metadata: authors: 0: author: Bowen,Thomas Vaughan
count: Philippines
docna: 0: docna: Social protection and disaster risk
            management in the Philippines : the case of typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)
docty: Policy Research Working Paper
subtopic: Social Protections & Assistance,Hazard Risk Management,Social Risk Management,Inequality,Natural Disasters,Disaster Management
teratopic: Macroeconomics and Economic Growth,Poverty Reduction,Environment,Health, Nutrition and Population,Public Sector Development,Governance,Social Protections and Labor,Science and Technology Development
abstracts: cdata!: This paper evaluates how the Philippines
            utilize social protection systems and programs to help
            households better manage disaster risk. Exposure and
            vulnerability to natural disasters and the effects of
            climate change are particularly high in the Philippines. At
            the same time, the Philippines has developed one of the most
            advanced social protection systems in the East Asia Pacific
            region. The Department of Social Welfare and Development is
            prominently integrated into the national disaster risk
            management framework of the Philippines, taking the lead
            coordinating role in disaster response activities.
            Consequently, social protection programs are on the
            frontlines of disaster response in the Philippines. This
            paper focuses specifically on the devastating impact of
            Typhoon Yolanda, which struck the country in November 2013,
            as a case study against which the Philippines’ social
            protection response can be assessed.
geo_reg_key: 517198,517191
repnme: repnme: Social protection and disaster risk
            management in the Philippines : the case of typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)
display_title: Social protection and disaster risk
            management in the Philippines : the case of typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)
listing_relative_url: /research/2015/11/25257359/social-protection-disaster-risk-management-philippines-case-typhoon-yolanda-haiyan
topicv3: Disaster Risk Management m1326682 820,Poverty m1326687 695,Disaster Risk Reduction m1327178 821,Social Protection and Labor m1327194 697,Typhoon m1503641 3177
publishtoextweb_dt: 2015-11-09T00:00:00Z
historic_topic: Macroeconomics and Economic Growth,Poverty Reduction,Environment,Health, Nutrition and Population,Public Sector Development,Governance,Social Protections and Labor,Science and Technology Development
no_of_pages: 51
author_keys: 0: author_key: 1191963
model_extractions: WPS7482 Policy Research Working Paper 7482 Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty _Background Paper_ Social Protection and Disaster Risk Management in the Philippines The Case of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) _Thomas Bowen_ Development Economics Climate Change Cross-Cutting Solutions Area November 2015
Policy Research Working Paper 7482

# **Abstract**

This paper evaluates how the Philippines utilize social protection systems and programs to help households better manage disaster risk. Exposure and vulnerability to natural disasters and the effects of climate change are particularly high in the Philippines. At the same time, the Philippines has developed one of the most advanced social protection systems in the East Asia Pacific region. The Department of Social Welfare and Development is prominently integrated into the national disaster risk management framework of the Philippines, taking the lead coordinating role in disaster response activities. Consequently, social protection programs are on the frontlines of disaster response in the Philippines. This paper focuses specifically on the devastating impact of Typhoon Yolanda, which struck the country in November 2013, as a case study against which the Philippines’ social protection response can be assessed.

This paper was commissioned by the World Bank Group’s Climate Change Cross-Cutting Solutions Area and is a background paper for the World Bank Group’s flagship report: “Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty.” It is part of a larger effort by the World Bank to provide open access to its research and make a contribution to development policy discussions around the world. Policy Research Working Papers are also posted on the Web at http://econ.worldbank. org. The author may be contacted at tbowen@worldbank.org.

_The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent._ Produced by the Research Support Team
**Social Protection and Disaster Risk Management in the Philippines: The Case of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)**

# **Thomas Bowen**

Keywords: social protection, disaster risk management, risk financing, typhoon, Philippines JEL: I32, H50, Q54

# **Acknowledgements**

This country case study is one of a series of four case studies produced under the task: _Making Social Protection Systems More Responsive to Natural Disasters/Hazards in East Asia and the Pacific_ . Financial support to prepare these studies was provided by the Rapid Social Response (RSR) fund. The other three case studies in the four-part series include Fiji, Tonga and Vietnam. Additional financial support for this specific case study on the Philippines was provided through the World Bank’s _Climate Change and Poverty_ global report, for which this case study is a background paper.

This case study was authored by Thomas Bowen <u>(tbowen@worldbank.org), Junior Professional</u> Associate, Social Protection and Labor Global Practice (GSPDR), World Bank. Oleksiy Ivaschenko <u>(oivaschenko@worldbank.org), Senior Economist, GSPDR served as Task Team Leader. Aleksandra</u> Posarac (Program Leader: Poverty, Human and Social Development - Philippines), Cynthia Burton (an independent Disaster Risk Management and Social Protection Specialist), Pablo Acosta (Senior Economist GSPDR) and Jehan Arulpragasam (Practice Manager, GSPDR) also provided valuable guidance and expertise throughout the drafting of the report. However, the accuracy of the information contained in the report is the sole responsibility of the author.

The author wishes to sincerely thank all of the stakeholders consulted during the preparation of this report for their time and invaluable insights. This includes: government representatives (in particular the many representatives consulted from the Department of Social Welfare and Development), World Bank Manila Country Office staff, regional organizations, international development partners, and representatives of non-governmental organizations.
# **1. Executive Summary**

Exposure and vulnerability to natural disasters and the effects of climate change are particularly high in the Philippines. The Philippines is currently ranked as the country with the second highest level of disaster risk in the world and is the eighth most vulnerable country to the effects of climate change.<sup>12</sup> Its location, climate and topography expose the country to many recurring natural hazards. These include both climate-related hazards (e.g. typhoons, floods, droughts, storm surges, landslides) and geophysical hazards (e.g. volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis). Recent research has suggested that of the 10 most exposed cities in the world to natural disasters, eight are located in the Philippines (including Manila – ranked 4th).<sup>3</sup> In addition, an average of 20 tropical cyclones hit the country every year, of which five to seven are destructive. Moreover, climate change projections predict increases in annual mean temperatures for the country range from 0.9°C to 1.1°C by 2020, and by 1.8°C to 2.2°C in 2050.<sup>4</sup> These changes in temperature are projected to lead to more frequent and severe tropical storms and typhoons.

Poor households are often disproportionately affected by disasters in the Philippines due to heightened vulnerabilities and relatively fewer resources for coping. Many Filipinos live just above the poverty line, cycling in and out of poverty due to high vulnerability to shocks – including natural disasters. Indeed, between 2003 and 2009, 44 percent of the population was poor at least once – and of that 44 percent, two out of three households moved in and out of poverty.<sup>5</sup> Rapid urbanization and the proliferation of informal settlements and urban slums have compounded vulnerabilities, especially among poor households migrating from rural areas. Livelihoods among those remaining in agriculture (30 percent of the total labor force in 2014<sup>6</sup> ), and those in the informal urban labor market, are particularly at risk from the effects of natural disasters and climate change. Poorer households also have fewer resources to manage disaster risk and cope with the impacts of frequent, repeated disasters. Oftentimes, this leads to the adoption of negative coping strategies such as selling assets, reducing food consumption, removing children from school to work for additional household income, etc.

At the same time, the Philippines has developed one of the most advanced social protection (SP) systems in the East Asia Pacific region, designed to help poor households manage risk and shocks. Undergoing rapid and comprehensive social welfare reform since 2007, the Government of the Philippines (GoP) and the lead agency for social protection and social welfare, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), have developed a number of national SP programs that are accompanied by advanced information and delivery systems. For example, the Pantawid Pamiliya Pilipino Program (4Ps) is a nationwide conditional cash transfer (CCT) program aimed at poverty alleviation and human capital accumulation that reached over 4.4 million households in 2014. Social protection systems, programs and policies buffer individuals from shocks and equip them to improve their livelihoods and create opportunities to build a better life for themselves and their families.<sup>7</sup> That one of the most frequent and severe shocks facing Filipino households is natural disasters offers interesting lessons as to the ways in which DSWD’s SP system is used to respond to disasters.

DSWD is prominently integrated into the national disaster risk management (DRM) framework, taking the lead coordinating role in disaster response activities. DSWD is the lead agency for “disaster response” within the GoP’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan (NDRRMP). The department also has responsibilities across the national prevention and mitigation, preparedness, recovery and rehabilitation pillars of the NDRRMP. Concurrently, it is also the lead agency of four coordinating clusters of the UN cluster system<sup>1</sup> – food security, shelter, camp coordination and camp

> 1 At the country level, the UN cluster system aims  to ensure a more coherent and effective disaster response by mobilizing groups of agencies, organizations and NGOs to respond in a strategic manner across all key sectors or areas of activity, each sector having a clearly designated lead, in support of existing government coordination and emergency response mechanisms.

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<!-- Start of picture text --> Community-<br>Driven<br>g Shelter<br>5<br>< Cash<br>Transfer<br>Programs<br>Relief<br>Relief Early recovery Recovery Reconstruction<br>"Response" “Recovery and Rehabilitation"<br>> Time<br><!-- End of picture text -->
After immediate survival needs were addressed, DSWD delivered a number of cash-based response programs. Prominently, DSWD utilized its national CCT program, the 4Ps. Upon the declaration of a “state of calamity”, the requirement for beneficiaries to comply with the conditions of the 4Ps program is waived by DSWD in affected geographical areas for a set period of time. This makes the 4Ps’ cash grants unconditional at a time when conditions may be hard or impossible to meet if, for instance, the supply side is down or access to facilities is limited. Utilizing the pre-existing 4Ps system in this way, DSWD were able to quickly release of a total of P550.5 million (US$12.5 million) to Yolanda affected 4Ps beneficiaries between November 2013 and February 2014 – just three months after the disaster struck.<sup>11</sup> In the case of Yolanda, both the World Food Program (WFP) and UNICEF utilized the national household targeting system and the 4Ps delivery system to deliver additional emergency cash transfers to affected households. The grant amounts received by the 4Ps beneficiaries from DSWD postYolanda remained fixed at the same amount that is delivered by the 4Ps in normal, non-emergency programming. However, in the case of Yolanda, WFP and UNICEF ‘topped up’ the amount delivered by DSWD to 4Ps households in affected areas, effectively scaling up the 4Ps grant amount during a time of increased need for affected beneficiaries. This was a pragmatic and replicable practice. Indeed, it illustrates the potential efficiency gains for both humanitarian agencies and the targeted beneficiaries of delivering post-disaster grants through a national cash transfer program to pretargeted poor and vulnerable households. Indeed, WFP again utilized the 4Ps to deliver cash top-ups to 4Ps beneficiaries after Typhoon Ruby (Hagupit) in 2014.<sup>12</sup> <mark>Ahead of future disasters, a scalable emergency cash transfer program could be developed in order that post-disaster cash transfers are also able to reach additional, non-4Ps affected households. Currently, the post-disaster cash transfers that DSWD delivers through the 4Ps are only provided to 4Ps beneficiaries and not to other affected households that may be equally or more poor and as or more affected by the disaster. This is because they are delivered through a CCT that is not designed to be explicitly responsive to disasters. The introduction of a scalable emergency cash transfer program as a complementary but separate program would preserve the integrity of the 4Ps CCT as an instrument for long-term human capital accumulation and poverty reduction. In that regard, the scalable emergency cash transfer would have the explicit objective of providing income support to affected households. This scalable instrument would better equip DSWD to deliver a more equitable, broad-based post disaster cash transfer intervention that reaches both 4Ps and non-4Ps affected households. This could, in turn, also help to supplement some of the substantial burden of in-kind / food pack delivery with a cash based response, once immediate food based needs have been met and</mark> beneficiary needs transition away from survival to asset re-accumulation and livelihood restoration.

