14. Spatial Structures of the Philippines: Urbanization and Regional Inequalities

RA 2264: “An Act Amending the Laws Governing Local Governments by Increasing their Autonomy and Reorganizing Provincial Governments”.

“Pork barrel funds” is a US politics metaphor relating to a legislative appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative’s district. It is designed to benefit the politician’s constituents and yield in return good political support. In the Philippines this money is allocated to a representative or Senator for spending as he/she wishes, without going through the normal budgetary process or through the Executive Branch. It can be used for buildings, roads, scholarships, medical expenses, jobs and can be considered part of the entrenched corruption in Philippine political life. (Tamayo 2011).

From the kinaray-a word “hamtik”, red ant. The name of the province does not refer to a special time frame…

From the tagalog word “batang”, tree log.

From the tagalog “bulak” (cotton) or “bulaklak” (flower).

Oyster shells, a word of hiligaynon origin.

An Aeta word describing a certain type of grass.

A Sinama word for banyan tree. The repetition indicates a huge quantity of these trees.

People of the mountains (“bukid”), in Cebuano.

A word meaning “enemy” or “headhunters” used by the Gaddang and Ibanag tribes from the Cagayan valley of northern Luzon in reference to the mountain tribes nearby.

A derogatory term used by Spaniards to describe the local “negrito” tribes and their dark skin.

Aurora Quezon, wife of the Commonwealth president.

Queen Isabela II of Spain, who was the monarch of the colonial power at the time the province was created (1856).

Previously called Tayabas, after one of its oldest cities, the province was renamed in 1949 to honor the first president of the Philippine Commonwealth, Manuel Quezon.

Elpidio Quirino, president of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953.

In honor of the writer and national hero Jose Rizal.

Muhammad Dipatuan Kudarat (1581–1671), a Sultan of Maguindanao who fought the Spaniards.

The 1854 merging of several towns in southern Ilocos Sur and northwestern Pangasinan to create a new province.

Batangas, Cavite, Cebu, Iloilo, Masbate, Romblon, Siquijor, Sorsogon, Surigao, Tarlac.

With the major exception of the Automomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, which has an elected regional assembly and its own governor, in addition to provincial governors.

Manila for the National Capital Region, San Fernando (La Union) for Ilocos / Region I, Baguio for Cordillera Administrative Region, Tuguegarao for Cagayan Valley / Region II, San Fernando (Pampanga) for Central Luzon / Region III, Calamba (Laguna) for Calabarzon / Region IV-A, Calapan (Mindoro oriental) for Mimaropa / Region IV-B, Legazpi for Bicol / Region V, Iloilo for Western Visayas / Region VI, Cebu for Central Visayas / Region VII, Tacloban for Eastern Visayas / Region VIII, Pagadian (Zamboanga del Sur) for Zamboanga Peninsula / Region IX, Cagayan de Oro for Northern Mindanao / Region X, Butuan for Caraga / Region XIII, Davao City for Davao Region / Region XI, Koronadal (South Cotabato) for Soccsksargen / Region XII, Cotabato City for the ARMM. In the case of Negros / NIR or Region XVIII, the central governement has not yet decided if the capital of the new region would be Dumaguete (Negros oriental) or Bacolod (Negros occidental), even as the latter’s population is four times bigger than the other’s.

Being the latest-created region, Negros, Region XVIII, has broken the system of North to South numbering.

http://​www.​psa.​gov.​ph/​content/​general-trias-now-city.

Angeles (Pampanga), Bacolod (Negros), Baguio, Butuan (Mindanao), Cagayan de Oro (Mindanao), Cebu, Cotabato (Mindanao), Dagupan (Pangasinan), Davao, General Santos (Mindanao), Iligan (Mindanao), Iloilo (Panay), Lapu-Lapu (Cebu), Lucena (Quezon), Mandaue (Cebu), Naga (Camarines Sur), Olongapo (Zambales), Ormoc (Leyte), Puerto Princesa (Palawan), Santiago, Tacloban (Leyte), Zamboanga City, as well as the cities of Metro Manila (Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Manila, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, Valenzuela).

This is the case in Bacolod (Negros occidental), Cagayan de Oro (Misamis oriental), Cebu City (Cebu), Iloilo City (Iloilo), Lucena (Quezon), Puerto Princesa (Palawan) and Tacloban (Leyte).

Cotabato, Dagupan, Naga, Ormoc, Santiago.

http://​www.​nscb.​gov.​ph/​activestats/​psgc/​articles/​con_​income.​asp.

