Unit IV

Community Action

Action is a heart of community-building. From conceptualization, planning, operationalization,

implementation, and review, action makes things happen. Action gives life to thought. Translating ideas into
tangible solutions is the goal of community development. Take out action and the very essence of the science
is left hollow and without meaning.

Lesson 1
Mapping the Community

Studying the community demands more than basic knowledge of concepts. Scholars should be more
adept about the relationships of real-world variables and how they fit into the concepts they have learned.

Community development is interdisciplinary; it needs more than just a linear knowledge of meaning
but a holistic understanding of real-world problems, grounded solutions, and boundless ideas for inspired
action.

Dynamic Social Development Model

Virtues: Resilient, Vigilant, Progressive, Adaptable, and Accountable

Five-Point Initiative: Engagement, Planning, Implementation,
Development, and Sustainability
Community Virtues

A community embodies a personality derived from its members. The virtues that people embody
cascade to the community as a whole. To be part of the community, one has to imbibe critical virtues for him
or her to effectively facilitate change and social development. Like what we have discussed, we create meaning
and we are enablers of progress. Everything starts with us and we take our community with us as we pursue
our personal goals. It is our duty to be part of the change we seek. It is our obligation to serve our fellow men
and such obligation starts with our intention to be part of a movement. The figure above represents the virtues
and initiatives that ideally are the blueprints of a holistic development paradigm. It includes an end-to-end
mapping of community processes from planning to sustainability. Juxtaposing these with the virtues, we can
draw a more concise, efficient, and effective development map for the community.

Resilient Communities

Droughts, floods, heat waves, earthquakes, forest fires, and tsunamis are just a few of the challenges
from Mother Nature that our communities face. Corruption, red tape, crime, terrorism, and human rights
abuses, on the other hand, are some of the problems that are man-made and are a result of greed, dishonesty,
and man’s insatiable appetite for power. Despite these challenges, we strive to survive and continue with our
daily lives. Just like a living organism, communities are attacked by threats that endanger the whole system.
And just like the natural ability of the organism to react, anticipate, and recuperate against attacks, the
communities can also fight off these threats. Finally, just like the organism, the community develops and
evolves to learn and block such threats in the future.

Resiliency is the ability of the community to get back on its feet after a calamity and continue with its
existence. The virtue of resiliency is our inherent drive to survive and live our lives t its full potential. Filipinos
are renowned for this resiliency, having withstood the strongest typhoon ever recorded in human history and
floods that would have incapacitated cities for months. The Filipino community has been as resilient as the
bamboo plant withstanding gusts of wind. Nowadays’ challenges, both man-made and otherwise, are
interrelated along with our choices and our social dynamic as a whole.

Resiliency is still not enough for us to ensure the survivability of our own commune. More than
surmounting the odds, we need to learn and recalibrate our structures, beliefs, and patterns of behavior to
prepare ourselves for the upcoming challenges ahead. Our history, more than any theory or law, brings us the
awareness that our resiliency in the past provides us the roadmap to success.

For our communities to be resilient, social cohesion is essential. Every member of the community
should be bound by communal spirit and duty to serve more than the self but the other.

Vigilant Communities

We are accustomed to the everyday grind in our community. However, we have been so blind about
getting to know our own communities. Let us be honest, most of us know more about the most recent fashion
trends than the barangay ordinances or even the national issues affecting the barangay. We fall flat on our duty
to observe and appreciate the very systems that govern our lives. We only have limited knowledge about the
state of our community and even the issues concerning our fellow men and women because we fail to
appreciate and understand how things really are around us. Without such knowledge and appreciation, we are
disconnected and apathetic to the calls of our society. Our community needs us and we can do our part by
being informed and being vigilant to our current situation.

Vigilance is more than just being awake and alert to avoid dangers of problems. In community
development, vigilance is the sustained assessment of not just threats or danger but of progressive ideas and
solutions. It is not merely guarding the gates of the status quo but is also challenging the norms that are needed
to be changed, altered, or developed further. The problem about the old notion of vigilance is that it is trapped
by the meaning of compliance. By doing so, we end up with a community that merely upholds the dogma of
the past. A community should sustain a watchful eye on the missteps and shortcomings of the current social
model. In this definition, vigilance takes on a more progressive base.

The community and its members should be relentless in redefining the status quo in order to create
discourses and groundbreaking solutions. This is not to say that we should completely leave our customs and
long-held traditions behind. We only have to reassess who we really are and where our communities are at
present. Without acknowledging our present situation with a more objective eye, we, as a community, will be
left with an illusion that we create for ourselves. Since we are all creators of meaning, the very standards held
by our society cannot be just blamed on one person or a group, but on all of us. The progress or the lack thereof
of our community is driven by our choices. These are not life-changing or fate-altering choices; these are the
simple choices that we make every day, from falling in line, throwing our trash, to reading the news that affects
us and our communities.

Progressive Communities

What can you say about the status quo? Right now, can you think about three adjectives to describe
the communities we live in? A lot of those words that come from your thoughts are negative. If so, despite
having this kind of mindset, why do you think that many of our fellow citizens choose to remain complacent
and inactive? Many debated on this and just by looking at posts on social media, you will notice multitudes
of debates on various ideas.

Change is inevitable in our communal lives. Realities of the present will only continue with the
reinforcement of behavior from actors within it. However, some change will not be beneficial to the
stakeholders, just as not all movements are needed and essential to community development.

Going back to the virtue of vigilance, we learned that assessing the current situation is essential for
community growth. Since without self-evaluation, we are stuck with the status quo and we fail to acknowledge
spaces for improvement.

Progress demands forward thinking. Foresight is an important virtue for communities to develop,
especially in this age when societies need forward mobilization to keep up with the dynamic shifts in
institutions and structures. To be progressive means to challenge and have new ways of thinking. Contrasting
this with the virtue of vigilance, progress is about action nor reassessment. To be progressive is to act on ideas;
it is to change the status quo by anticipating future trends. Vigilant communities strive to avert and solve
recurring problems, while progressive communities strive to avert future problems by creating innovative
schemes and ideas that will further enhance and keep up with changes in its environment. This kind of thinking
demands innovative ways of thinking.

Innovative solutions come from progressive ideas. Taking risks in advancing current thought is the
only way for us to test new assumptions and find solutions that will matter not only today but also in the future.
A community, to be progressive, will only include the leadership but also tap the combined knowledge and
experience of its own members. Synergy is important for ideas to flourish and take root. Ideas that are
arbitrarily made without the consultation of the community will be hollow and will not connect to their target
beneficiaries. This is to say that social capital is important; people are important and the relationship of leaders
to their constituents is critical in advancing critical thought.

Change will only create impact with the support of the people. Any progressive or groundbreaking
initiative needs the participation of groups and individuals. Together, we need to continuously challenge and
critique the present, for this is the only way that we can advance as a community.
Adaptive Communities

Organisms have survived thousands of years of evolution because of their adaptive behaviors. To be
adaptive is not about sitting through a thousand years and wait for the environment to take its course; it is
about, as any virtue, being able to face challenges and obstacles and making a choice.
There will be challenges and problems, but the success of the community will always be hinged on the
will of its people to adapt, go beyond their confines, and conquer all threats to the community. While
innovation is needed for progress, ingenuity and inventiveness are vital for the community to be adaptive to
its surroundings. Compared with progress, adaptability deals more with the present condition and what is
readily available to mitigate or solve the problem. Progress, on the other hand, is long term as it is targeted to
a forward-thinking mindset than anticipates future events and repercussions.

