Philippine Agenda 21

Beginnings

At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, over 160 countries, including the Philippines, pledged to pursue sustainable development as embodied in Agenda 21. This global agenda attempted to find the balance between development fueled by the rapid integration of nations into the world economy and the impacts of this process on the environment and society.

As a demonstration of this commitment, the Philippine Government under the Ramos administration created the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD). Subsequently the PCSD convened a nation-wide process to produce PA21. During the consultations, it became clear that PA21, to be truly sustainable, had to find a creative response to the opportunities and challenges of globalization.

Importance of PA21

The importance of Philippine Agenda 21 (PA21) stems from two things: panoramic and encompassing substance and unusual consensus process. In PA21 we have a document of extraordinary importance, one that resonates with the concerns and aspirations of the broadest sectors of society.

Substance-wise, PA21, simply put, is the country’s highest framework for development. Memorandum Order 399, dated 26 September 1996, directs all government agencies to review their policies, plans and programs and to realign these with PA21. The plans to be revised include Philippines 2000 and its component frameworks, policies, and programs. We will demonstrate this fact together with the supreme importance of PA21 in greater detail below.

PA21 is also, arguably, the highest policy framework for civil society. In 1996 the leaders of more than 5000 organizations under the informal banner of the Asia Pacific Sustainable Development Initiatives (APSUD) rallied around PA21 as their framework for negotiations with government on APEC. Even those who questioned APSUD’s stance in APEC did not oppose PA21; rather they questioned the sincerity of government in carrying out the promises they made to have the Individual Action Plan (IAP) governed by PA21.

In addition, CADI has given lectures and seminars on PA21 for over 10,000 people, mostly from civil society, in the last one-and-a-half years. There was not a single dissenting voice on the Principles of Unity of PA21. Instead they affirmed the framework, principles, parameters, and strategies of PA21 which were drafted by the representatives of more than 300 civil society organizations (CSO) all over the Philippines.

Process-wise, PA21’s Principles of Unity (POU) is the consensus product of government and numerous organizations within civil society. The government’s version of the POU was reconciled with civil society’s version of the POU. And together, civil society and government, in different parts of the Philippines, crafted the final POU. All told, more than 20 regional consultations and 3 national consultations were convened to discuss PA21.

PA21 was produced under the guidance and supervision of the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD), Office of the President. The PCSD was created by President Ramos to ensure that all government undertakings are consistent with the global Agenda 21 commitments the Philippine government made at the Earth Summit in Rio. The number "21" means twenty first (21^st) century.

President Fidel V. Ramos captures the significance of PA21 in his September 26, 1996 speech launching PA21. Among others the President characterized PA21 as "a unique chapter in the history of our nation" and as "one of the most consultative policy documents produced in the history of our nation." Therefore, the President called upon the future leadership "to take [PA21] to heart as expressing a basic desire and deep mandate for sustainable development among the vast majority of Filipinos."

With this document, the Philippine government, with prodding from civil society, is making it clear that it does not intend to pursue a trickle down approach to development. It also agrees with civil society that the Philippines rejects a "grow now, pay later" approach. Instead, in the words of President Ramos:

In my State of the Nation address last 22nd of July 1996, I mentioned that we do not intend to ‘Grow now and clean up later.’ But do not misunderstand me. Given the many demands of development, this ‘cleaning up’ not only refers to the economy and the environment. It also means that we will clean up all other facets of Philippine life, including our politics and our culture.

When I say, we clean up in terms of our culture, we intend, for example, to grow and develop with our spirituality and sterling Filipino values Intact. I do not want Filipinos to succumb to a materialistic consumerist lifestyle. I do not wish to see our world-renowned Filipino spirituality and social sensitivity to be sacrificed at the altar of the economic advancement (emphasis added).

Cleaning up as we grow in the realm of culture to me means to harness Filipino creativity, values, talents and skills to create a new model of development, one that is not only democratic, environmentally friendly and cost-effective, but also celebrates the vibrancy of our diverse cultures as well as respects and develops the tremendous potential that resides in every one of us. This, after all, is what being maka-Diyos, maka-tao, maka-kalikasan, and maka-bayan mean in real terms.

After elaborate and detailed discussions with civil society, the government is categorical, at least in PA21, in its rejection of the excesses of capitalism that leads to undesirable forms of growth. This opens the possibility that the Philippines may actually succeed in modeling a new form of development, one closer to the ideals of deep sustainable development, and one that tames and manages the forces of globalization to be consistent with the country’s vision and purposes. In the words of President Ramos:

Economic growth, unleashed by capitalism, has also been accompanied by other forms, less desirable forms, of growth. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) reminds us that, if we are not careful, economic growth can lead to jobless, ruthless, voiceless, rootless, and futureless growth. . . .

The growing awareness that economic growth is a means, not an end in itself, has influenced most of the countries of the world today to pine for ‘another development’, one that retains the useful features of capitalism without falling prey to its excesses (emphasis added).

It is apt to note at this point what the PA21 vision of this "other development" means both for civil society and the government:

Philippine Agenda 21 envisions a better quality of life for all through the development of a just, moral, creative, spiritual, economically vibrant, caring, diverse yet cohesive society characterized by appropriate productivity, participatory and democratic processes, and living in harmony within the limits of the carrying capacity of nature and the integrity of creation.

The short-lived Estrada Administration re-affirmed PA21 as the country's framework for sustainable development and issued Memorandum Order 47, which directs all local government units to localize PA21 through sustainable integrated area development or SIAD. SIAD is now also recognized as a potent framework for poverty eradication.

Click Here for the official text of the Principles of Unity of Philippine Agenda 21.

Links

Rio in Retrospect: The Philippines and Global Agenda 21, 1992-1996 by the PCSD