The name barangay is a derived from balangay, a Malay word meaning “sailboat” (see Chapter 4 on the pre-Hispanic Philippines). As in Hawai’i, this connection between community and boats supports some theories of pre-colonial history of the Philippines dealing with the question of how the individual coastal barangays have arisen. There is a clear possibility that each of these coastal barangays may have been initially settled by colonizing maritime nomads who came by boat from other places in Southeast Asia (Peterson 2007).

Ferdinand Marcos, in his efforts to restructure the administrative organization of the country, imposed this term barangay in 1975 to replace barrio, a move that was confirmed under the 1991 Local Government Code.

http://​nap.​psa.​gov.​ph/​activestats/​psgc/​default.​asp.

Among the most common names of barangay, names of saints, mostly male, emerge (San Pedro, San Isidro, San Agustin, San Francisco, Santo Tomas, San Roque, Santa Ana, Santa Maria) as well as Santa Cruz and Santo Niño, presumably due to the presence of a church as a barangay focal point. All 24 barangay in San Nicolas (Ilocos Norte) are named after saints, while Camaligan (Camarines Sur) is the only town in the Philippines that honors all four evangelists through their barangay: San Marcos, San Lucas, San Mateo and San Juan. Santo Tomas (Batangas) has 26 barangay named after saints, from Agustin to Teresita, and only four are not named after saints, they are Barangay I, II, III, IV in Poblacion, the town center. The local political culture can play a role in naming some barangay: the city of Marcos (Ilocos Norte) has barangay names Ferdinand, Imelda, Pacifico, Elizabeth and Fortuna (all the close family of the late dictator). Many barangay in Mindanao bear the name of a Muslim chief of the past (sultan or datu). Jose Rizal and Manuel Quezon have been popular names (Bgy Rizal, Bgy Quezon), as have been Jefferson, Washington, Franklin or Lincoln for American counties and cities. Bagumbayan, the place where Rizal was executed, is also a classic barangay name. Some names, finally, have amusing meanings: The city of San Jose del Monte has a barangay named Gaya-gaya (copycat). Santa Maria (Bulacan) has Mag-asawang Sapa (husband-and-wife creeks). Pandi (Bulacan) has Mapulang Lupa (Red Earth), Siling Bata and Siling Matanda (young and old chili pepper) (Tan 2014).

From “ginoo”, Sir or Mister.

However, in high-density urban settings, some barangay may have the population of very large cities. The 2010 census showed Caloocan’s Barangay 176 as having 243,980 residents ! Seven other barangay, in Metro Manila or adjacent suburbs, had more than 100,000 residents.

Minor disputes and criminal offenses are supposed to be “amicably settled” by the barangay leader, or captain, without the presence of lawyers. The importance of this barangay system of justice based on traditional socialization patterns, leads to a low rate of utilization of juvenile courts and correctional institutions (Shoemaker 1996).

Maintenance of peace and order in the community, breaking up fights between neighbors, fire prevention, traffic rules and regulations, issuance of residence certificates, small local jail to detain petty criminals or debtors not paying their owes. Adult men from the barangay may be asked to take turns in nighttime security patrols to deter crimes such as burglaries.

The barangays’ Appropriations, Finance and Ways and Means Committee is responsible for matters related to local taxation and fiscal administration.

The infrastructure committee is responsible for the construction, repair and maintenance of roads, bridges and other government infrastructure projects and public works such as drainage and sewerages, flood control and protection, irrigation and water facilities.

The Education Committee is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of educational facilities for both formal and non-formal education.

The Health Committee looks after health, sanitation or hygiene, garbage collection, cleanliness and beautification of the community. It is in charge of barangay health center and day-care center; medical records, vaccination and health education campaigns . Barangay health workers play a crucial role in the delivery of basic health services to their communities (Sumaylo 2013).

The Agriculture Committee supervises livelihood programs and activities, including fisheries. It provides agricultural support services such as a planting materials distribution system and the operation of farm produce collection and buying stations.

The Tourism Committee is responsible for the promotion of local tourism through the establishment of all kinds of trade and industry, and is in charge of organizing local festivals.

The Youth and Sports Committee attends to matters relative to sports and youth welfare and development.

There are many examples of local officials awarding maintenance contracts or fictional jobs to relatives or friends, or taking a commission on every contract. Corruption also takes the shape of vote buying for barangay elections, as the barangay chairman may for example provide financial support of 1000 pesos for a sick member of the community, expecting in return a vote in his favor under the principle of “utang na loob” (debt of the heart).

This hierarchical administrative structure leads to adresses such as Sitio Mambani, Barangay Cayucyucan, municipality of Mercedes, province of Camarines Norte (in the Bicol region of Luzon island, Republic of the Philippines).