Adaptability challenges the community to be creative and find new ways of planning, implementing,
and sustaining growth. This virtue supports all basic principles of community development as it is the enabler
for concepts to take and it opens up to unorthodox ways of solving our society’s most pressing issues and
concerns. The present context calls on adaptability on all sectors and all aspects of life. From the top of the
governance hierarchy down to the members of the community, adaptability should be echoed and internalized
by all actors. The ability to change course and act quickly on problems are the results of the nature and
openness to adaptive calibrations of behavior, policy, and other norms.

The challenge for some communities is how to deal with the change caused by adaptations. Some
argue that changing the old ways will be detrimental and conservatism would be best to protect the identity of
the group or integrity of the process. This may be true in some contexts; it still calls for us to accept deliberate
changes aimed at solving the very root of the problem. While it is not bad to be conservative, such as in the
case of protecting our culture and history, any organization or collective should be ready to adapt according
to the needs of its surroundings. Without accepting change, communities will not thrive in their environment,
or in extreme cases, they will risk their own survival in the bigger narrative of society.

We learned in biology through the concept of evolution that the natural progression of nature is change.
The only way for us to survive is to constantly seek, prepare, and change depending on the demands of our
environment, in the same manner as our communities need to be vigilant, progressive, and adaptable to the
current social milieu.

Accountable Communities

Community development is reflective, meaning, all we input as people in the community will be
reflected back to us. In the same manner as the old saying “trash in, trash out,” we hold the choice in what we
input and accept to be real. We have been driving the point that communities are everyone’s concern. In
reality, however, not all of us can see that they are responsible for and accountable to the things that are
happening at present. Remember again that we are creators of meaning and with that power, we have a
responsibility that goes along with this potential. Our duty as creators is to be accountable for our actions and
to take our obligation to review ourselves.

Accountable communities that are objective and reasonable have a clearer picture of their existence.
Having a better understanding of their status quo will also help them in envisioning a future through careful
planning, execution, and review of their initiatives and projects. Actually, in community development, what
is often overlooked is the review of targets and goals after projects are carried out. A review of a stakeholder’s
impact and accounting for mobilized funds are just few of the important matters where the virtue of
accountability is most important.

From planning to execution and review, accountability should be present in every process to ensure
the integrity of the project. Ethics should always be a priority of any kind of social process along with
accountability to safeguard the stakeholders from corrupt practices. Accountability is more than writing the
right data or encoding the right sum.
 Accountability is an ideal of ownership. To own ones identity, for example, is a kind of ownership and
thus, we are accountable for our own actions. In the same manner, we have to take ownership over everything
in our community because it is part of our lives and we are subject to its fluxes and changes.

Once we accept this reality of ownership, we become aware that what is see is within us and empowers
us to make conscious decisions and efforts to alter the wrongs that we see at the present time. We can all start
by reviewing ourselves and being accountable for our simplest actions. Then, we can be more resilient,
vigilant, progressive, adaptive, and accountable to ourselves and our communities.

Five-Point Community Initiatives

The figure earlier not only represents the virtues but also the processes that a community undergoes to
fulfill its ideas to reality. Capacity-building measures are not a simple one-step process. If you notice inside
the figure, surrounding the virtues are the community initiatives. This implies that the initiatives must embody
the five virtues for the community to optimize its potential social impact. While the initiatives may seem
linear, it is highly contextual or is dependent on the status of the issue or concern to be addressed.

Note that not all problems start from the same plane. Some concerns have varied needs to be addressed
by first diagnosing the context before curing the malady or social problem at hand. There will be problems
that have had prior progress that must be implemented or developed; while there may be other issues that still
need to be incubated through engagement and planning. The difference between issues therefore may vary
from case to case and may start off not from zero but from a point that only needs to be recalibrated or changed.
Knowing the difference between social concerns is important for the community to determine its course of
action.

Change will always be constant in our lives in the community. This is why on the said figure,
community initiatives move around the virtues at certain points. By using this cyclical model, we can judge
whether our initiatives to engage, plan, implement, develop, or sustain have the right virtues to effect
sustainable growth and development in the community impact. After reaching a point of consistent results,
programs still need to be constantly monitored and evaluated by the stakeholders of the community. Some
adjustments may be made in anticipation of future events and issues that bring us back to another engagement;
thus, the cycle begins anew.

Engagement

Community engagement is all about connecting to the community and its people. Methods such as key
informant interviews, focus group discussions, or surveys can contribute to our engagement with the
community. Knowing the current pulse of the community can help community leaders determine the pressing
problems that need to be addressed. This method is important especially for community researchers who are
alien to the community that he or she is studying. As a researcher, you have to be objective and impartial to
your subject community. You should be without bias and look at the variables detached from any prejudice.
You can employ participatory observations to aid you in this regard. Field researchers spend ample time to
immerse themselves in their subject community. Immersion in the subject of research is a very effective way
in overcoming bias and ethnocentrism or the strong preference of one’s norm over the other that sullies the
integrity of the research result.

Planning

Planning is the next step in realizing ideas from a blueprint. It needs not only the people who are
directly affected but also experts, industry leaders, and scholars who can contribute their knowledge and
experience to the planning. This is the stage where, normally, communities hold rounds of discussions and
meetings with community members along with external consultants. In these meetings, the community leaders
have a rundown on all possible options and gather inputs for possible innovations and breakthroughs that are
vital in advancing solutions without disenfranchising some stakeholders.
Implementation

After setting up plans and choosing among the viable options, implementation is the next point of
emphasis. Advancing a program from paper to procedure is a monumental task for community leaders. In
operationalizing a plan, the critical processes are resource mobilization and accounting. When we say
“resource,” these are not all about financial resources alone but also people and networks. Without the public
support, social initiatives will fail and not gain substantial traction since the idea would not gain momentum
and spread to a larger audience. Financial resources should always be supported by documents to prove that
funds are spent on priorities. Transparency should be present in all processes and community leaders should
take the lead in being open or accessible to information. The public, at the same time, should play their part
by keeping a keen eye and be watchful on every transaction, participate in meetings, and volunteer in activities.

Development

Development needs foresight and progressive thinking. A project’s life will not plateau after
implementation. The community should strive to develop programs or projects that last by enhancing their
processes. It should aspire for the improvement of the project using current tools and methods for their
continuous implementation, in accordance with the shifting demands of people and the situation. Projects must
adapt to constantly changing variables.

Sustainability

Finally, sustainability is the goal that each programs aspires to reach. In reaching this level in the cycle,
the program should have passed the rigorous standards of the public. Achieving that level of consensus from
society is hard, given the diversity of needs and standards within the community. Sustainability can be pursued
even without full oversight, provided that it does not effect negative impact on members of a minority or a set
of priorities such as the environment. For this to happen, systems should be in place and institutions should
be partners of the community in running a project or advocacy.
Lesson 2
Purposes of Community Action

Knowing the current picture of societal processes will be significant in our appreciation of community
action. To understand the diversity in a community, it is important to also understand the causes of the different
problems in the community and the tools at our disposal to solve them. To do these things, we can look into
the current structures, policies, and programs promoted by the state and how they mesh or intercede into
community action initiatives.

United Nations Millennium Development Goals 2000-2015

At the turn of the millennium, it has been established by member states of the United Nations (UN)
that the period is very critical for humanity as a whole. After ushering in open market and diplomacy and
globalization, the world now needs more consensus-driven actions to address global concerns.