<mark>Disaster risk financing mechanisms could help to manage the additional caseload of a scalable emergency cash transfer, and/or institutionalize the scaling up of grant amounts to affected households. The top up grants of UNICEF and WFP illustrated how the 4Ps grants could be ‘scaled up’ to provide increased assistance to 4Ps beneficiaries in an acute time of need. This ‘scaling-up’ process could be institutionalized within DSWD. Similarly, the scaling out of the program to new beneficiaries would entail an increased financial liability in the event of a disaster. There is a number of risk financing mechanisms that could allow DSWD to fund the grant top-ups themselves and / or a temporary increase in beneficiary caseload, including DSWD specific contingent financing, or through linkages to the broader GoP risk financing strategy, including, for example, a Catastrophic Draw-Down Option (CAT DDO).</mark><sup>2</sup> Following the Yolanda response, the coverage of the 4Ps’ regular, long-term CCT programming was also expanded to permanently enrol households that were newly impoverished as a result of the impacts of the disaster. The DSWD reported processing the inclusion of an additional 20,000

> 2 _A Cat DDO is a contingent credit line that provides immediate liquidity to IBRD member countries in the aftermath of a natural disaster. It is part of a broad spectrum of risk financing instruments available from the World Bank Group to help borrowers plan efficient responses to natural disasters._

3
households for enrolment into the 4Ps in 2014 based on updated information on the poverty status of those affected by Typhoon Yolanda. This is an important lesson – that a regular SP program should be capable of adapting to the new, post-disaster reality on the ground where household income, consumption and livelihoods have been drastically altered, and consequently many more households may have been made eligible for regular SP programs who previously were not.

In addition to the 4Ps, Cash for Work (CfW) is used by DSWD during the relief and early recovery phases of a response, providing cash to self-targeting beneficiaries who execute projects that assist the overall response and rehabilitation effort. The CfW is a useful vehicle for getting cash to beneficiaries through participant self-targeting which minimizes the administrative burden of program delivery relative to targeted cash transfers. Tasks given to beneficiaries in the CfW program included, for example: loading/unloading of goods, repacking of relief goods, food preparation, sorting and inventory of damaged property, clearing of debris, coastal clean-up, canal dredging, among other things. The case of Yolanda suggests that the capacity of the CfW program could be scaled up to reach more beneficiaries, but that care must be taken in setting wage parameters so as not to distort what remains of local labor markets.

<mark>As operations transitioned from response to recovery and rehabilitation activities, DSWD also transitioned its public works program from CFW to the “Cash for Building Livelihoods Assets” (CBLA) program. Led by DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihoods Program, CBLA was initiated to support longer-term efforts for the rebuilding of lost livelihoods after Yolanda. While CFW in the response phase fills an immediate need, the work undertaken is rudimentary and disconnected from longer-term livelihood resumption. CBLA is more directly geared to the restoration of lost livelihoods, key to recovery and rehabilitation. Nevertheless, SLP staff reported that the program would likely reach only 16.8 percent of total affected households due to the SLPs relatively limited capacity to deliver, indicating significant potential for the CBLA to be expanded for future disasters.</mark> DSWD’s Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) program begins in the recovery phase and provides cash and/or shelter materials for beneficiaries with damaged houses. The ESA targets households whose houses were partially or totally damaged by Yolanda that are located in designated “safe areas”. These safe areas – as designated by the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) - are designed to promote “building back better” by preventing rebuilding in high risk zones. However, livelihood diversification support is still urgently needed for fisher folk unable or unwilling to leave unsafe areas along the coastline and who consequently remain ineligible for shelter support like ESA.

Together with the social assistance (social safety net) programs of DSWD, social insurance was also used innovatively by GoP to provide access to post-disaster finance to eligible beneficiaries. Within weeks of the disaster, the Social Security Scheme (SSS) of the Philippines announced that members in disaster affected areas would be given a moratorium on repayment of any outstanding loans and that pension advances, salary loans and house repair loans would be available to members on concessional terms. As of March 2014, more than 80,000 members and pensioners received relief assistance through salary loans and pension advances (more than P1.2 billion in salary loans and released P225 million worth of advanced pensions). However, it should be emphasized that the coverage of formal social insurance in the Philippines is still relatively limited, with these programs not accessible to the majority of the poor and vulnerable – particularly in those areas affected by Typhoon Yolanda. Nevertheless, these initiatives are complimentary to the social safety nets of DSWD and can be hugely important in preventing eligible, previously near- or non-poor households from slipping into poverty after a disaster.

Alongside these GoP and DSWD cash based programs, separate humanitarian CTPs were also implemented in the Yolanda response - to an “unprecedented degree”<sup>13</sup> . At least 45 international humanitarian agencies implemented CTPs – unconditional and conditional - within the inter-agency response to Yolanda. UNOCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) reported that between December 2013 and August 2014, more than three-quarters (77 percent) of these CTPs were conditional cash transfers (60 percent of which were cash for work, 20 4
percent cash for food or shelter), while just under one quarter (23 percent) were unconditional.<sup>14</sup> Four agencies alone in the inter-agency response distributed around US$34 million, benefitting 1.4 million disaster-affected people.<sup>15</sup> Considerable effort was made to coordinate the large number of CTP providers with the government cash-based response programs - with some positive results. Ultimately, however, post-Yolanda response documentation and reviews reveal that 1) there has been no rigorous evaluation of the impact of the overall CTP response, and 2) there nevertheless appear to have been issues in CTP coordination leading to coverage gaps and duplication. The leveraging of existing SP information systems for increased future CTP coordination should continue to be explored ex-ante the next disaster by relevant CTP implementing agencies and DSWD. If leveraged correctly, the pre-existing information and capacity of these SP systems could help to increase coordination of overall CTP response for future, large-scale disasters.

<mark>The Yolanda experience has also demonstrated the important role that CDD programs can play in the recovery of poor and vulnerable people from disasters. The National Community Driven Development (NCDD) program of DSWD (formerly KALAHI-CIDSS) was set up in 2002 to alleviate rural poverty. The NCDDP has wide geographical programmatic coverage, operating in the poorest municipalities that also happen to be the most vulnerable to disasters. Moreover, building on ongoing work, the program has a well-established network of community facilitators and community volunteers on the ground. A contingent component of the NCDD was designed to adjust and simplify procedures in the case of disasters, triggered by the GoP’s declaration of a state of calamity. For example, the contingent component allow for certain types of projects and activities that are otherwise not permitted under regular NCDD rules, in order to “better address the recovery needs of communities”. Additionally, basic operational procedures are modified to hasten implementation.</mark> <mark>Taken as a whole, these myriad interventions demonstrate how social protection programs can and should be on the frontlines of disaster response. The number of programs and the sheer scale of each intervention delivered by DSWD in response to Yolanda is undoubtedly impressive, and demonstrates the potential for an empowered social protection department / ministry to provide a holistic package of disaster assistance to poor and vulnerable households. As the case study makes clear, there are also areas for further program and systems development to strengthen DSWD’s ability to manage largescale disasters like Yolanda. In particular, through introducing greater design flexibility, along with the necessary risk financing mechanisms, to scale-up post-disaster social protection programming in order to reach a larger share of affected households.</mark> This case study proceeds as follows: section two presents the levels of exposure and vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change in the Philippines, as well as their linkages with poverty and vulnerability; section 3 then describes the particular impacts of Typhoon Yolanda within this context; section 4 presents an in-depth account of the national disaster risk management framework and the linkages that it is has to social protection, before examining the lessons that emerged from Yolanda with regard this framework, its institutions and procedures; having presented the institutional and legal framework for DRM in the Philippines and outlined the mandate of DSWD, section five then presents the myriad social protection and social welfare programs delivered by DSWD in this context; section six concludes the study by extracting the primary lessons learned and recommendations from this case study.

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and household expenditures by 7.1 percent.<sup>25</sup> Consequently, they found that typhoons led to significant reductions in human capital investments among affected households, especially in education (-13.3 percent) and health (-14.3 percent).<sup>26</sup> While food expenditures did not appear to decline as strongly among affected households, reductions in their food expenditure did extend over a longer period of time, in many cases beginning immediately in the year of storm exposure and continuing for three years afterwards.<sup>27</sup> These impacts are not disaggregated by income status, but highlight the relative burden on households possessing lower steady-state income and expenditure levels.

Limited savings and access to finance inhibit poor households’ ability to respond and recover from disasters, creating a cycle of poverty and vulnerability. In the event that livelihoods and/or assets have been destroyed by a natural disaster, poor households may be compelled to employ harmful strategies to cope due to a lack of savings and access to finance. For example, the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) of Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng that struck the Philippines in 2009 highlighted that: “the main coping strategy adopted after the disasters was to take on temporary work but this was found to be particularly challenging in rural areas with fewer opportunities to earn off-farm income... sources of credit regularly used prior to the storms often became unavailable... where households are able to borrow, they frequently use loans to cover basic expenditures and to pay back other loans ... households have had to reduce expenses further by cutting down on food, and there are reports of children being taken out of school and of older children working... with few assets and no land to sell, many of the most vulnerable households fear they may not be able to recover.”<sup>28</sup> In this way, poverty and vulnerability to natural hazards are closely linked and mutually reinforcing. Poor and socially disadvantaged groups are usually the most vulnerable to hazards, reflecting their social, cultural, economic and political environment. Disasters, in turn, are a source of transient hardship and distress and a factor contributing to persistent poverty. Indeed, at the household level, poverty is the single most important factor determining vulnerability to natural disasters.<sup>29</sup> Urban poverty and the growth of informal settlements have contributed to heightened vulnerability to natural hazards in the Philippines. The annual urban growth rate in the Philippines is 2.2 percent, and close to half of the population (49.3 percent) resides in urban areas.<sup>30</sup> This includes more than 12 million (around 21 percent) living in the Metro Manila area, which is also the world’s most densely populated city.<sup>31</sup> Around 45 percent of urban dwellings are in informal settlements (about 30 percent of which reside in Metro Manila), one of the highest proportions of informal settlers in the world.<sup>3233</sup> Ever growing numbers of rural migrants and urban poor live in these often precariously located and poorly constructed settlements. Indeed, the impacts of Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng on the Metro Manila region in 2009 were found to have been exacerbated by the heavily polluted environment in urban areas, together with urban congestion and proliferation of slums.<sup>34</sup> This already high and increasing vulnerability to natural disasters has become ‘the new normal’ for the Philippines, carrying a high economic cost, and diverting resources away from longer term development efforts. Previous GoP estimates suggest the average direct cost of damages from disasters is about 0.5 percent of GDP annually.<sup>35</sup> In the future, the Philippines is expected to incur (on ‐ a long term average basis) about $4.6 billion per year in damage to assets due to earthquakes, tropical cyclones, and increased rainfall. In the next 25 years, the Philippines has a 40 percent chance of experiencing a loss of more than $18.8 billion and casualties greater than 70,000 people; it has a 10 percent chance of experiencing a loss of more than $44.8 billion and casualties greater than 95,000 people.<sup>36</sup> Consequently, the GoP has revised its original target to halve the official poverty rate from 34.4 percent in 1991 to 17.2 percent by 2015, to between 18-20 percent by 2016; this change takes into consideration the slow response of poverty to economic growth and the setbacks in 2013 due to the impact of disasters.<sup>37</sup> These natural disaster costs extend to losses in productivity and livelihoods, especially for informal workers. The PDNA for Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng reported that informal workers were the worst affected, with “workers and micro employers in the informal sector the most vulnerable to natural disasters, especially small traders and vendors, food-related producers, service providers, self8
employed agricultural workers” with their vulnerabilities further increasing following the disaster.<sup>38</sup> In particular, the increased intensity and frequency of natural disasters is expected to reduce the productivity of agriculture and fishing in the Philippines, the main source of livelihoods for the majority of poor Filipinos – including indigenous groups. The annual combined damage to agriculture from typhoons, droughts, and floods reached PhP 12 billion (USD 246 million) in 2011, equivalent to 3 percent of total agricultural production.<sup>39</sup> Taking a specific case, Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) struck the Philippines in December 2012, particularly affecting Eastern Mindinao where agricultural and fishing livelihoods predominate. A GoP study found that agriculture as the primary source of livelihood declined by 23 percent and fishing by 26 percent as a result of the disaster and that nearly 12 percent of respondents were rendered completely jobless as a result of the typhoon.

# **3. The Impacts of Super‐Typhoon Yolanda**

**Typhoon Yolanda struck the Philippines on November 8, 2013.** With wind speeds exceeding 300 km/h, it is considered the most powerful storm to have made landfall in history.<sup>40</sup> Yolanda cut a path directly across the central Philippines, severely affecting areas in the eastern, central, western Visayas, and northern Palawan (see Map 2), precipitating a storm surge of over four meters in Eastern and Western Samar and Leyte that led to massive loss of life and extensive damage to public and private assets (see Table 1 for a detailed breakdown of those affected/damages by region).

