Balete's Economic Development Plan




Over the years, the Local Government of Balete bore the stigma of having such a very low employment rate and very high poverty incidence.[1] While the trends may be argued as “statistically improbable” or questionable, to say the least, basing on the town’s current labor force participation rate of 67%, its unemployment rate of 56% vis-à-vis the population growth rate of 1.35%[2], its many performance indicators[3] call on the government to intervene and do something concrete to address these recurring problems. We add to that the call of President Aquino of turning our people into consumers to make for a vibrant growth on entrepreneurship and stable economy.

Notwithstanding the seeming tall order of making each and every one of us consumer, we take into consideration the fact that being an agricultural community, we are challenged to first urge, cajole and turn our people into producers. And this one too is equally difficult to accomplish. Precisely that the Local Government calls on all stakeholders to participate and converge to vision out our future, come up with some plans to approximate that vision and work cooperatively as one people to create a Balete that is better than yesterdays.

The product of that convergence then embodies the economic development plan of the local government. This plan maps out what it intends to do in response to the calls and the signs of the time as consistently pointed out in the many performance indicators it has used over the years. The plan is a three-pronged approach on strengthening social capitalism through the interaction between the households, the government and the business sectors in its three markets, i.e., the labor market, the financial and commodity markets. The local government for its part lays down policies that protect its people from abuses, advance their interest and create opportunities for them to develop and hone their skills and resources while at the same time create favorable climate for private investments through improving basic infrastructures, maintaining peace and order and the adoption of sound investment promotion policies and regulations.

[1] Beginning with the MBN Survey of 1996, Balete recorded an overwhelming 44.05% unemployment rate and a soaring 73% below poverty line families.

[2] Cf. Guillermo, Virgilio V., Philippine Labor Market Trends 2005-2008, Study.; see also 2007 Census of Population at http://www.census.gov.ph/

[3] The LGU has been using the Local Government Performance Management System (LGPMS), the e-SLGPR or the State of Local Government Performance, Electronic Report and just recently the SCALOG (System on Competency Assessment for Local Governments)

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