In September 2000, world leaders from 189 countries came together in what has become the largest
interstate forum of leaders. This was the moment when the member states of the UN adopted the UN
Millennium Declaration. More than a symbolic act of unity between nations, it forged a union to reassess
world problems coming into the new millennium. After the summit, international development goals were
established for the year 2015, known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The development goals
are eradication of poverty, universal primary education, gender equality, child mortality, maternal health,
combatting HIV/AIDS and other diseases, environmental sustainability, and global partnership for
development.

1. Eradicate extreme 2. Achieve universal 3. Promote gender 4. Reduce mortality.

poverty and hunger. primary education. equality and
empowerment.

5. Improve maternal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, 7. Ensure 8. Global partnership

health. malaria, and other environmental for development.
diseases. sustainability.

The goals encapsulate the shared experience of countries which shows the intersection of individual
and state interest in a global stage. After setting a goal that is both time-bound and quantifiable, countries
finally have a set stage for helping humanity traverse such as chronic and endemic problems. These are not
only the concerns of state actors, but also the problems that beset every community in the world. The
community is in the heart of the agenda.

The MDGs have set the precedence and a model that together, state actors despite their differences and
histories of animosity, can come together and unite to combat their common problems. According to the MDG
report in 2015, after 15 years, all the concerns brought up as targets created an impact by the combined
initiatives of the member states.
 MDG Report 2015

MDG Concern MDG 2015 Results Current Status

Eradicate extreme  Reduce poverty by  Halved the number of  825 million people are
poverty. half or people living people experiencing still stricken by
below $1.25 a day. extreme hunger and poverty.
poverty from 1990.  800 million still suffer
from hunger.
Achieve universal  Help both boys and  Literacy is up among  There was
primary education. girls access and finish youths aged 15-24 considerable increase
primary schooling. since 1990. over the years and is
 From 83% of total one of the agendas
global literacy, it is that will be focused on
recorded to be 89% in heading into the
2010. formation of the
 Youth literacy by SDGs.
2015 is projected to
be 93% globally.
Promote gender equality  Help eliminate gender  Parity has been  There are still gaps,
and empower women. disparity in both reached with such as access to
primary and women’s access to education for both
secondary education. the primary school genders, which are
level. often hampered by
 In the secondary cultural and political
level, there are still variables.
regions that need  Women still lack
help, especially in opportunities to have
developing regions. secure jobs and
careers.
 Most jobs given to
women are unpaid far
less than men.
Reduce child mortality.  Reduce child  Globally, under 5  Due to advancement
mortality (under 5) by mortality rate has in medical
2/3 from the 1990s. declined from 90 technology,
down to 43 deaths per globalization, and aid,
1,000 births. developing countries
nowadays have more
access to life-saving
drugs than ever
before, which have
drastically helped
reduce child
mortality.
Improve maternal health.  Reduce maternal  Maternal mortality  Access to skilled
mortality ratio by ratio has dropped by health workers and
three quarters from 45% or from 380 facilities is still the
1990. maternal deaths, it is main problem
down to 210 per regarding maternal
100,000 births from health; by improving
1990 to 2013. access, it will also
counter less safe
alternatives such as
untrained midwives.
  Access to proper
reproductive health
education and
reproductive health
paraphernalia is still
hampered due to
cultural and political
factors.
Combat HIV/AIDS.  Halt and reverse the  HIV infections  Much like other
Malaria, and other spread of AIDS and dropped by 40% from MDGs, this goal has
diseases. other diseases. 2000 to 2013 or from benefitted from
3.5 million to 2.1 improved access to
million. life-saving
 Improved access to technology.
antiretroviral  However, cures are
medicine for HIV still on the horizon as
sufferers from more discoveries are
800,000 to 13.6 made in the field of
million. medical science.
 6.2 million Malaria
deaths were averted
from 2000 to 2015.
 Tuberculosis
diagnosis and
prevention saved 37
million lives from
2000 to 2013.
Ensure environmental  Reverse the loss of  The ozone layer has  Global carbon dioxide
sustainability. environmental begun recuperating emission has risen by
resources and and healing due to the 50% from 1990.
integrate principles of ban of ozone-  There are still a lot of
sustainable depleting chemicals. challenges ahead to
development to state  Improved access to influence countries to
policy. water sources for create policies that
91% of the global will aid in
population in 2015 environmental
from 71% in 1990. sustainability.
 The emerging debate
centers on how
environmental
protection can
coincide with
development agendas.
Global partnership for  Increase partnerships  Partnerships among  More works are still
development. among countries. countries are better needed to be done and
 Address the special than ever with the the MDG is only the
needs of the increase of start of this combined
developing world. development initiatives from state
 Open a fair, rule- assistance to the actors.
based, developing world  Moving from
nondiscriminatory, over the years. enabling collectives,
and predictable  Imports of the challenge now is
trading and financial developing countries how to make these
system. have also increased changes sustainable
  Deal with the debt of as it found bigger for all stakeholders
developing countries. markets for its concerned.
 Improve access to new products.
technologies, such as  Information
in information and technology has been
communication, with more widespread as
the help of the private well, with the
sector. exponential rise of
access from users
worldwide.
 Prices and access to
essential drugs are
also helping out in
combatting global
health concerns.

The results from the 15-year project, while commendable, have given rise to new challenges and
opportunities for intervention. As the structures, actors, and environment have changed over the course of
time, new advances in policy should take on different track to create better impact of what has been started by
MDGs. What is expected now is for the member states to sustain their unity in finding solutions to their
common problems to benefit all parties in the long run. The global community should look further than solving
the recurring global problems by advancing the debate toward bigger challenges with wider scope or perceived
global impact.

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2015-2030

In September 2015, the UN’s member states have again reestablished their firm commitment to the
UN’s global development agenda under the banner of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), officially
known as Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Under the SDGs, the
countries further intensified their campaign for finding solutions to their common problems, by going above
and beyond agenda-setting to create a foundation for a sustainable future. SDGs focused mainly on a broader
scale. Because employing a new strategy implies a new direction of thinking or a recalibration of perspectives,
the agenda has been moved from more niche-specific concerns into grander ambitions that include more actors
and institutions coming from different societal structures.

1. No poverty 2. Zero 3. Good health 4. Quality

5. Gender 6. Clean water
hunger and well-being education equality and sanitation
7. Affordable 8. Decent 9. Industry, 10. Reduced 11. 12. Responsible
and clean work and innovation and inequalities Sustainable consumption and
energy economic infrastructure cities and production
growth communities
13. Climate 14. Life below 15. Life on 16. Peace, 17. SUSTAINABLE
action water land justice and Partnerships DEVELOPMENT
strong for the goals GOALS
institutions

Countries all over the world agreed to adapt the SDGs based on guiding values. These values traverse
all SDGs with the approach that can only be likened to the triple bottom-line movement of people, planet, and
profits, or popularly known as the “three pillars of sustainability.” People refers to social sustainability where
individuals are the focus by ensuring that they have access to the basic human needs alongside the universal
human rights. Profit pertains to responsible business practices that call for business establishments to employ
sustainable models for economic sustainability. Finally, the concept of planet pertains to the protection of the
environment.
TRANSFORMING OUR WORLD: THE 2030 AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Preamble

This agenda is a plan of action for people, planet, and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal
peace in larger freedom. We recognize that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including
extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable
development.

All countries and all stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, will implement this plan. We
are resolved to free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want and to heal and secure our planet.
We are determined to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world on
to a sustainable and resilient path. As we embark on this collective journey, we pledge that no one will be left
behind.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets, which we are announcing today, demonstrate
the scale and ambition of this new universal agenda. They seek to build on the Millennium Development Goals
and complete what they did not achieve. They seek to realize the human rights of all and to achieve gender
equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. They are integrated and indivisible and balance the
three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental.