_Table 1: Geographic Areas and Total Number of Persons and Families Affected_<sup>_41_</sup>

||Region|||Numb|er affected|||Percent<br>|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||Provinces|Cities|Municipalities|Barangays|Families|Persons|of Total|
|4‐A|Calabarzon|5|6|33|168|5,935|27,076|‐|
|4‐B|Mimaropa|5|2|62|793|101,006|466,120|4|
|5|Bicol|6|7|92|1,229|150,889|692,020|6|
|6|Western Visayas|6|16|117|3,176|801,660|3,673,721|30|
|7|Central Visayas|4|14|84|2,119|652,055|2,965,990|24|
|8|Eastern Visayas|6|7|137|4,387|850,080|4,271,726|35|
|10|Northern Mindano|4|3|7|26|4,253|19,592|‐|
|11|Southern Mindano|3|1|11|19|1,000|5,000|‐|
|13|Caraga|5|3|44|205|14,799|69,956|1|
||TOTAL|44|59|587|12,122|2,581,677|12,191,201|100|

**Source:** NEDA, _Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda (RAY)_ , 2013, p. 3

The human and economic costs of the disaster to the Philippines were extremely high.<sup>3</sup> In terms of economic devastation, Yolanda cost the country an estimated P571.2 billion (USD 12.9 billion) in damages,<sup>42</sup> with over a million homes damaged or destroyed. This equated to 0.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Nearly 6,300 people died, 80 percent of them from the country’s second

> 3 _Along with the sheer strength of Typhoon Yolanda, well-documented issues with the communication of early warning information contributed to these devastating human impacts. A GIZ / EU Commission assessment of the early warning efforts for Yolanda found that the warning was received with enough time to enact preparations but that, crucially, information on the storm surge was not clearly communicated. Consequently, many residents (the report estimates as many as 50 percent in some areas) in the affected regions elected to remain in their homes despite receiving the warnings. Specifically, many were warned about the coming “storm surge”, but did not understand the term. GIZ calculated that approximately 94 percent of the casualties in Tacloban, Palo and Tanauan were caused by the storm surge. The study concludes that “serious warnings and more effective evacuations along the coastline could have saved many lives”, highlighting the primary importance of information, and the sufficient understanding of that information and disaster evacuation procedures by the public, in saving lives._

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poorest region, the Central Visayas. A further 4.1 million people were reportedly displaced.<sup>43</sup> As of 2014, the GoP reported that more than 1,000 people were still “missing”.<sup>44</sup> Yolanda affected some of the country’s poorest regions and was projected to increase national poverty incidence by 1.9 percentage points, with projections of up to an additional one million people falling into poverty.<sup>45</sup> Pre-typhoon poverty incidence in the six hardest hit regions<sup>46</sup> ranged from 29.1 percent in Western Visayas to 45.2 percent in Eastern Visayas.<sup>47</sup> Estimates in the GoP’s Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda Plan (RAY), 2014, indicated that the poverty gap in these regions had already increased as a result of the disaster. The Eastern Visayas region is likely to experience the largest increase, with the poverty rate estimated to grow from 41.2 to 55.7 percent.<sup>48</sup> The results of the 2014 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS) released by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed poverty incidence among Filipinos rising to 25.8% in the first half of 2014, from 24.6% in 2013.

The impact on production and livelihoods was significant, and remains potentially debilitating, particularly for the hardest hit regions. The large-scale destruction of crops and other physical assets has disrupted industry and has increased unemployment and underemployment. Vast quantities of crops were destroyed, including 161,400 hectares of coconut farms. Farmers also reported losses of livestock, agricultural equipment, post-production facilities, fishing vessels, and irrigation systems. These losses have had a substantial long-term negative impact on the domestic economy and household welfare. There also are strong multiplier effects to the informal sector, which constitutes a large share of the local economy in the affected regions. The government estimates that around six million workers were affected by the typhoon, of which around 2.6 million are vulnerable workers without adequate social insurance or unpaid family workers.<sup>49</sup> The occurrence of other intense weather events before and after Yolanda has further increased the fiscal burden and hardship experienced by significant segments of the population. Weeks before Yolanda struck, Bohol Province and other parts of central Philippines experienced a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, with damages estimated at P2.2 billion (US$50 million). Following Typhoon Yolanda, Typhoon Glenda struck the north and central regions in the Philippines in July, 2014 resulting in an estimated total cost of P10.8 billion (US$ 247 million). Indeed, Yolanda or any other typhoon / disaster in the Philippines should not be thought of in isolation, but as one in a succession of frequent events, the impacts of which are accumulative for the most exposed and vulnerable.

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**4. The Philippines’ Disaster Risk Management Framework and Its Linkages to Social Protection**

The Philippines has one of the most advanced social protection systems in the East Asia Pacific region. Undergoing rapid and comprehensive social welfare reform since 2007, DSWD has developed a number of national SP programs to help poor households manage risk and shocks; advanced information and delivery systems have been developed to accompany these programs. For example, the Pantawid Pamiliya Pilipino Program (4Ps) is a nationwide conditional cash transfer program aimed at poverty alleviation and human capital accumulation that reached 4.4 million households in 2014.

Social protection is at the forefront of the overall government response to disasters like Yolanda. As natural disasters constitute one of the most frequent and severe types of shock facing Filipino households, the GoP’s lead agency for social protection and social welfare - the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) - plays a prominent role in meeting the needs of poor and vulnerable people who are adversely affected by their impacts. This role became intensified during the Yolanda response and led to a number of important lessons regarding the most effective ways to utilize and scale up existing SP systems for large-scale disaster response.

DSWD is also the government’s lead agency for four clusters of the UN cluster system during the response phase. The cluster system, instituted in 2006 as part of the UN Humanitarian Reform process, is designed to facilitate effective humanitarian coordination by strengthening leadership and accountability in key sectors at the national and global levels.<sup>4</sup> The cluster system may be triggered to coordinate the government’s response and/or the broader international humanitarian response to a disaster, as was the case during Typhoon Yolanda. In 2007, the GoP formerly adopted the Cluster Approach, assigning government cluster leads to each of the 11 Clusters (see Annex 1). DSWD is government lead agency for the food security, camp coordination and camp management, shelter and protection clusters.

# **The National DRM Framework and Social Protection**

The GoP has demonstrated its overarching commitment to build increased resilience to natural disasters through its adoption of the _Hyogo Framework for Action, 2005 – 2015 (HFA)_ and the **_Sendai Framework for Action, 2015-2025_** . The HFA<sup>5</sup> outlined priorities for action, guiding principles and practical means for substantially reducing disaster losses by 2015. Under its obligations as a signatory to the HFA, the Philippines developed a _Strategic National Action Plan (SNAP) on Disaster Risk Reduction, 2009-2019_ . The GoP is also a signatory to the HFA’s successor, the _Sendai Framework for Action, 2015 -2025 (SFA)_ .

> 4 _The Cluster Approach operates at two levels – at the global level, the aim is to strengthen system-wide, humanitarian preparedness and technical capacity to respond to humanitarian emergencies by designating global cluster leads and ensuring there is predictable leadership and accountability in all the main sectors or areas of activity. At the country level, the aim is to ensure a more coherent and effective response by mobilizing groups of agencies, organizations and NGOs to respond in a strategic manner across all key sectors or areas of activity, each sector having a clearly designated lead, in support of existing government coordination and emergency response mechanisms._

> 5 _The World Conference for Disaster Reduction, 18-22 January 2005 in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan began the process of pushing international agencies and national governments beyond rhetoric on DRR toward setting clear targets and commitments. The HFA was the first internationally accepted framework for DRR. It set out an ordered sequence of objectives (outcome – strategic goals – priorities), with five priorities for action. The UN and the signatories of the HFA met biannually from 2005-2015 to review progress against the Hyogo Framework_

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<!-- Start of picture text --> Department of National Defense<br>Secretary of Defense<br>NDRRMC Chairperson<br>Secretary of Civil Defense<br>Office of Civil Defense<br>Vice Chairperson Vice Chairperson, Vice Chairperson Vice Chairperson<br>Secretary, Secretary, Secretary, Secretary, National<br>Department of Department of Department of Economic and<br>Interior and Local Science and Social Welfare and Development<br>Samana Technology Development Authority<br>Disaster Prevention Disaster Disaster Response: Disaster Rehabilitation<br>and Mitigation: Preparedness: and Recovery:<br>Provide life preservation<br>Avoid hazards and Establish and strengthen and meet the basic Restore and improve<br>mitigate their potential capacities of subsistence needs of the facilities, livelihood and<br>impacts by reducing communities to affected population living conditions and<br>vulnerabilities and anticipate, cope and based on acceptable organizational capacities<br>exposure and enhancing recover from the standards during or of affected<br>Capacities of negative impacts of immediately after a communities, and<br>communities emergency occurrences disaster reduced disaster risks in<br>and disasters accordance with the<br>“building back better”<br>principle<br><!-- End of picture text -->
The NDRRMC structure is replicated at the regional and local levels for increased vertical integration of disaster risk management. Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils (LDRRMC) are located in every Barangay and tasked with approving, monitoring and implementing LDRRMPs; ensuring that DRR and CCA concerns are integrated into local development plans, programs and budgets; undertaking evacuation procedures for local residents before disasters.<sup>52</sup> The LDRRMCs are also tasked with preparedness activities through information dissemination and raising public awareness at the local level by, for example, displaying hazard maps in community spaces and disseminating printed information materials. Within the LDRRMCs, local databases are linked to national databases maintained by the OCD that detail their human resources, equipment, directories and location of critical infrastructures and their capacities. The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils (RDRRMC) mirror the NDRRMC structure framework (Figure 4).<sup>7</sup>

# **The Linkage between the National DRM Framework and SP**

Under the national DRM framework, DSWD takes overall responsibility for coordinating NDRRMP’s Thematic Area 3: Disaster Response. The overarching goal of Disaster Response, as defined by the NDRRMP, is to “provide life preservation and meet the basic subsistence needs of the affected population based on acceptable standards during or immediately after a disaster”.<sup>53</sup> More specifically, the NDRRMP states that the disaster response thematic area includes both immediate response activities and early recovery activities. Immediate response activities include needs assessments, search and rescue and relief operations, provision of food and non-food item relief packages, etc. Early recovery activities acknowledge that “the multidimensional process of recovery begins in a humanitarian setting” and includes activities that help to restore basic services, livelihoods, governance, security and rule of law, environment and social dimensions, including reintegration and social and emotional rehabilitation of displaced populations”.<sup>54</sup> As Vice Chairperson, DSWD coordinates the activities of the lead agencies for disaster response which are DSWD itself, OCD, DND, DILG and Department of Health (DOH). Numerous implementing partners are assigned to each lead agency to assist in implementation of disaster response activities.<sup>8</sup> It is important to note that Local Government Units take the lead role in disaster response in the Philippines – their roles are only assumed by national capacity in the event of the declaration of a ‘state of calamity’ at the local or national level. By law (Local Government Code of 1991), LGUs are supposed to be at the frontlines of government response to disasters. This reflects their closeness to the specific issues and knowledge of the needs of their communities. National government plays an enabling role, providing LGUs with the resources and funds they need to respond effectively. This relationship is enshrined in Republic Act No. 10121: “LDRRMCs shall take the lead in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from the effects of any disaster... the NDRRMC and LDRRMC shall always act as support to LGUs which have primary responsibility as first disaster responders”.<sup>55</sup> The LGU’s leading role is only augmented by national capacity when a state of calamity is declared, and assumed by national capacity when the LGU’s capacity to respond has been decimated by the disaster, as in the case of a disaster of the proportions of typhoon Yolanda.

