Social Protection in the Philippines:
Learning From Some Good Practices

With the end in view of evaluating initiatives on the extension of social protection for homebased and other workers in the informal sector in the Philippines, a research project was undertaken with support from the Ford Foundation.

Through a survey, followed by FGDs and key informant interviews, the study examined the ways by which homebased workers address risks such as sickness, death, disability, old age, childbirth, calamities, and other life reversals in the context of their current working and living conditions.

For the evaluation of pilot and existing social protection schemes, six information-rich PATAMABA areas were selected as case study sites: 1) the PATAMABA damayan (mutual aid society) in San Francisco, Bulacan, Bulacan, which has more than 200 members, and which is “branching out” from death benefits to sickness benefits through a memorandum of agreement with a nearby hospital; 2) the PATAMABA Apugan chapter in Baguio City (Cordillera Administrative Region) composed mostly of migrant indigenous women from Ifugao, who have their own social protection traditions; 3) the PATAMABA chapter in La Union, whose leaders and members are also involved in the ORT community-based health micro-insurance scheme called OHPS (promoted as a model by ILO-STEP); 4) the community-based health micro- insurance scheme in Angono, Rizal called AHMI, being launched under the auspices of the ILO-STEP project involving PATAMABA members, who are simultaneously the proponents of a 300-unit housing project being developed by the local government in cooperation with the National Home Mortgage and Finance Corporation; 5) the highly successful microfinance program of PATAMABA Region VI in Iloilo and Antique, which has integrated damayan or mutual aid, and is supplemented by an aggressive campaign to enroll members in the Social Security System (SSS), Philhealth and Red Cross; and 6) the Balingasa chapter in the National Capital Region, many of whom have become members of the (SSS) through the ADA (automatic debit account) program in partnership with PS Bank.

Lessons Learned

* Building on the strong rural tradition of community-based solidarity is a good start.

The gains in addition to the direct benefits given to the membership are: the security among the members that they will be provided financial assistance in times of dire financial need; the reinforcement of the spirit of “bayanihan” among the members of the community; the realization that as an organized group, the women have a stronger voice on issues affecting the community.

* Tradition can be both a boon and a burden among indigenous communities.

The tradition of “hablag” and “pinagpagan” is an indigenous way of social protection because help in times of deaths and sickness comes with the culture. Since it is unwritten and not covered by enforceable laws, it may not be able to withstand social and environment change. Ifugao migrants are not too keen about continuing the tradition because of the expense involved. Thus, there is need to veer towards alternative forms of protection, such as membership in SSS and Philhealth.

* Social security is tied up with income and employment security.
The sustainability of contributions to the SSS and Philhealth (Apugan), to the ORT Health Plus Scheme (Bariquir), and to the SSS ADA program (Balingasa and Angono) is considered to be at great risk because of the employment (and therefore income) insecurity of members. Without reserve funds set aside from a reasonably regular source, contributions cannot be sustained.

* Sustained networking and advocacy at both national and local levels lead to results over the long run.

Lobbying for social protection coverage began in the early 1990s, yielding positive results only in the mid-90s. Friendlier mechanisms and burden sharing were promoted only in 2002, largely through the combined efforts of informal worker organizations converging in the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC). At the local level, the campaign for extending membership in micro-health insurance schemes, must be relentlessly pursued by the community in order for them to be secure during times of illness, death or calamity.

* Asset reform is essential.

The Community Mortgage Program in Angono, Rizal is viewed as the national government’s response to the issue of asset reform that aims to benefit the poor. This advocacy through its implementation by the local governments, will hopefully address the critical issue of having permanent shelter. Its realization will free the poor from worries of eviction and increasing house rentals.

* Gender issues as well as child issues need to be addressed.

Results show that rural women are more burdened with physically demanding reproductive work which their men, who are more conservative than those in urban areas , do not share. Their stress levels are greater, and these are manifested in the form of fatigue and other symptoms of overwork. The salaries of female day-care workers are also very low compared to other positions in the barangay which men hold. Clearly, it is difficult to organize and explore alternative livelihood for men because of the latter’s drinking habits. There are also areas where violence against women and children as well as prostitution and child labor thrive. These have to be treated as risks that also need to be addressed.

* Discipline and regularity of collection are important.

The experience thus far shows that the PATAMABA Region VI has the capacity to make a small microfinance fund grow and to use it well, even integrating a damayan fund. PATAMABA client borrowers have also shown exemplary credit discipline and can absorb higher loans if given the opportunity. The secret is a combination of incentives and sanctions that has proven to be effective in motivating microfinance participants not to default or to unduly delay payments.

* There is a need for scaling up to address poverty and ensure sustainability.

Some borrowers in the PATAMABA microfinance program already have the need and the capability to borrow more and would gladly transfer to PATAMABA if only the latter had as much to loan out. The break-out level from the poverty cycle has been pegged at P54,000 borrowing rate. At that level, collection for the damayan fund could also be at a reasonably adequate level to address the most urgent risks. Clearly, there is a long way to go, beginning with the exploration of sources for much larger lending funds.