The goals and targets will stimulate action over the next 15 years in areas of critical importance for
humanity and the planet.

People

We are determined to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, and to ensure that
all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment.

Planet

We are determined to protect the planet form degradation, including through sustainable consumption
and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so
that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.

Prosperity

We are determined to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that
economic, social, and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature.

Peace

We are determined to foster peaceful, just, and inclusive societies which are free from fear and
violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable
development.

Partnership

We are determined to mobilize the means required to implement this agenda through a revitalized
Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, based on a spirit of strengthened global solidarity, focused
in particular on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable and with the participation of all countries, all
stakeholders, and all people.

The interlinkages and integrated nature of the Sustainable Development Goals are of crucial
importance in ensuring that the purpose of the new agenda is realized. If we realize our ambitions across the
full extent of the agenda, the lives of all will be profoundly improved and our world will be transformed for
the better.

Community Welfare Engagement

Society’s welfare is a multifaceted agenda to tackle. When we say community welfare, we refer to the
set of activities of specific groups of individuals to achieve their basic needs. The United Nations further
extended the definition of community welfare to coincide with the recent shifts in a post-war and
reconstruction.

United Nation 1967:

“Social welfare, as an organized function, is regarded as a body of activities designed to enable

individuals, families, groups, and communities to cope with the social problems of changing conditions. But
in addition to and extending beyond the range of its responsibilities for specific services, social welfare has a
further function within the broad area of a country’s social development. In this larger sense, social welfare
should play a major role in contributing to the effective mobilization and deployment of human and material
resources of the country to deal successfully with the social requirements of change, thereby participating in
nation-building.”

This further extends our understanding on community power and responsibility. The UN recognizes
the significance of communal structures in the agenda of nation-building, mobilization of resources, and
optimization of human social potential. This is tantamount to the synergistic interaction between the people
and the system itself. First, the people should establish a degree of trust with the structures and leadership in
the community. Social cohesion is more about trust than compliance; trust motivates individuals to do more
than what is expected, while compliance merely upholds an expected level of behavior.

The Philippines and its communities currently are in a state of transition. The contextual social
environment is in frequent flux and recalibration. Due to the shifting political leadership that does not have a
solid party allegiance or identity, a huge number of initiatives are lost due to differences in perception
regarding the most pressing problems. Communities nowadays should spearhead programs and translate them
into sustainable practices rather than rely on the ever-changing political landscape. In our country, we have
multitudes of government agencies and nongovernment institutions that are willing and able to engage the
community. There should be coordination between the actors, local or transnational, to improve the lives of
communities one issue or concern at a time. Community engagement will not be possible without the support
of the people.

Disaster Management Planning

One of the most pressing topics in the international community at present is disaster risk management
and prevention. According to the International Disaster Database, the Philippines is one of the most disaster-
prone countries. It was recorded that from 1900-2012, natural disasters were the reason for 60,059 fatalities
and billions of dollars in damages. More than the loss of lives and damages to property, the disasters have also
displaced families and affected millions more in the same timeline. The Philippines, while considered as one
of the most important environmental habitats in the world, is also one of the most vulnerable.

Our geographic location has given us not only the advantage to be right in the heart of Asia but also
the curse of being in the Pacific Ring of Fire, meaning, we are on top of continually shifting plates that cause
frequent earthquakes and shocks alongside active volcanic activities both below sea and above land. The
country is also along the Western Pacific tropical storm paths, with strong typhoons crossing our lands every
year.

In response to this challenge, our government created in 2009 under Republic Act of 10121 the
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Framework to mobilize government
agencies toward a more rounded approach to risk management and reduction. Below are some provisions of
the law:

a. Uphold the people’s constitutional rights to life and property by addressing the root cause of
vulnerabilities to disasters, strengthening the country’s institutional capacity for disaster risk
reduction and management and building the resilience of local communities to disasters including
climate change impacts;
b. Adhere to and adopt the universal norms, principles, and standards of humanitarian assistance
and the global effort on risk reduction as a concrete expression of the country’s commitment to
overcome human suffering due to recurring disasters;
c. Incorporate internationally accepted principles of disaster risk management in the creation and
implementation of national, regional, and local sustainable development and poverty reduction
strategies, policies plans, and budgets;
d. Adopt a disaster risk reduction and management approach that is holistic, comprehensive,
integrated, and proactive in lessening the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of disasters
including climate change, and promote the involvement and participation of all sectors and all
stakeholders concerned, at all levels especially the local community;
e. Develop, promote, and implement a comprehensive National Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Plan (NDRRMP) that aims to strengthen the capacity of the national government
and the local government units (LGUs), together with partner stakeholders, to build the disaster
risks, including projected climate risks, and enhancing disaster preparedness and response
capabilities at all levels;
f. Adopt and implement a coherent, comprehensive, integrated, efficient, and responsive disaster
risk reduction program incorporated in the development plan at various levels of government
adhering to the principles of good governance, such as transparency and accountability within
the context of poverty alleviation and environmental protection;
g. Mainstream disaster risk reduction and climate change in development processes such as policy
formulation, socioeconomic development planning, budgeting, and governance, particularly in
the areas of environment, agriculture, water, energy, health, education, poverty reduction, land-
use and urban planning, and public infrastructure and housing, among others;
h. Institutionalize the policies, structures, coordination mechanisms, and programs with continuing
budget appropriation on disaster risk reduction from national down to local levels toward building
a disaster-resilient nation and communities;
i. Mainstream disaster risk reduction into the peace process and conflict resolution approaches in
order to minimize loss of lives and damage to property, and ensure that communities in conflict
zones can immediately go back to their normal lives during periods of intermittent conflicts;
j. Ensure that disaster risk reduction and climate change measures are gender-responsive, sensitive
to indigenous knowledge systems, and respectful of human rights;
k. Recognize the local risk patterns across the country and strengthen the capacity of LGUs for
disaster risk reduction and management through decentralized powers, responsibilities, and
resources at the regional and local levels;
l. Recognize and strengthen the capacities of LGUs and communities in mitigating and preparing
for, responding to, and recovering from the impact of disasters;
m. Engage the participation of civil society organizations (CSOs), the private sector and volunteers
in the government’s disaster risk reduction programs toward complementation of resources and
effective delivery of services to the citizenry;
n. Develop and strengthen the capacities of vulnerable and marginalized groups to mitigate, prepare
for, respond to, and recover from the effects of disasters;
o. Enhance and implement a program where humanitarian aid workers, communities, health
professionals, government aid agencies, donors, and the media are educated and trained on how
they can actively support breastfeeding before and during a disaster and/or an emergency; and
p. Provide maximum care, assistance, and services to individuals and families affected by disaster,
implement emergency rehabilitation projects to lessen the impact of disaster, and facilitate
resumption of normal social and economic activities.
 The NDRRMC strives to coordinate all member agencies in times of calamities and other emergencies.
With our country’s experience of natural calamities from super typhoons to strong earthquakes, we have
learned that risk reduction starts with the very community that is affected or most vulnerable during a calamity.
The local government units should lead the mobilization of manpower and other resources to achieve well-
coordinated execution of operations before, during, and after calamities. The LGUs are expected for the task
because with their familiarity of their localities, they will not commit logistical mistakes that may endanger
residents.