> 7 _Regional OCD directors are Chairpersons, and Vice-chairpersons include the Regional Directors of DSWD, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). RDRRMCs monitor the work of the LDRRMCs, execute regional disaster risk management plans, and coordinate with the relevant line agencies in times of disaster._

> 8 _For detailed overview of the assignment of responsibilities by agency see National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC),“National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan (NDRRMP), 2011-2028”, 2011, pp.27 - 31_

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Within DSWD, the Department for Risk Reduction and Operations Office (DRROO) manages the operationalization of DSWD’s response activities. In 2012, DRROO was created within DSWD, housing two divisions: 1) Warehouse Management and Donation Facilitation Division and 2) the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office. Whereas the Warehouse Management Division is primarily concerned with the management and maintenance of infrastructure for delivering relief services post disaster, the DRRMD lead in the planning , coordinating and monitoring of all disaster response efforts and is composed of four sections: 1) Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Operations Center (DROMIC) section; 2) Food and Non-Food section; 3) Camp Coordination and Camp Management section; 4) Protection, Shelter and Livelihood section.<sup>56</sup> Response activities are financed through the National and Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Funds (NDRRMF – formerly ‘Calamity Fund’ & LDRRMF) and the Quick Response Fund. In 2010, RA10121 reformulated the former “Calamity Fund” as the NDRRMF, broadening the scope of its use from solely post disaster relief, recovery and reconstruction activities to also include disaster risk reduction, mitigation and preparedness activities.<sup>57</sup> The NDRRMF is a lump sum fund appropriated under the General Appropriations Act (GAA). In a post disaster context, however, the process for securing the release of funds is lengthy: implementing agencies send a request to the OCD, who review the application before sending to the NDRRMC for review, who, if approving, send to the Office of the President, who advise the Department of Budget Management to release the funds. This is especially problematic in the response phase when activities must be undertaken immediately.<sup>58</sup> As such, RA10121 also decreed that, of the annual amount appropriated to the NDRRMF, 30 percent “shall be allocated to Quick Response Funds or stand-by funds for relief and recovery programs in order that the living conditions of people may be normalized as quickly as possible.” Unlike the NDRRMF, the QRF does not require the recommendation of the NDRRMC or the approval of the Office of the President to trigger the use and release of funds. If QRF funds remain in a given year they may be carried over, and when the QRF gets depleted, the agency may request for replenishment with a request to the DBM to be approved by the Office of the President The NDRRMF is replicated at the local level through Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Funds (LDRRMF); no less than 5 percent of regular source revenue must be set aside for DRM activities. Of the total amount appropriated to LDRRMFs, 30 percent is allocated to local QRFs for response and recovery activities.

Aside from coordinating disaster response, DSWD is also a lead agency and implementing partner in each of the other three NDRRMC thematic areas. The DSWD is assigned responsibilities under each Thematic Area. This is logical due to the overlap which normally occurs between the emergency relief, early recovery and longer-term recovery phases of a disaster response, and the complementary role of social protection programs in livelihood support across each phase. Similarly, efficient response is predicated by adequate preparedness undertaken in Thematic Area 2 of the NDRRMP.

Lastly, DSWD is the government lead for the following clusters of the UN cluster system: Food Security; Camp Coordination and Management/Non-Food Items; Protection; and Shelter. In the Philippines, the UN cluster system was established by the National Disaster Coordinating Council in 2007.<sup>59</sup> Where DSWD’s clusters are concerned, partner humanitarian lead agencies are as follows: United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Protection; World Food Program (WFP), Food Security; International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Shelter; International Organization for Migration (IOM), Camp Coordination and Management/Non-food Items.<sup>60</sup> 15
**The Institutional Role of DWSD in Practice during the Yolanda Response**

# _Relief Phase_

DSWD’s lead / focal role in four clusters, combined with coordinating the overall GoP relief operations, created substantial institutional strain on the Department. Both the international community and the Government used the cluster system as their main vehicle for coordinating the Yolanda response. A post Yolanda UNOCHA evaluation of the humanitarian response operations found that, “the cluster system rolled out in the Yolanda response placed considerable strain on government departments, notably on DSWD, which was expected to assume leadership of five clusters while also serving as the primary delivery channel for [GoP] relief. While this large and dual role was one taken on by DWSD in earlier disasters, the scale of the Yolanda disaster and response created a huge strain for one department ”.<sup>61</sup> While international observers have noted that “no humanitarian response to a disaster of [the scale of Yolanda] will be perfect”, Oxfam highlighted that “when Typhoon Yolanda struck, several ministers were dispatched to oversee relief operations or aspects of the response... despite commendable energy, there was no clear leader for the whole response.<sup>62</sup> This experience should prompt reflection on the ability for one government department to effectively manage each of these clusters in a large-scale disaster, especially in combination with the primary responsibility to implement relief operations.

The National Disaster Response Plan of 2014 illustrates that the Philippines and DSWD were quick to act on lessons learned from Yolanda, streamlining DSWD’s organizational response structure to more explicitly link with the UN cluster system. Recognizing the need for continuous strengthening of response and relief procedures, and the possibility of another unusually large-scale disaster in the future – particularly given current climate change projections for the Philippines - DSWD adopted the _National Disaster Response Plan_ in June 2014. The NDRP is designed to address the ‘worst case disaster scenario’, that is, a typhoon of equivalent strength and impact to that of Yolanda. The following modifications have been made to the cluster system, as utilized in the Philippines:

1. The NDRP excludes the establishment of Early Recovery, Livelihoods or Shelter Clusters during initial emergency relief operations. These clusters are now designated as belonging to NDRRMC’s fourth thematic Area – Disaster Recovery and Rehabilitation – and were not considered under the area of Response.<sup>63</sup>

2. The Logistics and Emergency Telecommunications Cluster will be divided into two separate clusters, one for Logistics and one for Emergencies.

3. An Agriculture Cluster will not be formed in the future during initial relief operations 4. Two additional clusters will be created for: a) search rescue and retrieval and b) management of the dead and missing.

This new response plan organizational structure is illustrated in Figure 5.

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<!-- Start of picture text --> Office of the Presidential Assistant for<br>Rehabilitation and Recovery (OPARR)<br>Infrastructure Livelihood Resettlement Social Services Support<br>Cluster Cluster Cluster Cluster Cluster<br>DPWH DTI HUDCC DSWD NEDA & DBM<br>Local Government Units, Civil Society,<br>Private Sector, Development Partners<br>and Other Stakeholders<br><!-- End of picture text -->
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<mark>bridges were damaged and / or blocked, there was no clean water supply, no food, no electricity, and lines of communication were down. Prepositioned goods and equipment in Region VIII (Eastern Visayas) were washed away by the storm surge, and a number of the personnel that had been placed on alert in Field Offices and LGUs were themselves severely affected by Yolanda, decimating the local response capacity. Surge teams comprised of DSWD staff – from surrounding regions and Central Office, Manila – the military and police were mobilized as local capacity was overwhelmed by the disaster. In the case of the DSWD surge team staff, many were not formerly trained in disaster response, nor were they trained to deliver the psychosocial care to the affected that many of them necessarily had to perform during the first few days of the disaster. This experience has led DSWD to begin training all staff in disaster response and post-disaster psychosocial care provision for when the need for surge teams on such a scale arises again in</mark> the future.

<mark>Initial DSWD relief operations centered on the provision of food and nonfood items –this was a monumental task that overstretched DSWD’s capacity to deliver FFP to such a scale. In light of the above logistical issues, DSWD family food pack (FFP) distribution commenced on the third day of the disaster. In November 2013, 375,000 food packs were distributed by DSWD and by the end of December that number rose to 5.1 million food packs. Other essential nonfood items such as mats, blankets, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, clothing, were also provided. However, assessing the effectiveness of the overall response operations, a Commission on Audit report highlighted particular problems in FFP management, storage and delivery mechanisms, among them: inefficient warehousing/inadequate facilities leading to instances of spoiling and lapses in the documenting and recording of FFP production and delivery to beneficiaries.</mark><sup>72</sup> <mark>All of which highlight the need for further investment in DRROO’s key infrastructure and administrative processes for future large scale FFP operations. However, the extent and nature of increases in the capacity for in-kind relief goods needs to be considered carefully against investments in other, potentially more efficient modalities of relief – specifically, cash based interventions (see below section Cash</mark> Transfer Programs) that require less of an administrative burden and standing capacity to deliver.

<mark>In the immediate aftermath of the disaster (10 -23 November 2013), DSWD began to provide Food for Work (FFW) as an early relief program. Beneficiaries were given food packs in exchange for the provision of their labor to assist in the repacking and distribution of relief goods. On 24 November, with needs moving beyond immediate survival necessities such as food and temporary shelter, DSWD replaced</mark> the FFW program with the Cash for Work (CFW) program discussed below.

<mark>The overall government (FFP) and humanitarian food relief programs were coordinated by DSWD and the Department of Agriculture through the Food Security and Agriculture Cluster. The Cluster stated that it would “support and be aligned with actions specifically with the response plans of government counterparts, particularly those developed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Agriculture. As such, cluster members will be coordinated to prioritize support activities which complement or help to fill gaps, where the government has identified further assistance is needed to meet the identified needs of target populations. They will also ensure at all times they take closely into account existing government policies and delivery systems”</mark><sup>73</sup> <mark>The Inter-Agency Humanitarian Evaluation of the food security operations found that there was no evidence of “major and sustained geographic gaps” in food coverage, but did highlight that isolated/remote/severely damaged communities had to wait much longer for assistance. Moreover, “there was a concentration of activity around</mark> coordination hubs and, in Region VI, in coastal areas.”<sup>74</sup> <mark>DSWD also provided temporary shelter assistance to the many displaced households whose houses were partially or totally destroyed. Damage assessments would ultimately conclude that 1,012,790 houses were damaged by Yolanda, with 518,878 houses totally damaged and 493,912 houses partially damaged. Among this devastation, DSWD facilitated the provision of emergency shelter kits to 7,615 households</mark> 21
<mark>from the municipalities of Tanauan and Palo, Leyte and Guiuan, Eastern Samar. A DSWD Memorandum stated that shelter kits were delivered to houses in ‘can build’ areas or safe areas, but that the number of families receiving this assistance was limited due to the low volume of shelter materials delivered by the Department of Public Works and Highways to DSWD.</mark><sup>75</sup> <mark>As lead for the Shelter Cluster, DSWD helped to coordinate and inform the humanitarian response that delivered roofing solutions to 136,267 households and emergency shelter kits to a further 51,454 households.</mark><sup>76</sup> <mark>As a secondary step, DSWD oversaw the transfer of displaced families to transitional shelters or bunkhouses constructed by the Department of Public Works and Highways. By the fifth month of the response phase, a total of 3,187 families in Region VIII who were temporarily living in tents and makeshift houses were transferred to 245 completed bunkhouses in Leyte, Eastern Samar, and Western Samar.</mark>

# **2. DSWD Cash Transfer Programs (CTPs)**

DSWD used several of its programs in response to Yolanda. The most important was a national conditional cash transfer program, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). The 4Ps is the third largest CCT in the world, reaching 4.4 million poor households with children 0-18 (2015). DSWD also deliver conditional cash transfer programs post disaster in the form of Cash for Work (C4W), Cash for Building Livelihood Assets (CBLA) and cash for shelter (“Emergency Shelter Assistance”, ESA).

Alongside these GoP cash based programs, humanitarian CTPs were also implemented in the Yolanda response - to an “unprecedented degree”<sup>77</sup> . At least 45 international humanitarian agencies implemented CTPs – unconditional and conditional - within the inter-agency response to Yolanda. The UNOCHA reported that between December 2013 and August 2014, more than three-quarters (77 percent) of these CTPs were conditional cash transfers (60 percent of which were CFW, 20 percent cash for food or shelter), while just under one quarter (23 percent) were unconditional.<sup>78</sup> Four agencies alone in the interagency response distributed around US$34 million, benefitting 1.4 million disaster-affected people.<sup>79</sup>

## _a.) The 4Ps Conditional Cash Transfer Program_

The GoP has adopted an international best practice of building flexibility into DSWD’s flagship 4Ps social protection program to convert conditional cash transfers into unconditional cash transfers during times of emergency. This is a key element of effective post-disaster response and adjustment in the social safety nets: the ability to deliver cash transfers to affected people as quickly as possible in order to minimize the adoption of negative coping strategies.

In regular times, the 4Ps delivers cash grants to households with children (aged 0-18) that live beneath the poverty line and meet conditions pertaining to investments in their children’s education and health. The grants in turn are intended to provide an immediate alleviation of hardship in poor households, while incentivizing long term human capital accumulation among children to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty. 4Ps beneficiary households, in general, must satisfy the following criteria: be identified as poor by the National Household Targeting System – Listahanan; have children 0-18 years old and/or have a pregnant woman at the time of assessment; agree to meet the conditions specified in the program, including attending monthly Family Development Sessions (FDS) which cover numerous topics from domestic violence and nutrition to disaster preparedness (see Box 1).

