Calabarzon Case Study

1. Brief History

CALABARZON is one of the regions of the Philippines. It is also designated as Region IV-A and its regional capital is Calamba City in Laguna. The region is composed of five provinces, namely: Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon. The region's name is an acronym of the names of these provinces.

The region is located in southwestern Luzon, just south and west of Metro Manila and is the second most densely populated region. It is bounded by Metro Manila, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Pacific Ocean, South China Sea and Sulu Sea.

CALABARZON and MIMAROPA were previously combined together as Southern Tagalog. Calabarzon region is the result of the splitting of Southern Tagalog Region in two. The split formed Region 4A Calabarzon and Region 4B Mimaropa. These two new provinces were formed in 2002. Executive Order No. 246, dated October 28, 2003, designated Calamba City as the regional center of CALABARZON.

The region is a must-see destination of infinite variety. In fact, it is not one destination but five adjacent yet diverse provinces, which are grouped together to integrate social and economic development and are also the growth areas of the southern part of the Philippines in terms of industrial resources, socio-economic importance and tourism potentials. It is an area so rich in natural resources, the CALABARZON is a vast tapestry of fertile rice fields, coconut plantations, fruit orchards, mist-covered mountains, flowing streams, fiery volcanoes, serene lakes, primeval forests, sandy beaches and bountiful coastal waters. The region's accessibility to Metro Manila is the favored day tour destination of many city-weary weekenders from the busy metropolis. It is easily accessible from and is a popular destination for Filipino families living in manila.

2. Aims and Objectives of the Project

3.1 DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

3.1.1 EXISTING DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

(1) National Development Goals

Goals set by the present administration for the national development of the Philippines are the following:

1) alleviation of poverty,

2) creation of productive employment,

3) promotion of equity and social justice,

4) attainment of sustainable growth, and

5) realization of moderate population growth and its balanced distribution.

These goals are generally adaptable to the CALENDAR region, but emphasis should be changed to fit the regional development idea. For regional development, attainment of equity, poverty alleviation and social development are the ultimate goals rather that economic growth itself. Moderate population growth may be a means to attain these goals at national level, but may not be applicable to CALABAR, which is expected to develop more rapidly than the national average.

(2) Government Development Objectives for Region IV

The Medium - Term Southern Tagalog Development Plan, 1987 -92 was prepared by the National Economic and Development Agency (NEDA) region IV office, following the NEDA central office's guidelines. The latter clarify the socio - economic goals to be pursued by any region, generally in line with the national development goals presented above.

Recently, NEDA Region IV further established development goals particularly for the CALBAR Region in line the national and Region IV's goals but reflecting also specific characteristics of the CALABAR region. The goals of the CALABAR region are:

a) To ensure rational development of industry and agriculture with a resultant pattern of human settlement balanced with ecological and environment considerations;

b) To induce the growth of investment from all possible investors; and

c) To open an avenue for wider participation of the populace in the forward and back and backward linkages of all these development efforts.

The general objectives of the CALABAR region also set by NEDA Region IV are:

i) To develop the CALABAR region as a catalyst development of the entire Region IV and to contribute to the sustained economic growth of the Country;

ii) To ensure a harmonious and complementary development between agro - based industrialization and social and ecological effort;

iii) To increase the per capital income of the rural and urban populace through accelerated increase in industrial and agricultural productivity and employment generation;

iv) To support high levels of sectoral productivity with adequate and efficient infrastructure facilities, public utilities and basic services; and

v) To induce a climate conducive for investor and producers to participate in the agro - based industrialization of the sub- region.

3.1.2 CALENDAR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES

(!) Expected Future Roles of CALABAR

The CALABAR region is expected to play a range of important roles in the future development of Region IV and the country as dictated by the existing development goals and as envisioned by the Region's position (Section2.3) of further industrialization in the country, together with Metro Manila and other areas in the National Industrial Core Region. However, this should not be accompanied by in orderly location of industries and resultant degradation of natural and human environment. Also such industrialization should not duplicate the urban poor and squatter's as presently observed in Metro Manila and its vicinity. Ability to effectively lead the industrial growth and an active rural economy are prerequisites to preventing such phenomena. The expected urban growth in CALABAR and its proximity to Metro Manila present opportunities for modernizing agriculture thought an improved system of input delivery, extension services, and marketing of output to the growing urban market.

In the spatial terms, the CALABAR region, as the matter of truism, will have to continue to accommodate the overspill population from Metro Manila without causing additional poverty and other social problems. At the same time, the decentralization of economic activities