The line agencies of the government should go hand in hand in training, advocating, and advancing
the processes that are needed for survival. Civil society organizations, such as the Red Cross, have been the
most active during calamities. Nongovernmental groups also help the government in the delivery of services
to those affected. After the devastation of typhoons Ondoy and Yolanda, for example, most of the first
responders were community leaders and nongovernment groups that took charge of the situation.

The devolution of power and authority from the central government toward its empowered citizenry
has been saving grace, having spared hundreds of lives in the most recent disasters. A united front in the
grassroots level that prepares for disasters will assure the safety of our communities.

Community Security Engagement

The Philippine National Police (PNP), since its inception in 1990 through R.A. 6975, has been the
focal point of community safety. As the country’s primary police agency, PNP personnel are empowered by
the mandate to keep the peace and protect our society from lawlessness and disorder. Their primary mandate
is to enforce the law, protect the public, and create order in our communities. Chapter III, Section 24 of R.A.
6975 stipulates the powers and functions of our police force.

Sec. 24. Powers and Functions – The PNP shall have the following powers and functions:

a. Enforce all laws and ordinances relative to the protection of lives and properties;
b. Maintain peace and order and take all necessary steps to ensure public safety;
c. Investigate and prevent crimes, effect the arrest of criminal offenders, bring offenders to justice
and assist in their prosecution;
d. Exercise the general powers to make arrest, search and seizure in accordance with the
Constitution and pertinent laws;
e. Detain an arrested person for a period not beyond what is prescribed by law, informing the person
so detained of all his rights under the Constitution;
f. Issue licenses for the possession of firearms and explosives in accordance with law;
g. Supervise and control the training and operations of security agencies and issue licenses to
operate security agencies, and to security guards and private detectives, for the practice of their
professions; and
h. Perform such other duties and exercise all other functions as may be provided by law.

The process in which the PNP anchored its organizational identity stems from resource mobilization
and learning which, in turn, produces process excellence, thus ensuring community safety and the fulfillment
of law enforcement mandates. The PNP has set its 2030 targets with the core philosophy of service, honor,
and justice with the community at the forefront of its priorities. The PNP’s current mission statement is “To
enforce the law, prevent and control crimes, maintain peace and order, and ensure public safety and internal
security with the active support of the community.” This embodies the code of conduct that endeavors to
connect with the community in the enforcement of law and order. Furthermore, the PNP also recognizes the
importance of community-based policing through the progressive partnerships that would create a communal
bond and sense of social cohesiveness between the community they serve and the institution they stand for.
By 2030, the PNP envisions to be highly capable, effective, and credible police service to ensure the
community’s safe living conditions as well as peaceful work and business environments.
 PNP P.A.T.R.O.L. Plan 2030 Roadmap
VISION
Imploring the aid of the Almighty, by 2030, We shall be a highly capable, effective and credible police
service working in partnership with a responsive community towards the attainment of a safer place to live,
work, and do business.
Highly Capable, Effective and Credible Police Service by 2030

COMMUNITY
A safer place to live, work and
do business.
S S
T T
A A
PROCESS EXCELLENCE
K K
E Improve Improve Improve community safety E
H crime crime awareness through community- H
O prevention solution oriented and human rights-based O
policing
L L
D D
E E
R LEARNING AND GROWTH R
S Develop Competent, Motivated, Develop a responsive and S
Values-oriented and Disciplined Highly Professional Police
police personnel Organization
S S
U U
P P
P RESOURCE MANAGEMENT P
O Optimize use of financial and logistical resources
O
R R
T T

The spirit of the Filipino communal life is well internalized by the PNP through its core values of
“Maka-Diyos,” “Makabayan,” “Makatao,” and “Makakalikasan,” which translate into the national motto of
the Philippine Republic: “For God, People, Country, and Nature.”
Community Livelihood Development

The population, or the people in general who relentlessly work day in and day out, powers our economy
toward growth. With this in mind, our government created agencies that will help our citizens find work
through technical education and skills development. Leading these agencies is the Technical Education and
Skills Development Authority (TESDA) created under R.A. 7796 Section 3 of the law provides the mandates
of TESDA to carry out its duties of empowering the Philippine workforce by creating access to jobs and
educating the workforce while ensuring the quality of technical skills coincide with international labor
standards.

Sec. 3. Statement of Goals and Objectives. – It is the goal and objective of this Act to:

a. Promote and strengthen the quality of technical education and skills development programs to
attain international competitiveness;
b. Focus technical education and skills development on meeting the changing demands for quality
middle-level manpower;
c. Encourage critical and creative thinking by disseminating the scientific and technical knowledge
base of middle-level manpower development programs;
d. Recognize and encourage the complementary roles of public and private institutions in technical
education and skills development and training systems; and
e. Inculcate desirable values through the development of moral character with emphasis on work
ethic, self-discipline, self-reliance, and nationalism.

Since 2011, TESDA, with its five-year plan, has effectively carried out programs in aid of the
community with its job creation, assistance and evaluation mandate from scholarship programs, and industry
certifications. By offering dressmaking, animation, welding, and other skills that currently have a high labor
demand, TESDA has created a platform that now acts as a source of employment and livelihood for our fellow
Filipinos. TESDA partners with the Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Education, and the
Commission on Higher Education to realize the government’s policy to make more jobs accessible to many
Filipinos. Such partnership has been a success mainly due to the proper coordination and agenda-setting of
the concerned parties.

Communities have much to gain from our educational system’s transition toward the K-12 program
which is in consonance with the global standards. Adding two years of schooling prepares students more in
terms of engaging college-level material as well as deepening their learning with their foundational and
elective courses for subject mastery. The K-12 scheme also gives students a choice whether to pursue the
academic track or divert to technical vocation courses, depending on their skills or talents.

Community Youth and Education Development

The Department of Education (DepEd) and the National Youth Commission (NYC) have been
instrumental in ensuring a bright future for the youth.

DepEd is the government agency that is responsible for the education of the youth. Its purposes and
objectives are embodied in section 3 of R.A. 9155, otherwise known as the Governance of Basic Education
Act of 2001.

Sec. 3. Purposes and Objectives. – The purposes and objectives of this Act are:

a. To provide the framework for the governance of basic education which shall set the general
directions for educational policies and standards and establish authority, accountability, and
responsibility for achieving higher learning outcomes;
b. To define the roles and responsibilities of, and provide resources to, the field offices which shall
implement educational programs, projects, and services in communities they serve;
 c. To make schools and learning centers the most important vehicle for the teaching and learning of
national values for developing in the Filipino learners love of country and pride in its rich
heritage;
d. To ensure that schools and learning centers receive the kind of focuses attention they deserve and
that educational programs, projects, and services take into account the interests of all members
of the community;
e. To enable the schools and learning centers to reflect the values of the community by allowing
teachers/learning facilitators and other staff to have flexibility to serve the needs of all learners;
f. To encourage local initiatives for the improvement of schools and learning centers and to provide
the means by which these improvements may be achieved and sustained; and
g. To establish schools and learning centers as facilities where school children are able to learn a
range of core competencies prescribed for elementary and high school education programs or
where the out-of-school youth and adult learners are provided alternative learning programs and
receive accreditation for at least the equivalent of a high school education.

DepEd’s role in shaping the minds of the youth makes it one of the most powerful government agencies
in the state. It has the supreme authority to set learning standards, supervise the quality of instruction and
education, and supervise knowledge content to be cascaded in schools across the Philippines. Giving the youth
the proper education is one of the foremost challenges of the state nowadays. Education not only promotes
skills development of the citizens but also shapes the future of critical social thought and inquiry for the years
to come.