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# **Box 1: The 4Ps and disaster preparedness**

Attendance at Family Development Sessions (FDS), held once a month, is one of the conditions for receipt of 4Ps grants. One of the topics covered teaches beneficiaries to be disaster-ready, including what warning messages to be aware of, and what items should be packed for evacuation, including identification documents, clothes, and other essentials. It represents one way in which a CCT can be used for ex-ante disaster preparedness at the household level. Post-Yolanda, FDS was also used to deliver information to the 4Ps households on how to recognize and address post-traumatic stress.

A 4Ps beneficiary’s Yolanda story shows the potential value of disaster preparedness education through FDS: _Christina, 33, knew that the heavy rains and powerful winds forecasted for typhoon ‘Yolanda’ could put her family in danger. Hence, before the storm made landfall in her province, she, her husband, and their three children, left their home for an evacuation center, bringing with them packed essentials such as a flashlight, food, and clothes. When Yolanda struck, Cristina’s family was among the millions whose homes and belongings were wiped out by the typhoon. The winds and surging waters tore off their roof and washed away everything, including furniture, school supplies, and even their treasured pictures and medals. Thanks to the lessons on community disaster risk reduction and preparedness that she learned in the Family Development Sessions (FDS), she was able to prepare for the typhoon’s onslaught by saving important documents, preparing emergency supplies, and getting her family to safety._ _Source: DSWD (2014) 2013 Annual Report, Manila._ Given the issues concerning the lack of understanding of the term “storm surge”, and the resultant loss of life, it is clear that understanding disaster communications is crucial to disaster preparedness and survival. FDS sessions provide a medium for increasing household awareness of pertinent disaster information that could save lives. It is understood that DSWD is currently developing new guidelines and content for family disaster preparedness FDS sessions, to be delivered in disaster prone municipalities.

To respond to the situation where the health and educations services are disrupted because of disaster and beneficiaries are not able to meet the CCT conditions, the 4Ps design includes a provision that suspends conditions for a limited period of time when a “state of calamity” is declared. After a disaster, it is unrealistic to assume that beneficiaries can meet the conditions of the CCT, especially in instances where the supply side may be down, with schools and health centers destroyed or being used for relief operations. As such, a resolution (NAC Resolution No. 13, Series 2013) was enacted by DSWD in July 2013 to codify the removal of Compliance Verification in cases of a “state of calamity, disaster, complexity and other exceptional cases”. The DSWD Regional Director of an affected area submits a request to deem all beneficiaries in the affected area as compliant to the 4Ps’ National Project Management Office. If approved at the level of the Secretary, beneficiaries will be deemed compliant for a maximum of three consecutive compliance verification periods (three months). This is not an unprecedented procedure, with the Bolsa Familia CCT program in Brazil having undertaken similar steps to deliver unconditional payments to beneficiaries affected by flooding in 2011.

<mark>The DSWD was able to use these protocols to deliver much needed cash, without conditions, to a large number of 4P beneficiaries over a relatively short time period. On 8 December, one month after the disaster, DSWD 4Ps staff conducted a massive validation exercise of the affected 4Ps beneficiaries as a first step in delivery. The purpose of the validation exercise was to 1) locate the 4Ps beneficiaries; 2) identify them from among other displaced households (in cases where they were residing in evacuation centers and resettlement areas); 3) validate and update the data profiles of the identified household</mark> 23
<mark>beneficiaries against existing records; 4) facilitate the issuance of temporary ID cards to be used for obtaining their cash transfers; 5) prepare necessary documentation for replacing lost cards and provide new, permanent credentials.</mark><sup>80</sup> <mark>The validation exercise and other essential administrative steps, were carried out quickly enough to enable the release of a total of P550.5 million (US$12.5 million) 4Ps cash grants to Yolanda affected 4Ps beneficiaries between November 2013 and February 2014.</mark><sup>81</sup> <mark>It should be emphasized that these were regular CCT grants due to the beneficiaries, disaster or no disaster. The difference was that the compliance with conditions was voided.</mark> <mark>DSWD also demonstrated resourcefulness and flexibility in locating and facilitating the validation of displaced 4Ps households that had left the affected regions. Reportedly, by January 2014, 23,000 individuals from Yolanda affected areas had arrived in the Metro Manila region. Public announcements were broadcast to inform displaced 4Ps beneficiaries that they could contact the respective 4Ps city or municipal links in the area where they were residing to claim their benefits. If the beneficiaries had lost their identification documents, they were identified and validated against the 4Ps beneficiary database.</mark> <mark>Both the World Food Program (WFP) and UNICEF decided to utilize the 4Ps system to deliver further ‘top up’ grants to affected 4Ps beneficiaries. This process of topping up DSWD’s 4Ps grants represents the primary example of DSWD-humanitarian coordination in response to Yolanda. The WFP agreed to work with DSWD in the validation of 4Ps beneficiaries, subsequently disbursing two separate top up grants to validated beneficiaries through the 4Ps payment system. The Memorandum of Understanding entered into between WFP and DSWD stated that, “[DSWD and WFP] agree to collaborate in assisting Typhoon Yolanda through the joint implementation of the</mark> _<mark>Emergency Cash Transfer Top-Up Project for Typhoon Yolanda Affected Populations in 4Ps Areas</mark>_ <mark>(EUCT) by which WFP shall grant additional emergency cash grants to qualified beneficiaries of the 4Ps program on top of DSWD’s regular cash grant”.</mark><sup>82</sup> <mark>It was agreed that payment would be delivered through the 4Ps existing payment modalities (including the Land Bank of the Philippines, Philippines Post, Prepaid Card and Globe Cash (mobile payments)). The first transfers were delivered quickly between December 2013 and January 2014, and the second between January 2014 and February 2014. Each transfer amounted to a fixed amount of PHP1300 (US$30) per beneficiary household.</mark> <mark>Replicating the top-up initiative of WFP, UNICEF subsequently delivered a series of top up cash grants through the 4Ps, targeted to 4Ps beneficiaries in the worst affected region, Eastern Samar. As UNICEF wrote in the Memorandum of Agreement with DSWD, “DSWD and UNICEF appreciate the growing recognition of cash transfers as an effective tool to meet emergency and early recovery needs, recognize the 4Ps program as a robust targeting platform identifying the poorest of the poor in routine social welfare programming and identify shared priorities within the UCT and CCT programs for program efficiency and effectiveness to include: efficiency in expenditures and adequate service provision”.</mark><sup>83</sup> <mark>DSWD had assessed that the province of Eastern Samar was the worst affected by Yolanda, and as such UNICEF specifically selected it for the delivery of its top up grants. It was agreed that DSWD would identify, consolidate and validate a database of 5,801 4Ps beneficiary households in the five worst affected provinces of Eastern Samar.</mark><sup>84</sup> <mark>The UNICEF top-ups consisted of a cash grant amount of PHP 4,370 (US$100) per month, for six months, delivered between July and December 2014. DSWD and UNICEF monitoring of the program during the period July through September 2014 reveal that within the first 3 months of implementation PHP75,609,600 (US$1,700,000) of UNICEF grants had been disbursed to 4Ps beneficiaries in the five municipalities of Eastern Samar, reaching 5,728 households in August and 5,739 households in September.</mark><sup>85</sup> <mark>However, non-4Ps poor and vulnerable households are excluded from the cash transfer, and any donor funded top-ups, because the 4Ps’ system does not have the flexibility to reach non-4Ps households. Being a CCT with conditionality temporarily removed, the beneficiaries received the grants that they were due ahead of time, upon being validated. Poor households without children, near poor households tipped into</mark> 24
<mark>poverty by the disaster, etc., that may be equally or more affected by the disaster than a 4Ps household could not be reached through this program. As DSWD noted to UNOCHA, “the Philippine Government is supportive of humanitarian agencies using their social protection programs as a vehicle to target appropriately, and to transfer assistance in a coordinated way. However, they have also advised that agencies should not feel the need to discriminate between existing beneficiaries and those who are evidently in need of emergency assistance and not on the scheme.” In these cases, DSWD emphasized that the humanitarian community should target the excluded affected population. However, again, without a robust assessment of the cash coordination, it cannot be said whether the non-government programs were well targeted and complimentary alongside the 4Ps, and together whether overall coverage was adequate and broadly equitable. Moreover, it appears no assessment has been undertaken to examine the impacts of the delivery of the CCT grants to the program beneficiaries compared to those poor households not receiving any cash assistance. While it is likely too late to capture this data, survey work on these impacts for beneficiary households following subsequent disasters should be strongly considered.</mark> <mark>Given the limited capacity of the 4Ps CCT to expand its caseload in times of disaster, there is a need to consider an additional cash transfer program that is scalable, and whose primary objective is to respond to disasters. The 4Ps CCT is ultimately a program with specific objectives that pertain to long term human capital accumulation. It is not, and should not be a primary vehicle for post-disaster cash transfer delivery to affected households. As such, while maintaining the integrity of the 4Ps CCT as a separate program, a new scalable emergency cash transfer program should be strongly considered. Such an emergency cash transfer would be capable of scaling out cash transfer coverage to larger shares of affected households, including but not limited to 4Ps beneficiary households.</mark> Following the Yolanda response, the coverage of the 4Ps’ regular CCT programming was expanded to permanently enroll households newly impoverished as a result of the impacts of the disaster. NEDA noted in Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda II<sup>9</sup> that “expanded social protection programs, both short-term (e.g., cash for work) and medium-term (e.g., 4Ps conditional cash transfers), are important for social sector recovery, implemented in close cooperation with planned livelihood initiatives [in the Livelihoods Cluster of OPAAR] to provide opportunities for the poor to meet basic needs, restore social services to pre-disaster levels, and access income earning opportunities”. To this end, DSWD reported processing the inclusion of an additional 20,000 households for enrolment into the 4Ps in 2014 based on updated information on the poverty status of those affected by Typhoon Yolanda.

_b.) Cash for Work (CFW) and Cash for Building Livelihood Assets (CBLA) programs_ <mark>Cash for Work is used by DSWD during the relief and early recovery phases of a response, providing the dual benefit of delivering cash to beneficiaries, and executing projects geared toward assisting the overall response effort / rehabilitating community infrastructure. DSWD have been implementing CFW programs in response to disasters since 2008. These programs are designed as a short term intervention to provide temporary employment to distressed/displaced individuals for relief and rehabilitation in their communities or evacuation centers. In exchange for their labor, beneficiaries are provided with cash to meet their food and basic needs.</mark><sup>86</sup> <mark>Generally, beneficiaries will be paid 75 percent of the prevailing regional minimum wage, with projects, on average, being not more than 10 days in duration.</mark>

> 9 _<mark>Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda’s Implementation for Results (RAYII) is a companion document to RAY Build Back Better (RAY) released in December 2013. RAY presented a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) as well as the Government’s strategic plan to guide the overall recovery and reconstruction of the economy, lives, and livelihoods in the affected areas. RAY II, a companion piece, presents an overall results monitoring framework of RAY in line with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016 and the clusters of OPARR.</mark>_