World Urbanization Prospects 2015 (http://​esa.​un.​org/​unpd/​wup/​cd-rom/​). This set of data, allowing interesting comparisons between countries, is also used by the World Bank (http://​data.​worldbank.​org/​indicator/​SP.​URB.​TOTL.​IN.​ZS).

https://​psa.​gov.​ph/​sites/​default/​files/​attachments/​hsd/​article/​Explanatory%20​Text.​pdf.

Excluding the 1705 barangay of Metro Manila, which are all ranked urban.

In the 2000 CPH, barangays were classified into either urban or rural by considering the street pattern, presence of facilities and amenities, population density, presence of establishments, and type of occupation engaged in by the residents. – https://​psa.​gov.​ph/​content/​philippines-urban-population-was-registered-480-percent#sthash.​RxTWEK4I.​dpuf. The 1970 definition considered an area urban if: In their entirety, all cities and municipalities have a population density of at least 1000 persons per square kilometer; Poblaciones or central districts of municipalities and cities, which have a population density of at least 500 persons per square kilometer; Poblaciones or central districts (not included in the first two points), regardless of the population size that have the following: Street pattern (i.e., network of streets in either parallel or right angle orientation); At least six establishments: commercial, manufacturing, recreational and/or personal services; At least three of the following: A town hall, church or chapel with religious services at least once a month; A public plaza, park or cemetery; A market place or building where trading activities are carried out at least once a week; and A public building such as schools, hospitals, health center and library. Barangays having at least 1000 inhabitants which meet the conditions set forth above and where the occupation of the inhabitants is pre-dominantly non-fishing.

This reminds us of the large rural/farm population of Chinese cities such as Beijing or Shanghai, leading to similar difficulties to assess the real extent of urbanization.

https://​psa.​gov.​ph/​content/​urban-barangays-philippines-based-2010-cph.

National Statistics Office, 2011 Family Health Survey.

http://​digitaleducation​.​net/​epa-web/​philippine-architecture-forms-and-types/​.

The word bahay, “house”, is quite similar to the word buhay, “life”, while the word bahay-bata, “house of child”, means “uterus” (where life begins). Balay is a variant of bahay.

Already described by Spaniards during the Magellan expedition. “Their houses are constructed of wood, and are built on planks and bamboo, raised high from the ground on large logs, and one must enter them by means of ladders. They have rooms like ours; and under the house they keep their swine, goats and fowl.”(Pigafetta 1525).

Roundleaf fountain palm, or footstool palm (Saribus rotundifolius); Anahaw or Luyong.

Also known as bahay kastila (Spanish house) and bahay na tisa or balay tisa (house of tile) (Zialcita et al. 1980).

“Bahay na bato” suggests an all-stone house, which it is not. “Bahay na bato at kahoy” or the “wood-and-stone house” would be more accurate.

from Latin “cum,” with, and “dominium,” ownership.

Small hut.

For the dwellings located alongside the creeks of a city, narrower than sewers and associated with bad smell.

Tagalog version of squatter referring to a physically disorganised collection of shelters made of light and often visually unappealing materials where poor people reside. Squatter is also in relation with the legal precarity of the dwelling.

Narrow alleys (word of Spanish origin, “esquina” = “corner”) where two people cannot cross each other.

Inner courtyard shanties, invisible from the street (from the tagalog loob, “inside”).

2009 data – Source : http://​hdn.​org.​ph/​wp-content/​uploads/​2009/​05/​chapter-3-provinces-and-human-development.​pdf.

In the United States, the per capita GDP difference between the least productive (Mississippi) and most productive (Delaware) state is a little more than two-fold: $ 28,944 to $ 61,183, with the District of Columbia peaking at $ 145,663 (5 times the level of Mississippi) in 2012.

The poorer sections of Metro Manila, in the northern cities of Navotas, Malabon, Valenzuela and Caloocan, have not been invested so heavily by large-scale retail companies.

http://​www.​nscb.​gov.​ph/​secstat/​d_​income.​asp.

The government considers a Filipino family poor if monthly earnings are less than the poverty threshold. In the 1st semester of 2012, the poverty threshold for a family of 5 was at a national average of 5458 pesos per month to meet basic food needs, with variations at the regional scale. If non-food needs (clothing, housing, transportation, health, and education expenses) are added, the threshold in 2012 was an average of 7821 pesos in monthly family earnings. See the Philippine Statistics Authority website (http://​www.​nscb.​gov.​ph/​poverty/​2009/​metadata.​asp) for the methodology on poverty criteria and calculations. (Balisacan 2001).

http://​www.​nscb.​gov.​ph/​poverty/​dataCharts.​asp.