Aligned with DepEd’s service to the Filipino youth is the NYC, which was established to provide
leadership for the youth by representing their sector in policy formulation and promotion of youth culture in
order to harness the full potential of its generation. The NYC is mandated by the state to embody the ideals of
the Filipino youth through nationalism, civic voluntarism, and proactive citizenship as recognized in R.A.
8044 of the Youth in Nation-Building Act of 1994. Below are the two provisions of the policy that specify the
goals and functions of the NYC.

Sec. 2. Policy. – The State recognizes its responsibility to enable the youth to fulfill their vital role in
nation-building and hereby establishes the National Comprehensive and Coordinated Program on
Youth Development, creates the structures to implement the same, and appropriates adequate funds to
provide support for the program and implementing structures on a continuing sustained basis.

The State hereby declares that “Youth” is the critical period in a person’s growth and development
from the onset of adolescence towards the peak of mature, self-reliant, and responsible adulthood
comprising the considerable sector of the population from the age of fifteen (15) to thirty (30) years.

The State further declares the National Comprehensive and Coordinated Program on Youth
Development shall be based on the following principles:

a. Promotion and protection of the physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being of
the youth to the end that the youth realizes their potential for improving the quality of life;
b. Inculcation in the youth of patriotism, nationalism, and other basic desirable values to infuse in
them faith in the Creator, belief in the sanctity of life and dignity of the human person, conviction
for the strength and unity of the family, and adherence to truth and justice;
c. Encouragement of youth involvement in character-building and development activities for civic
efficiency, stewardship of natural resources, agricultural and industrial productivity, and an
understanding of world economic commitments on tariffs and trade, and participation in
structures of policy-making and program implementation to reduce the incidence of poverty and
accelerate socioeconomic development; and
d. Mobilization of youth’s abilities, talents, and skills, and redirecting their creativity inventive
genius, and wellspring of enthusiasm and hope for the freedom of our people from fear, hunger,
and injustice.
 Sec. 8. Objectives of the Commission. – The objectives of the Commission are:

a. To provide the leadership in the formulation of policies and in the setting of priorities and
direction of all youth promotion and development programs and activities;
b. To encourage wide and active participation of the youth in all government and nongovernmental
programs, projects, and activities affecting them;
c. To harness and develop the full potential of the youth as partners in nation-building; and
d. To supplement government appropriations for youth promotion and development with funds from
other sources.

The primary task of NYC is to act as the national youth policy-coordinating body that will be the
platform for policy consolidation for the barangay youth government council known as the Sangguniang
Kabataan (SK) and other youth-oriented organizations. SK is undergoing reforms that hopefully would
reinvigorate the organization after being put under national scrutiny in recent years due to some allegations of
corruption in some chapters.

Regardless of these controversies, the Philippine government still holds youth welfare as one of its
priorities. More programs and policies are in the pipeline to address the concerns of the youth nowadays.
Youth participation in this regard is being promoted by the government to inspire the incoming generation to
take part in the processes of governance that will be central in nation-building and advancement of political
thought. The structures are made for the youth not as placeholders for show but instruments for them to use.

The fact remains that most of the youth nowadays have chosen not to pitch their time, effort, and
expertise to create an impact and contribute to change. Together, we can finally reverse the tide of apathy by
starting to be involved and to be critical about the status quo. It is time for you to take charge and you can start
by appreciating your community and engaging it with the passion to serve.

Community Health Sustainability

The Department of Health (DOH) has been a pillar of community well-being since its reorganization
through Executive Order 94 of 1947. The agency has helped millions across the country gain access to
medicine as well as services of medical experts. The DOH was once again reorganized in the 1950s through
E.O.288, after recognizing the need to decentralize to effectively reach out to more stakeholders. Most notable
of the changes were the creation of regional health offices and the authority given to regional, provincial, and
municipal field offices to offer services of the department, which made it easier for communities to gain access
and for the government to devolve decision-making into more localized offices. Aside from serving this
particular need, the DOH is also designated by the state to regulate sanitation, pharmaceutical and drug safety,
epidemiology, hospital management, and licenses and certifications for practice. At present, DOH prides itself
by focusing on three major areas in the sector of health: (1) Leadership in health; (2) Enabler and capacity-
builder; and (3) Administrator of specific services. Its mandate is to develop national plans, technical
standards, and guidelines on health.

The DOH acts as the central body that mobilizes local government units and communities in creating
solutions to our current health problems. Mainly, the solutions that the DOH is pursuing are rooted from the
community agenda and are issue-specific on the problems at hand. Below are two DOH projects to help you
fully appreciate the depth of reach that the agency has done in your own communities in recent years.

Botika ng Barangay

The Botika ng Barangay (BnB) project has been one of the most ubiquitous among the projects being
implemented by the DOH due to its vast impact on every Filipino that is in need of affordable medicines.
BNBs sell only generic medicines that come directly from suppliers. The public can avail of these medicines
through their local government units or local health offices.
 According to the DOH, the Botika ng Barangay scheme focuses on the following objectives:

1. To promote equity in health by ensuring the availability and accessibility of affordable, safe,
effective, and quality essential drugs to all, with priority for marginalized, undeserved, critical,
and far-flung areas;
2. To integrate all related issuances of the DOH that provide rules and regulations in the
establishment and operations of BnBs; and
3. To define the roles and responsibilities of the different units of the DOH and other partners from
the different sectors in facilitating and regulating the establishment of BnBs.

Doctors to the Barrios

First established in 1993 by then-DOH Secretary Juan Flavier, Doctors to the Barrios (DTTB) is a
simple solution to the problem brought by the lack of local doctors. The program call on fresh medical school
graduates to serve far-flung barrios and share their expertise to ensure the well-being of the communities that
need medical services. Its objectives are:

1. To ensure quality health care service to depressed, marginalized, and undeserved areas through
the deployment of competent and community-oriented doctors; and
2. To effect changes in the approach to health care delivery by the stakeholders.

The DTTB program has helped thousands of Filipinos gain necessary health care they need. It specifies
municipalities and barangays that have the following characteristics:

1. Depressed, unserved/undeserved, hard-to-reach, and critical 5th and 6th class municipalities
without doctors for at least two year;
2. Depressed, unserved/undeserved, hard-to-reach, and critical 5th and 6th class municipalities with
Municipal Health Officer/Rural Health Physician on study leave; and
3. 3rd and 4th class municipalities needing additional doctors to achieve the doctor to population ratio
of 1:20,000.

As manifested in the two DOH projects, problems nowadays do not necessarily need an overly
complicated solution. What our current social problems need rather are simple, viable, and readily accessible
solutions that have wide-scale impact across a longer time frame. The community and its leadership should
exemplify the models by adjusting their programs to be specific, time-bound, and relevant. The projects can
be sustained once these requirements are met and the community is no longer detached from its goals.