25
<mark>Responding to Yolanda, DSWD replaced what was initially the Food for Work program with the Cash for Work (CFW) program on 28 November, 20 days after the disaster hit. Given the severity of the disaster, the 10 day ceiling on individual work activities was extended to 15 days, and workers in CFW programs were paid 100 percent of the prevailing minimum wage. Tasks given to beneficiaries in the CFW program included: loading/unloading of goods, repacking of relief goods, food preparation, sorting and inventory of damaged property, clearing of debris, coastal clean-up, canal dredging, among other things. In this way, the CFW helped to provide much needed additional assistance to DSWD relief programs on the ground, while providing beneficiaries with cash based assistance. By January 2014, 15,188 affected persons from the Eastern Visayas had availed the CFW program. However, the CFW program was noted as having beneficiary selection issues in some instances with some government and private sector employees electing to participate in the program instead of their regular jobs.</mark><sup>87</sup> <mark>While the screening of takers should be more stringent, this also points to a trade-off between setting the CFW wage at the minimum wage level for a higher rate of assistance, but potentially distorting the labor market, versus the typical 75 percent CFW wage that is less distortionary but offers less assistance to beneficiaries. Moreover, there may be scope for DSWD to enhance the capacity of the CFW program to be delivered to a greater number of beneficiaries. Despite the presence of the DSWD CFW program and a large number of humanitarian CFW programs, survey work conducted by the Protection cluster reported “lack of income generating activities” as the most reported protection problem among respondents during the response phase (May 2014).</mark><sup>88</sup> <mark>It appears that significant effort was undertaken to coordinate the provision of humanitarian CFW with GoP requirements, especially with regard to a unified wage rate. Nevertheless, it is unclear the extent to which wage rate guidance was followed by each implementing agency. Humanitarian agencies operating outside of the official inter-agency response were also not party to these agreements, with one such agency reportedly delivering CFW with a wage rate twice the value of the minimum wage, creating a large distortion. Similarly, targeting of CFW was highly varied among programs, with some targeting 4Ps beneficiaries, others certain vulnerable groups, others IDPs etc. As in the case of the impact of 4Ps in disaster (see previous section), without rigorous analysis, an assessment of the adequacy of coverage is impossible. The overall CFW picture is, therefore, a blurry one that indicates a patchwork of programming coverage, benefit levels and project types. A more detailed discussion of governmenthumanitarian CTP coordination follows this section.</mark> <mark>As operations transitioned from response to recovery and rehabilitation activities, DSWD also transitioned its public works program from CFW to the “Cash for Building Livelihoods Assets” (CBLA) program. Led by DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihoods Program, CBLA was initiated to support longer term efforts for the rebuilding of lost livelihoods after Yolanda. While CFW in the response phase fills an immediate need, the work undertaken is rudimentary and disconnected from longer term livelihood resumption. CBLA is more directly geared to the restoration of lost livelihoods, key to recovery and rehabilitation. Activities of the CBLA projects focus on river dredging and embankment; digging and dredging of canals and irrigation systems; restoration of farmlands, farm-to-market roads, public markets, and school facilities; communal farm preparation; clearing of destroyed crop and crop diversification. Priority beneficiaries are identified through the Listahanan database as being poor, with 4Ps beneficiaries prioritized. Displaced families whose heads of household did not have employment prior to Yolanda, and families whose heads are engaged in informal labor are also prioritized. As of Aril 2014, DSWD anticipated that CBLA would reach 150,000 families, dispersing a total of PHP1.5 billion in financial capital in that same year.</mark><sup>89</sup> <mark>Nevertheless, SLP staff reported that the program would likely reach only 16.8 percent of total affected households due to the SLPs relatively limited capacity to deliver, indicating significant potential for the CBLA to be expanded for future disasters.</mark> 26
The Department for Labor and Employment also implemented a CFW program designed to provide temporary employment for workers made unemployed by disaster. Established in the recovery and rehabilitation phases, the Emergency Employment program targets workers in establishments / industries affected by disasters. Work is aimed at formal sector workers (differentiating it from CBLA beneficiaries), and is of short duration. Like DSWD’s CFW, the Emergency Employment program also centers on cleaning and clearing, roadside maintenance and community infrastructure. A work project has a minimum of 10 days duration, paying the minimum wage and providing social insurance and any required protective equipment. In line with the Yolanda Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program, as part of the OPARR livelihood cluster, DOLE provided emergency employment and livelihood assistance to 99,325 individual beneficiaries, costing P520,029,000 (US$12 million). DOLE, through its regional offices, also conducted skills training and workshops on business planning for its beneficiaries.

# c.) _Cash for Shelter Assistance- “Emergency Shelter Assistance” (ESA) – program_

DSWD’s Emergency Shelter Assistance program begins in the recovery phase and provides cash (or, where more appropriate, shelter materials) for beneficiaries with damaged houses. The ESA targets households whose houses were partially or totally damaged by Yolanda that are located in designated “safe areas”. These safe areas – as designated by the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) - are designed to promote “building back better” by preventing rebuilding in high risk zones. Beneficiaries are those households that have no permanent source of income or whose income is below the poverty threshold and whose homes are partially or totally damaged. The targeting of the ESA is based on reporting of household damage, as verified by DSWD staff, and whether or not the household has received comparable assistance from a different source. The rate of assistance is PHP30,000 (US$670) for fully damaged houses, and PHP10,000 (US$ 223) for partially damaged houses and can be released in the form of a cash grant, or as shelter materials depending on the situation most favorable to the household. ESA block grants are released to requesting LGUs who report monthly on physical and financial accomplishments to DRROO. However, shelter and livelihood diversification support is still urgently needed for fisher folk unable or unwilling to leave unsafe areas along the coastline and consequently remain ineligible for shelter support like ESA.

# _d.) Government and Humanitarian Cash Transfer Program Coordination_

Considerable effort was made to coordinate the large number of CTP providers with the government cash-based response programs - with some positive results. To facilitate inter-agency cooperation and coordination with GoP on cash transfer response programming, UNOCHA deployed a Cash Coordinator to the field on 24 November. An Inter-Cluster Coordination Operational Group (ICCOG) was established in Manila to coordinate field level implementation and monitoring of all CTPs. The presence of a CTP advisor was found to have been extremely useful in promoting coordinated CTPs.<sup>90</sup> Alongside the primary examples of WFP and UNICEF utilization of the 4Ps system, some other examples of good CTP program cohesiveness are documented below.

<mark>DSWD and UNOCHA encouraged the humanitarian CTPs to leverage existing social protection and other systems to increase coordination in their delivery, including:</mark>

- _Disaster Affected Family Assistance Card (DAFAC)_

DSWD utilize the Disaster Affected Family Assistance Card as the primary tool for monitoring the receipt of all benefits by disaster affected households, including cash. The DAFAC is used by DSWD in coordination with LGUs to register households affected by disasters and track the post disaster relief services that they receive (a copy of a DAFAC is attached in Annex 3). It records basic information pertaining to whether the beneficiary’s house was damaged (partially or totally), whether 27
they are a 4Ps CCT beneficiary, whether they are vulnerable (older person, lactating mother, PWD), estimated monthly income, etc. At the same time, the DAFAC records the assistance received by each individual, ranging from food packs and shelter to SP programs including involvement in cash for works programs in an effort to distribute relief evenly among beneficiaries.

Humanitarian agencies were encouraged by the GoP to adopt the DAFAC as their primary tool for monitoring their programs in order to increase coordination among GoP and humanitarian programs. However, some agencies expressed reservations about utilizing the DAFAC. Concerns primarily centered on whether the number of households that may not have been issued a DAFAC – by staying with relatives instead of evacuation centers, where DAFAC’s were distributed, for example - rendering them ineligible for support. The extent to which there were issues with DAFAC coverage remains unclear. However, a needs assessment survey undertaken by the Protection cluster did find that “lack of documentation” (non-DAFAC specific) and “access to humanitarian services” were listed as “severe protection problems” by 50 percent and 45 percent of those surveyed, respectively.

Regardless of potential DAFAC coverage issues, the DAFAC is a paper based recording system that would benefit from digitization for improved information management on relief program disbursement and stronger linkages between local and national level information systems. Investments in technology for encoding the DAFAC data at the local level, with linkages to national level unified databases, could significantly enhance the data management of response needs and program disbursement. Going a step further, on site electronic registration of beneficiaries could eliminate an enormous administrative burden in distributing and administering the paper based DAFAC. Such a process was used in Pakistan to register households affected by large-scale flooding in 2010 for the receipt of both relief and recovery cash transfer payments.<sup>91</sup>

# <mark></mark> _<mark>The Listahanan</mark>_

<mark>The Listahanan is a national household registry used in the targeting of beneficiaries of the national CCT program and other government anti-poverty and social programs. In 2011, the Listahanan contained information on 11 million households (or 60% of all households in the Philippines). In this way, the Listahanan is a valuable resource for locating households affected by a disaster. DRROO utilize the Listahanan to create estimates of the number of households, including poor and vulnerable, that will be affected by a disaster given its location/path. It is also a valuable resource that informs Post Disaster Needs Assessments (PDNAs). However, while rich in household information, the Listahanan is only updated every four years, rendering its information on location and poverty status of households less accurate yearly. However, in 2015, a nationwide updating and expansion of Listahanan is underway (it will include 75% of all households) and will provide more accurate information on household poverty status by region. While issues regarding its infrequent updating will remain, the Listahanan nevertheless provides a unique resource for information on affected households and estimated needs.</mark> <mark>The CWG also created a process for humanitarian agencies to coordinate with the Listahanan, digitizing the information on their beneficiaries by submitting it to the National Household Targeting Office (NHTO – manages the Listahanan) for verification and or inclusion into the database. This process was intended to help digitize the DAFAC process of tracking which households were receiving which benefits from humanitarian agencies, while simultaneously helping NHTO to widen the Listahanan database further by enabling inclusion into the database of affected households that were not at that time currently included (this process is pictured in Annex 4). This, in turn, helped DSWD to meet its mandate to increase the 4Ps coverage by 20,000 more chronically poor households affected by Typhoon Yolanda.</mark> 28
# <mark></mark> _<mark>The 4Ps Beneficiary Update List (BUL):</mark>_

<mark>The BUL is a list of the 4Ps beneficiaries. Updated every two months by DSWD 4Ps staff, the BUL contains information on poor households with children (as identified using the Listahanan and a Proxy Means Test targeting method) that are also beneficiaries of the national 4Ps CCT program. The information that is updated regularly pertains to eligibility conditions required by the 4Ps program. It appears that a number of CTPs directed assistance directly to 4Ps households utilizing this up-to-date beneficiary information.</mark>

# <mark></mark> _<mark>The 4Ps Spot Checks:</mark>_

During the development of unified inter agency CTP monitoring tools, the GoP and DSWD encouraged the use of the 4Ps’ spot check monitoring system for greater coordination and comparability of outcomes. The National Advisory Committee (NAC) suggested that humanitarian agencies implementing CTPs utilize the 4Ps spot check monitoring system, under the overall guidance of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC).<sup>92</sup> Successive periodic updates by UNOCHA of the overall cash coordination effort reported that CWG discussions had been undertaken on using some of the 4Ps spot checks questions in their monitoring tools for greater comparability.

- _<mark>The 4Ps Grievance Redress System (GRS)</mark>_

The Grievance Redress System (GRS) is a component of the 4Ps CCT that allows anyone to direct queries, clarifications, complaints, grievances, and appeals to the appropriate 4Ps GRS offices at the community, provincial, regional and national levels. It has an investigation and verification component, works in coordination with legal and law enforcement authorities, and is linked with an MIS system that compiles the data to monitor the status of the grievances.<sup>93</sup> UNOCHA noted that “the GRS can serve as a vehicle for humanitarian agencies using the 4Ps targeting infrastructure to channel feedback on the additional assistance being provided in the emergency response”.<sup>94</sup> <mark>The extent to which these recommendations were adopted by the inter-agency humanitarian response remains unclear, and where / if they were utilized, specific details on lessons learned are yet to emerge. Nevertheless, the potential value of a more unified overall CTP response facilitated by pre-existing SP information systems is clear, and further research into the streamlining of these information systems into future inter-agency response would add much value.</mark> <mark>The use of these SP information systems for overall response coordination should continue to be explored ex-ante the next disaster. Relevant CTP implementing agencies, UNOCHA, the CWG and DSWD should continue to explore developing and systematizing the use of these and other pre-existing SP systems exante the next disaster. The Listahanan, BUL, spot checks and GRS are each robust information systems, as evaluated during their delivery of the national CCT program.</mark><sup>95</sup> <mark>If leveraged correctly, their pre-existing information and capacity could help to increase coordination of overall CTP response for future, largescale disasters.</mark> <mark>Ultimately, post-Yolanda response documentation and reviews reveal that 1) there has been no rigorous evaluation of the impact of the overall CTP response, and 2) there nevertheless appear to have been issues in CTP coordination leading to coverage gaps and duplication. Cash Working Group memos reported a number of emerging issues in the overall cash transfer programming during the response phase: “poor coverage of inland barangays; critical levels of under coverage in Aklan and Antique; over focus in Northern Iloilo compared to other areas in proximity such as Capiz; dispersal of activities suggest an unbalanced response among the CTPs”.</mark><sup>96</sup> <mark>After humanitarian operations were concluded, the final inter-</mark> 29
<mark>cluster coordination group progress monitoring report concluded with regard to CTPs that, “given the multitude of actors that provided cash assistance, and the limited oversight and cash coordination structures that currently exist within international humanitarian architecture, it is not possible to accurately report the total number of households and individuals assisted, or the total amount of cash transferred to disaster- affected communities”. A UNOCHA evaluation of the response also concluded that “it is clear that there is much more to be done to ensure that simultaneous use of cash in various clusters provides maximum impact at household, community and local economy levels”.</mark><sup>97</sup>

# _e.) Other cash‐based initiatives: Social Insurance_

The Social Security Scheme (SSS) of the Philippines also made a significant contribution to the social protection response to Typhoon Yolanda, providing assistance to eligible Yolanda affected households. Within weeks of Yolanda, the SSS announced that members in disaster affected areas would be given a moratorium on repayment of loans and that pension advances, salary loans and house repair loans would be available to members on concessional terms (Box 2). The SSS made several disaster relief instruments available to their members, including advanced release of pensions, preferential terms for salary loans, easier house repair loan terms. As of March 2014 (one month before the claim period ended on April 30), the SSS had granted more than PhP1.2 billion in salary loans and released PhP225 million worth of advanced pensions. More than 80,000 members and pensioners received relief assistance through salary loans and pension advances. A total of 13,746 pensioners received pension advances, 90 percent of whom were Yolanda affected pensioners.

