dairy industry. With both these groups, CESO and its partners strengthen community life, renew the quality of the environment and improve the nutrition and well-being of people.
Tourism and Hospitality
FASTOLS, a group of municipal governments in the Romblon Province, has partnered with CESO to develop the tourism potential in this province, which is among the most economically impoverished provinces in the country. CESO is supporting our partner in developing new tourism products and investment areas to improve tourist sites and is also providing technical, professional and managerial assistance to those businesses in the tourism sector. Improvements to this area will provide long-term employment for those in the provinces and serve to boost the tourism industry.
Municipal Governance
The lack of technology usage in municipalities can cause for long delays when it comes to processing business permits, licenses and property taxes. In partnership with the
League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), CESO is focusing on e-governance; using technology to enhance the accessibility of government services for its citizens. The program is benefiting more than 50 municipalities with the new automated process, and improving the ability to generate revenue while making the system more transparent. CESO also works with the LMP to improve environmental services to the local population, specifically with solid waste management and disaster risk management and emergency planning.
Since 1970, CESO and its partners have worked in the Philippines. Over the next three years, the anticipated reach of the country program is 15,000 direct beneficiaries, with an indirect reach of 40 million people. The program will be in northern and central Philippines, where no other volunteer cooperation agencies are currently operating. The 356 assignments in the Philippines from 2004-2009 resulted in:
- 24 tourism partners reported a combined increase in sales of $3.2 million (U.S.).
- One hotel increased its capacity by 30%, resulting in an annual revenue increase of 31%, a net increase of $2.5 million (U.S.).
- One municipality established a water and sewer system and another made changes to its waste collection system, reducing costs, and increasing the amount of waste recycled—all of which contributed to protecting the drinking water well.
- Improvements made to public services and the implementation of environmentally-friendly practices potentially benefited 2.8 million people in partner municipalities.
- The private sector created 487 new jobs.
- The agriculture and food-processing industry created 190 new jobs.
- 18 of the assignments with agriculture and food-processing partners reported a combined increase in sales of $765,000 (U.S.).
- A Provincial Government Tourism Office increased its operating budget from $1 million (U.S.) to $1.5 million (U.S.).
Introducing a computer system in municipal offices in the Philippines has the changed the way it will operate, forever. Click here to find out more.
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How two remote regions in the Philippines are becoming sweeter places after CESO partnered with The National Apiculture Research, Training and Development Institute
and worked with the Cordillera Beekeepers Federation. Click here to read more.
CESO Volunteer William Goodings was faced with a tough task—finding a way to improve the waste disposal system in a region in the Philippines. He wrote about his experience in The Journal of Policy Engagement.
Click here to read more.