Community Environmental Sustainability

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was formally formed by E.O.131 in
1987 under its former name, the Department of Environment, Energy and Natural Resources (DEENR). Later
after its reorganization under E.O.192, it was renamed to its current name with the transfer of energy
governance to the Office of the President. The DENR retains its mandate as follows:

a. Assure the availability and sustainability of the country’s natural resources through judicious use
and systematic restoration or replacement, whenever possible;
b. Increase the productivity of natural resources in order to meet the demands for forest, mineral, and
land resources of a growing population;
c. Enhance the contribution of natural resources for achieving national economic and social
development;
d. Promote equitable access to natural resources by the different sectors of the population; and
e. Conserve specific terrestrial and marine areas representative of the Philippine natural and cultural
heritage for present and future generations.
 It is clear that the mandate of the DENR focuses on the management and sustainability of our natural
resources. It also has the power to formulate policies and programs for the environment. Its scope includes all
aspects of natural resources that the state owns has the authority to issue licenses and certificates to private
industries that meet the requirements for environmental safety and sustainability. The DENR has positioned
itself as a community partner in enhancing community safety during times of calamities. Also in the past years,
it has focused on mechanisms for risk and damage prevention by partnering with the LGUs in most of its
projects.

Geohazard Mapping and Assessment Program

The main goal of this program is to map the vulnerabilities of communities in times of disasters and
foreseeable calamities that can endanger lives and properties. To date, the program has identified the following
regions of concern after completing the assessment of 1,634 cities and municipalities all over the Philippines.

Provinces that are at risk of landslides:

a. Marinduque f. Benguet
b. Rizal g. Nueva Vizcaya
c. Cebu h. Batangas
d. La Union i. Mt. Province
e. Southern Leyte j. Romblon

Provinces/regions that are at risk of floods:

a. Pampanga f. Bulacan
b. Nueva Ecija g. Metro Manila
c. Pangasinan h. North Cotabato
d. Tarlac i. Oriental Mindoro
e. Maguindanao j. Ilocos Norte

Adopt an Estero Program

This is one of DENR’s most engaging projects as it taps the community in safeguarding the
environment. In doing so, the agency was able to form a partnership with the LGUs that will be sustainable
and easily adaptable by the parties. The program aims to do the following:

 Unclog and clean the waterways of wastes, debris, and silt

 Mobilize the LGUs to clean and manage the waterways
 Institutionalize good practices of sanitation and waste management practices
 Safeguard and avoid blockage of waterways
 Help reduce water pollution
 Institutionalize public-private-community partnerships in environmental security
Unit V
Core Values and Principles of Community Action Initiatives

Values of community participation are the soul of civic action. Action without purpose lacks
significance and integrity that are necessary for social change.

We will learn the very essence of the public by its sets of principles that inspires and motivate action.

You may think that communities, judging by the sheer complexity and variations in our society, are
influenced mainly by the most basic behaviors of survival, like self-interest and gain.

Lesson 1
Human Rights and Social Justice

Actively participating in our communities are responding to one’s duty that demands a set of sacrifices
can only be motivated by very significant mores that necessitate such acts of selflessness.

Humanity in its early history has been preoccupied with its search for meaning. In its journey, people
have been beset by good and evil sides of humanity. The dualism that is inherent in our existence is indicative
of the struggle that we still have now. We left those simple communes of hunter-gatherers for the present
complex society that is ever reliant and fragile, but we are the same people who still search for meaning and
purpose in life.

Human Rights and Quest for Meaning

Humanity has evolved from its most animal instincts motivated simply by its will to survive, procreate,
and gather to what has become now a complex web of actors that are interdependent and reliant on their set
laws and norms to justify their own existence. If there was one narrative consistent in our lessons so far, it
would be about how the communities are empowered to create meaning, shift order, and reinforce sets or
patterns of behavior within their members.

During the rise of the first human communes, there was no concept of human rights. The status and
roles of individuals were recognized by their own group, but outside the group, they were subject to the abuses
and attacks by those who did not recognize their status or roles.

Early History of Rights

As the population in the communes became bigger, social structures were built around the roles of the
members. This helped create social hierarchies that later on became the framework of political, social, and
economic stratification of the members. These social classes then resulted in more structured differentiation
among people while alienating classes deemed to be subordinates or lower in ranks.

The social structures, particularly in politics and religion, ushered in the rise of monarchs that became
the symbols of power and authority. Rulers such as kings and emperors claimed that they derived their right
to rule from God, thus legitimized by their faith and reinforced by their people’s beliefs of a higher being.
During this kind of rule, power was centralized and the privileges of people, such as having their rights
protected by laws, were limited to a select few. As such, these “rights” were mostly reserved to those who
were close to the ruler.

Not all rulers from the past, however, are the same; there were great kings who recognized the value
of human life and the importance of protecting human rights while ensuring equity of opportunity in their
kingdom. One of them was Cyrus the Great who ruled Persia from 600 to 539 BC. He freed slaves and gave
the people religious freedom. This early example of social equity influenced some of the earliest and most
influential civilizations, such as the Greek and Roman political and legal traditions that recognized social
protection and equity under the law. Because of the existing political and economic hierarchies that support
these early civilizations, however, rights were not exactly equal among the members of the society because
power was concentrated on particular social class or classes. Abusive members of their class may trample on
the people’s rights.

The next great shift occurred in 1215 in England when a rebellion broke out against King John. The
barons who led the rebellion struck a deal with King John resulting in the signing of a document now called
the Magna Carta (The Great Charter) which specified laws, rights, and policies that was aimed at balancing
the power of the king and protecting citizens from abuses. The document, however, was not universal and the
rights mentioned therein did not apply to the slaves who were considered properties during the feudal period.

After more than 400 years, another major event occurred. This was the enactment of the English Bill
of Rights in 1689. This monumental document changed the way power was shared between the Church and
the State; promoted freedoms, such as freedom of speech; and elections. The event inspired the American and
French revolutions in 1765 and 1789, respectively. The victor in both wars gained not only their independence
but also some of their fundamental rights that would later become the American Bill of Rights and the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen for France.

During the time of colonial rule, however, rights were still exclusive mostly to the West. The rights of
the people of the colonized territories still suffered from abuses and most of them took arms against their rulers
to win back their rights.

Emergence of International Relations and Human Rights

The effect of the two wars that nearly eradicated half of the world both called for nations to unite, and
in those instances became the turning point in global affairs. First, after World War I, nations formed the
League of Nations, signed by 44 states during the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. This was the first official
attempt in creating an international association that provided a forum for resolving international disputes and
served as the platform of diplomatic exchanges among nations. The United States, despite being one of the
first proponents of the League of Nations, later on chose not to be part of it because of the differences with
the proposed covenant that ran counter to their stance on sovereignty.

Despite not having the United States as one of its members, the League of Nations was instrumental
in changing how international diplomacy was conducted forever.

Achievements of the League of Nations:

 Creation of an International Court
 Creation of international bodies
 Policy Disarmament
 Settlement of pacts and treaties
 Aversion and arbitration of conflict
 Renouncement of War (Kellogg-Briand Pact)

Despite these achievements, the League of Nations failed mostly because of inherent organizational
weaknesses, with the lack of support from the United States, and its failure to address collective security
issues, among others. The final blow for the League of Nations came after conflicts between nations escalated
into another world war (World War II).

After World War II, the League of Nations was replaced by the United Nations (UN). The UN was
established on October 1945 which also echoed much of the League of Nations’ ideals. Most significantly,
the UN aspired to end all wars and averted any threat thereof. Aside from maintaining peace, the UN aspires
to promote human rights, aid in social and economic development, and provide basic humanitarian aid and
environmental protection. From 51 founding states, the UN now has 193 member nations and has expanded
its influence worldwide.
 Among the UN’s most significant advocacies are human rights. Human rights are simply a set of moral
principles and values that are attributed to an individual regardless of ethnicity, gender, or age. The UN
adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 1948, which created the following articles
that aimed at restoring dignity and respect for human lives after the atrocities caused by World War II.