# **Box 2: The Disaster Responsive Social Insurance Instruments of SSS**

# **Pension Advance**

- This allows members to withdraw 3 months of pension payment in advance in regular times. For Yolanda, victims were allowed to withdraw for up to 6 months in advance. Once removed, no additional withdrawals during that period were allowed.

# **Salary Calamity Loan**

- For first time borrowers, this is a salary credit up to 2 months of one’s regular salary. The regular interest rate of 10 percent was reduced to 1 percent for victims of Yolanda

# **Salary Loan Entry Renewal Program (SLERP)**

- If borrower has paid back at least 1 year of their regular salary loan can apply for a SLERP, but what remains of their prior salary loan that they have yet to repay deducted from the amount provided via the SLERP.

- Normally 10 percent interest rate. For Yolanda (seen as exceptional and will not happen again for near future) interest rate reduced from 10 percent to 1 percent and regular 1 percent service fee waived.

- Repayment period of 2 years, but with a 6 month moratorium for Yolanda victims.

# **House Repair Loan**

- Members can borrow for up to about PHP 3 million (US$67,000).  In calamity areas, the SSS reduces the service fees and reduce the interest from 9 percent to 3 percent. The duration of repayment ranges from 10 to 15 years)

The SSS post Yolanda response represents an innovative approach to what is effectively a cash based disaster response from a social security agency. It has the potential to prevent households from falling into poverty as a result of a natural disaster. However, it should be noted that given the high rates of 30
informality in the Philippines, especially in those regions impacted by Yolanda, the coverage of these initiatives was limited.

# **3. Community Driven Development**

<mark>The Yolanda experience has demonstrated the important role that CDD programs can play in the recovery of poor and vulnerable people from disasters. Under the NCDD program and its contingent component, developmental infrastructures selected by communities are being constructed in order to help in the rebuilding and rehabilitation of communities in Yolanda affected areas. To date, there are 331 on-going sub-projects in Regions IV, V, VI, VII and VIII amounting to PHP 553,745,511 (US$12.4 million). These projects include, for example: 85 road projects (construction/improvement/concreting); 61 foot path/access trails; 53 school buildings; 37 seawall/flood control/drainage/riprap/spillway; 35 water systems; 20 health stations.</mark> <mark>The National Community Driven Development (NCDD) program of DSWD (formerly KALAHI-CIDSS) was set up in 2002 to alleviate rural poverty. The program aims to do this by providing resources to poor rural municipalities for investment in public goods and by reviving local institutions for people’s participation in governance. Participating communities follow very detailed participatory processes, repeated three times in each participating municipality, to secure resources for investments in public goods.</mark><sup>98</sup> <mark>The NCDD program is targeted at the poorest 25 percent of municipalities in 42 of the poorest provinces in the Philippines. As of December 2010, the project had covered 4,583 barangays in 200 municipalities and supported 5,645 subprojects, worth PHP 5.7 billion; and benefiting about 1.26 million households.</mark><sup>99</sup> <mark>The NCDD program is an effective channel or delivery mode for disaster recovery for a number of reasons including its geographic coverage, community based participatory approach, pre-existing networks of facilitators and volunteers, existing capacity and existing systems.</mark><sup>100</sup> <mark>The NCDDP has wide geographical programmatic coverage, operating in the poorest municipalities, many of which are also among the most vulnerable to disasters. Moreover, building on ongoing work, the program has a wellestablished network of community facilitators and community volunteers on the ground. Area Coordinating Teams can support municipal authorities in conducting rapid needs assessments and initiating post disaster activities with communities. Financial management, procurement, facilitation, monitoring and evaluation and structures for the disbursement of community grants are in place that can be used in the disbursement of disaster response grants.</mark><sup>101</sup> <mark>However, the ordinary process of community mobilization, planning, selection of subproject (the Community Empowerment Activity Cycle (CEAC)), typically takes one year rendering it too cumbersome for response and recovery engagement.</mark> <mark>A contingent component of the NCDD was designed to adjust and simplify procedures in the case of disasters, triggered by the GoP’s declaration of a state of calamity. The NCDD program’s Disaster Response Operations Sub-Manual details the ways in which program parameters are changed upon the declaration of a state of calamity. Amongst these are, for example, modifications to the activities allowed that otherwise are not permitted under regular NCDD rules, in order to “better address the recovery needs of communities” (see Table 2). Additionally, basic operational procedures are modified to reduce hasten the CEAC. These include the waiving of mandatory Local Government Counterpart Contributions; modification of criteria for selecting sub-projects to favor the most affected barangays; funding allocations be downloaded to projected in two tranches as opposed to one; etc.</mark> 31
|**Table 2: Activities that can be financed under**<br><br>Repair of rural and local roads|**NCDDP’s Contingent Component**<sup>**102**</sup><br><br>Collection and removal of technogenic debris<br>(building parts, mixed waste, timber) as well as uprooted<br>trees, debris from public infrastructure, public spaces and<br>agricultural areas, and its deposition in pre-existing waste<br>management facilities that are operating under national<br>licensing and regulations and comply with normal practice<br>inthe country|
|---|---|
|<br>Backfill, reshaping and landscaping of areas<br>affected by erosion|<br>Repair of public buildings (including government<br>offices, meeting hall and places of religious worship –<br>latter TBC) and infrastructure (e.g. transmission lines,<br>streetlighting, traffic signs, bus stops)|
|<br>Repair of riverbank protection systems and<br>earth-fill dykes up to 5m height if supervised by a<br>qualified engineer|<br>Collection and removal of earth, mud and plant<br>debris from public infrastructure and spaces as well as<br>agricultural areas and its deposition, landscaping and<br>greening at appropriatelocations.|
|<br>Repair/reconstruction of small bridges (san up<br>to 15m)|<br>“Bunk houses” - allows for the construction/re-<br>construction of damaged homes of the most affected<br>households.|
|<br>Construction of temporary bypass roads up to<br>500 m length, if not located in sensitive habitats and land<br>acquisition follows the provisions of the main ESMF<br>and bypasses are completely removed and the alignment<br>restored to its original conditions once the need for their<br>servicehas expired.|<br>Other similar undertaking such as temporary<br>setting up of school, health and water facilities for access<br>to basic needs and services of affected population<br>including temporary housing for vulnerable population<br>such as children, lactating and pregnant women, elderly<br>and persons withdisabilities (PWD).|
|<br>Repair / reconstruction of communal irrigation<br>and water supply systems and of facilities that they have<br>beencompleted withprojectfunding.||
|**Source:**DSWD, “National Community Driven Dev<br>Manual”, p. 6|elopment Program: Disaster Response Operations Sub-|

<mark>The NCDD is also one modality through which DSWD invests in disaster risk reduction. While this case study has necessarily focused on disaster response, social protection and social development programs can and should engage in ex-ante, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) activities. The NCDD streamlines disaster risk reduction into its operations through the inclusion of DRR focused sub-projects that can be selected by communities for community investment. Box 3 tells the story of one such investment in Iloilo province and how this helped to save lives and reduce damages inflicted by Yolanda. This is an innovative and seemingly effective use of CDD for DRR.</mark> 32
# **Box 3: NCDD and disaster risk reduction**

Through the NCDD, before a disaster, it is possible for communities to decide to undertake project activities that are aimed at reducing the risk of disasters for their community. The story of Barangay Mangorocoro, (Ajuy municipality, Iloilo province) illustrates this, and how the community’s decision to invest in a sea wall through the NCDDP spared it from the worst effects of Yolanda: “Ajuy was one of the municipalities in Iloilo that was hit hard by the super typhoon [Yolanda], affecting 11,510 households, 7,064 of which totally lost their homes because of the disaster. Prior to the construction of the sea wall, current Barangay Captain Conrado Fernandez said that it was normal for the elementary school campus, where an NCDDP school building now stands, to be flooded during high tide, even in normal weather.

It was the constant fear of being flooded that pushed the residents of Brgy. Mangorocoro to lobby for the construction of a sea wall during an NCDDP assembly. They were able to complete the construction of the sea wall in 2010. When presented with another opportunity by the NCDDP, they upgraded their sea wall, having it cemented to make it even more durable to better protect them from harm.

It was this foresight that protected them from experiencing the full impact of Yolanda. While some flooding occurred in Barangy Mangorocoro at the height of the typhoon, their village did not suffer from any casualties because the sea wall protected them from the rising waters. Simon Hagurin, one of the senior citizens in Brgy. Mangorocoro who served as a volunteer in NCDDP, said that he did not want to think about what would have happened to their village had the sea wall not been constructed. This was echoed by Ajuy Mayor Juancho Alvarez, who said, “if the sea wall had not been there, Brgy. Mangoroco would have been washed out.” (See: “DSWD’s Kalahi-CIDSS saved Iloilo town from ‘Yolanda’”, February 2014 <u>http://www.dswd.gov.ph/2014/02/dswds-kalahi-cidsssaved-iloilo-town-from-yolanda/#sthash.4l8Fwrcy.dpuf)</u>

# **<mark>4. Core Shelter Assistance Program (CSAP)</mark>**

<mark>The broader approach of DSWD to the provision of permanent safe housing for the poor has been demonstrated to be well aligned with ‘build back better’ principles, saving people’s property and offering a model for post-Yolanda housing reconstruction. Through DSWD’s ongoing Core Shelter Assistance Program (CSAP), poor households may receive a standardized two-room structure that is built to withstand 220 kmph wind-speeds and earthquakes of up to intensity 4 on the Richter scale. As a testament to the potential resilience of the CSAP units, many previously built units located along Yolanda’s path were found to still be standing in the aftermath of the storm. A Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer stated that “The core shelter units built through the CSAP of DSWD are still standing even after the mighty force of Typhoon Yolanda. ... all 80 units built in 1991, 2000 and 2010 in Barangays Cansuso, San Marcelino, San Sebastian, and San Guillermo remain standing.”</mark><sup>103</sup> <mark>DSWD reported that around 10,733 CSAP units are currently under construction in Regions IV V VII and VIII, with a budget of PHP715.3 million.</mark><sup>104</sup> 33
# **6. Lessons Learned and Recommendations**

Given its exposure and vulnerability to natural disasters, the Philippines has developed an advanced disaster risk management framework with strong linkages to social protection. The Philippine’s historical experience of preparing for and responding to frequent disasters has led to the institutionalization of a highly sophisticated disaster risk management framework. This has meant that the GoP is strongly positioned to manage the frequent natural disasters that the country faces on a regular basis. Positioned prominently within this framework is the Department of Social Welfare and Development a leading government agency for social welfare and assistance programs. Consequently, a number of such programs are implemented by DSWD in post-disaster response. Moreover, DSWD has made efforts to imbed the disaster management and response elements into its regular programs, such as its flagship conditional cash transfer program, a community driven development program and a suite of interventions under a sustainable livelihood program. DSWD has adopted an approach that considers poverty alleviation and reduction programs as disaster reliance building programs, as well; and, in turn, disaster resilience programs as poverty reduction programs (getting people out of poverty makes them more resilient to disasters – people more resilient to disaster are also more resilient to poverty).

Indeed, the Philippines case demonstrates that social protection should feature prominently in a country’s overall DRM framework in order to play an effective role in disaster response. That DSWD is a leading agency for disaster response has created natural synergies between the Department’s functioning and mission to “to develop, implement and coordinate social protection and poverty reduction solutions for and with the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged” with the specific needs of those affected by disasters who are also often the poorest and most vulnerable. Such a prominent positioning in the government’s DRM framework is rare in many countries where social welfare ministries or departments can be poorly integrated and consequently play a bit-part role in disaster response. Given the plethora of activities delivered in response to Yolanda, it is clear that the GoP and DSWD are a global leader in post-disaster social protection.

Special financial arrangements for quick liquidity to response programs, such as the Quick Response Fund, are necessary to deliver response services in a timely and efficient fashion. Accessing finance to fund relief programs through pre-established budget lines in a timely fashion is a necessity post-disaster, when the affected may be slipping into destitution by the hour. The Philippines recognized that response activities of the sort carried out by DSWD require immediate liquidity to be delivered rapidly, and that this could not be achieved through the regular calamity fund / National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF) due to the lengthy administrative processes required to release funding. The Quick Response Fund was created to address this issue through dedicated reserves for response activities. Nevertheless, the specific case of Yolanda highlighted problems in sourcing financing from even the QRF in a timely fashion. Yolanda also raised questions as to the adequacy of the QRF amount for a fiscal year’s worth of disasters, because while the QRF may be replenished once emptied, this is also a lengthy process.

During the response phase of a large-scale natural disaster like Yolanda, coordination between the government, the humanitarian community and their respective response programs is crucial. Alongside the myriad of programs delivered by DSWD during the response phase, a full-scale humanitarian response was activated. Many of the programs delivered by the government and the humanitarian community were the same in nature – from in-kind food and non-food relief items to conditional and unconditional cash transfer programs. In the case of Yolanda, the Philippines’ adoption of the cluster 34
system seemingly significantly aided the coordination of activities along sectoral lines. Where DSWD were concerned, the cluster system allowed the Department to coordinate activities under the shelter, food, camp coordination and camp management/NFI and protection sectors with some notable successes. However, post response evaluations by the likes of Oxfam and ISAC stressed that in the case of largescale disasters, DSWD’s leadership of four separate clusters, alongside the delivery of GoP relief, during the response phase left DSWD overstretched by such a large institutional burden. The DSWD’s adoption of the National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP) post Yolanda has integrated lessons learned from Yolanda pertaining to more efficient response, especially with regard to a closer alignment of disaster response functions with the UN cluster system.

The GoP demonstrated flexibility in adapting its National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan in response to Yolanda, affording social protection a prominent place in recovery and rehabilitation. Reacting to the unprecedented severity of the typhoon and the devastation it has caused in affected areas, and the problems in providing immediate and coordinated response during the relief phase, the GoP created a special temporary executive body to manage recovery and rehabilitation. The Office of the Presidential Assistant for Recovery and Rehabilitation (OPARR) afforded a prominent place to social protection in the overall recovery and rehabilitation effort. The OPARR was recently (mid-2015) disbanded and the Government has initiated a review of its disaster response and management framework and policies and programs with a view of learning from the Yolanda lessons.

Crucially, as far as this case study goes, DSWD employed a number of social protection and social welfare programs in responding to Yolanda. The overall programming described in the preceding section of this report highlight the potential for an empowered social welfare department to be on the front lines of disaster response and disaster risk management. The case study has shed light on the impressive number of programs and services that DSWD deliver across the post disaster timeline of response, recovery and reconstruction. Primarily, these programs were in the form of in-kind, cash-based, community driven, and shelter based interventions.

More and better monitoring and evaluation of SP disaster response programs and their impacts needs to be undertaken for program development and informed recommendations. In evaluating the programs delivered by DSWD in response to Yolanda it is clear that many of the best practices from this and other experiences have not been captured, and that little monitoring and evaluation of disaster-responsive programs was undertaken, especially during the response phase. During the relief phase of any disaster, moral obligations to deliver to those in dire need undermine methodical monitoring and evaluation of programs. This has caused problems for the humanitarian community at large with regard to evidence based policy adjustments for efficiency gains in their programming. As a result, in the case of Yolanda, it is difficult to assess the true impact of the programs and make informed recommendation for program improvement. With an already strong track record in M&E among its regular programs such as the 4Ps, there would be much value to be had in extending these processes to post-disaster SP programming, particularly with regard to quantifying the impacts of the programs on affected household’s consumption.

<mark>The experience of using the 4Ps conditional cash transfer program in the aftermath of Yolanda highlights the value of having a robust, national cash transfer program in place before a disaster. The presence of the 4Ps - a well-established, credible and well-targeted social protection program - provided a vehicle for the delivery of cash transfers directly to affected beneficiaries who were already pre-targeted and enrolled. The adoption of measures in advance of a disaster that remove the need for compliance to the program’s regular conditions for beneficiaries affected by disasters also represents a best practice, adapting the functioning of the program to the realities on the ground where conditions pertaining to school and health facility attendance cannot be met.</mark> 35
<mark>The WFP and UNICEF’s utilization of the 4Ps program to deliver their cash grants as additional ‘top-ups’ to 4Ps beneficiaries was pragmatic and is replicable. Noting the value of using a delivery system such as the 4Ps for delivery of assistance to beneficiaries that were pre-targeted as poor and vulnerable, with prebuilt grievance, monitoring and evaluation systems, the WFP and UNICEF decided to deliver their cash grants through the 4Ps. This effectively ‘scaled-up’ the 4Ps by delivering increased grant amounts to 4Ps beneficiaries in a time of increased need. Moreover, delivering an increased share of humanitarian cash transfer programming through the 4Ps effectively increased cash transfer coordination, as well as ownership of the overall response by the government, and the timeliness of delivery. Seemingly in tacit acknowledgement of these efficiency gains, WFP again utilized the 4Ps to deliver cash top-ups to 4Ps beneficiaries after Typhoon Ruby (Hagupit) in 2014.</mark><sup>105</sup> <mark>Reflecting on the lessons learned from Yolanda, and in particular after the poverty incidence increased in 2014, part of which is attributed to the adverse effects of the disaster, the government realized that an emergency cash transfer program delivered to all affected households would have been an effective tool in mitigating this poverty impact. Therefore, a more comprehensive, scalable emergency cash transfer program is needed. This program can replace some of DSWD’s substantial burden of in-kind / food pack delivery right after the relief and early recovery phases are over. The provision of food during the relief phase will always be an urgent necessity. However, once this life-saving need has been met, typically within the first month, the continued provision of food packs represents a sizeable administrative burden, and one that may not align fully with the changing needs of the affected, needs that have moved beyond survival. Increased capacity to deliver cash based assistance to households at this juncture would reduce the standing capacity of DSWD to deliver food while offering poor households increased agency to begin to re-accumulate assets, fix their households, etc. DSWD with other relevant policy making and program development government agencies, such as the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the Department of Budget (DBM), etc. is currently exploring the potential of introducing such a program in</mark> the Philippines.

<mark>The GoP / DSWD could integrate this scalable emergency cash transfer with risk financing mechanisms to institutionalize the scaling up of grant amounts to affected households. The top up grants of UNICEF and WFP illustrated how the 4Ps grants could be ‘scaled up’ to provide increased assistance to 4Ps beneficiaries in an acute time of need. This ‘scaling-up’ process could be institutionalized within DSWD. There are a number of risk financing mechanisms that could allow DSWD to fund the grant top-ups themselves in times of disaster, including DSWD specific contingent financing or through linkages to the broader GoP risk financing strategy, including, for example, a Catastrophic Draw-Down Option (CAT DDO). In this way, DoF would be able to utilize a proven delivery mechanism to better cover household level risk, a level of risk that it is not yet managing, delivering additional assistance directly to those most in need. The development of such a budget line would require close cooperation, coordination and agreement between DSWD, the Department of Finance (DoF) and the Department of Budget</mark> Management (DBM).

<mark>Regardless of whether DSWD introduces an emergency cash transfer program, DSWD and other government agencies should work in collaboration with the relevant humanitarian agencies to develop pre-existing SP information systems for better coordination, ahead of the next disaster. During the Yolanda response, DSWD encouraged humanitarian agencies to utilize a number of its pre-existing SP systems and capacity to help coordinate the overall response. These included the national household targeting system - Listahanan / CCT Beneficiary Lists for program targeting and the Grievance Redress System and the Spot Checks monitoring of the CCT delivery system. The extent to which these SP systems were utilized in response to Yolanda by the humanitarian agencies remains unclear, but the value of leveraging existing capacity for coordinated response is clear, and was articulated repeatedly by both DSWD and humanitarian agencies during the Yolanda response. In that regard, these parties should</mark> 36
<mark>continue to explore how they can utilize these SP systems for a more coordinated response, in advance of the next disaster.</mark> The CFW program is a useful vehicle for getting cash to beneficiaries through participant selfselection/targeting with the dual benefit of aiding response activities and community rehabilitation. That being said, it seems that the CFW was relatively small-scale post-Yolanda and that the program could be significantly expanded in the case of future, large-scale disasters where concerns over lost livelihoods and a lack of income generating activities reportedly dominate among the affected. However, it should be noted that the CFW program was identified in some quarters as having a distortionary effect on what remained of local labor markets after Yolanda, with some government and private sector employees electing to participate in the program instead of their regular jobs either because their employer paid beneath the minimum wage, or because the CFW work was seen as easier than the work of their regular jobs with a similar return. As such, CFW is not a silver bullet, and where beneficiary pay is concerned there is a clear policy trade-off requiring careful consideration.

<mark>The Cash for Building Livelihoods Assets (CBLA) program is an innovative extension of the CFW that addresses longer-term livelihood recovery needs. While CFW in the response phase fills an immediate need, the work undertaken is rudimentary and disconnected from longer-term livelihood resumption. CBLA is more directly geared to the restoration of lost livelihoods, key to recovery and rehabilitation. Nevertheless, SLP staff reported that the program would likely reach only 16.8 percent of total affected households due to the SLPs relatively limited capacity to deliver, indicating significant potential for the CBLA to be expanded for future disasters.</mark> <mark>The use of the National Community Driven Development (NCDD) program for recovery and rehabilitation represents another best practice. CDD programs like the NCDD allow affected communities to be intimately involved in the planning processes that shape the rebuilding of their communities. This process is empowering at a time when communities are at their most disempowered and may not always be given adequate voice in the rebuilding of their lost infrastructure and livelihoods. DSWD built into the NCDD a disaster-contingent component, before Yolanda struck, which allowed it to adjust and simplify procedures for disaster response, shortening, for example, the length of time to initiate a project through the Community Empowerment Activity Cycle that usually takes a year to process. Such forward thinking and preparedness is commendable and allowed the NCCD to react quickly to Yolanda with pre-arranged procedures being triggered as opposed to hastily designed and applied after a disaster like Yolanda hits.</mark> Lastly, alongside the disaster response activities detailed in this case study, DSWD has also applied SP programs to innovatively address preparedness, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation concerns – though more could be done in this regard in the future. As described previously, DSWD engages in these areas primarily through the family development sessions (FDS) of the 4Ps, NCDD disaster risk reduction oriented sub-projects and the core shelter assistance program (CSAP) that both helps in the reconstruction effort after a disaster and also creates resilient housing for the next disaster. These are each excellent initiatives. In closing, however, it should be noted that SP programs have been found to be useful for adaptation and mitigation activities, particularly with regard to livelihood diversification and adaptation. For example, this has been the case in Ethiopia where the PSNP has helped to combat soil erosion, increase water security and diversify livelihoods.<sup>106</sup> While DSWD is prominently mandated to lead disaster response, over time, greater SP investments in adaptation and mitigation could directly reduce the caseload of response by addressing structural vulnerabilities among poor households and communities directly at their source.

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