Article 1. Right to Equality

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience
and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2. Freedom from Discrimination

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind,
such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property,
birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or
international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust,
non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereign.

Article 3. Right to Life, Liberty, Personal Security

Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.

Article 4. Freedom from Slavery

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5. Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, or punishment.

Article 6. Right to Recognition as a Person before the Law

Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7. Right to Equality before the Law

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are
entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any
incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8. Right to Remedy by Competent Tribunal

Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the
fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9. Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Exile

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile.

Article 10. Right to Fair Public Hearing

Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in
the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11. Right to be Considered Innocent until Proven Guilty

1. Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to presumed innocent until proven guilty according
to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offense on account of any act or omission which did not constitute
a penal offense, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a
heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offense was committed.

Article 12. Freedom from Interference with Privacy, Family, Home and Correspondence

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to
attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such
interference or attacks.

Article 13. Right to Free Movement in and out of the Country

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14. Right to Asylum in other Countries from Persecution

1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from nonpolitical crimes or
from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15. Right to a Nationality and the Freedom to Change It

1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.

2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16. Right to Marriage and Family

1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to
marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its
dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society
and the State.

Article 17. Right to Own Property

1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18. Freedom of Belief and Religion

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change
his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to
manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19. Freedom of Opinion and Information

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions
without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless
of frontiers.
Article 20. Right of Peaceful Assembly and Association

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21. Right to Participate in Government and in Free Elections

1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen
representatives.
2. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in
periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret
vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22. Right to Social Security

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through
national effort and international cooperation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each
State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his
personality.

Article 23. Right to Desirable Work and to Join Trade Unions

1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work
and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family
an existence worthy of human dignity, supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24. Right to Rest and Leisure

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic
holidays with pay.

Article 25. Right to Adequate Living Standards

1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of
his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right
to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of
livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or
out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26. Right to Education

1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental
stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made
generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and
friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United
Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
Article 27. Right to Participate in the Cultural Life of Community

1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to
share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific,
literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28. Right to a Social Order that Articulates this Document

Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this
Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29. Community Duties Essential to Free and Full Development

1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is
possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are
determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due to recognition and respect for the rights and
freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare
in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the
United Nations.

Article 30. Freedom from State or Personal Interference in the above Rights

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any Stage, group or person any right to engage
in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

The fight for human dignity and rights, however, did not end after the declaration. Despite having been
supported by 48 countries where 8 abstained, the declaration was just symbolic, as it did not have any legal
authority. It all changed in 1976 when it was ratified and became an international law for all member states
which signed the document.

Currently, there are further clamor to push for the human rights agenda to countries with questionable
records. In reality, many of the rights stipulated in the declaration are under threat most significantly in some
developing countries where human rights education is mostly limited and human rights values are not yet
translated through local laws. Another layer the universal declaration is trying to overcome is the lack of
political will from countries which have different worldviews and values that do not coincide with the
declaration. Many of these nations come from oppressive regimes or dictatorships. Regardless of the
challenges that lie ahead, the UN continues to serve humanity by advancing its agenda forward and making
human rights truly a universal norm.

Social Justice and the Protection of Rights

In spite of the UN declaration, there are still atrocities that happen every single day in all parts of the
world. According to the international human rights advocates Amnesty International and Human Rights
Watch, there were still large-scale violations in over 160 countries that they have observed in 2014.

2014 Human Rights Violations Overview (Amnesty International):

 War crimes were carried out in 18 countries.

 Armed militia abuses were recorded in 35 countries.
 Refugees were left homeless and have resorted to desperate means by using rafts to escape
Syria and other war-torn regions whereby an estimate of 3,400 people might have died.
  Restriction of the freedom of speech was evident in 119 of 160 countries and where journalists
were frequently harassed, threatened, and even killed.
 Unlawful imprisonment of individuals was evident in 62 of 160 countries.
 Unjust trials were seen in 92 of 160 countries where the accused was not subjected to a fair
trial.
 Torture was recorded in 131 of 160 countries.
 Emergency abortion where the life of the woman is in danger or in cases of rape are banned in
28 countries.
 Discriminatory policies against the LGBT were seen in 78 countries.

Here in the Philippines, according to the Human Rights Watch, our country has been a hotbed of human
rights abuses. In the same year (2014), the human rights watchdog has duly recorded and observed the
following:

 Killing of media personnel

 Unexplained allegedly “forced” disappearances
 Alleged death squads against political targets, militants environmentalists, tribal leaders, and
civilians
 Police use of torture
 Unlawful arrests and unjust trials against alleged criminals
 Displacement of families due to the ongoing conflict in the South of the Philippines.

Social justice, in the status quo, is a hotly debated topic. Its definition is relative to the context of its
application and implications. The United Nations provided this definition of the term:

“Social justice may be broadly understood as the fair and compassionate distribution of the fruits of
economic growth.”

The idea inherent in social justice revolves around fairness, accessibility, and inclusivity which can be
attained once the rights are served and protected by those in power. Such abuses intensify the need for the
people to be resilient in the face of adversity, vigilant against abuses, progressive in their vision, and
accountable to their actions. These are the same traits that we have already discussed. They help social justice
advance equity and fairness to all humankind.

The change we seek is realized by engaging the system to alter the course of our social condition.
Everything starts by being aware of our basic rights and to respect the rights of others.

The debate is now hinged with the “Right to Protect,” or humanitarian intervention in other context,
which was endorsed by the member states of the United Nations in 2005. This is the global commitment of
international bodies to intervene in the conflict between the member states in order to protect their citizens.
More than humanitarian aid, the intervention hopes to protect the people from abuses and restore the dignity
of the population by upholding their inalienable human rights.

The Human Rights Regime in the Philippines

Human rights are a very sensitive topic especially in developing countries like the Philippines. Human
rights violations are the systematic effect of deep-rooted institutional problems.

The human rights regime in our country is the focus of the international community in the last decade
due to a number of unexplained disappearances, questionable police practices, and various civil and political
rights abuses.

The creation of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in the Philippines is embodied in its
fundamental law. Under Article XIII, Section 18 of the 1987 Constitution, the CHR is mandated to secure the
welfare of human rights in the country.
 The mandates of CHR are as follows:

1. Investigate, on its own or on complaint by any party, all forms of human rights violations involving
civil and political rights;
2. Adopt its operational guidelines and rules of procedure, and cite for contempt for violations
thereof in accordance with the Rules of Court;
3. Provide appropriate legal measures for the protection of human rights of all persons within the
Philippines, as well as Filipinos residing abroad, and provide for preventive measure and legal
aid services to the underprivileged whose human rights have been violated or need protection;
4. Exercise visitorial powers over jails, prisons, or detention facilities;
5. Establish a continuing program of research, education, and information to enhance respect for
the primacy of human rights;
6. Recommend to Congress effective measures to promote human rights and to provide for
compensation to victims of violations of human rights, or their families;
7. Monitor the Philippine Government’s compliance with international treaty obligations on human
rights;
8. Grant immunity from prosecution to any person whose testimony or whose possession of
documents or other evidence is necessary or convenient to determine the truth in any
investigations conducted by it or under its authority;
9. Request the assistance of any department, bureau, office, or agency in the performance of its
functions;
10. Appoint its officers and employees in accordance with law; and
11. Perform such other duties and functions as may be provided by law.

The CHR is also tasked to investigate human rights violations, adopt rules of procedure, and issue
contempt citations. It can take legal action for the protection of human rights and the citizens of the Philippines.

Recently, the focus of the CHR is on human rights protection, promotion, and advisory, and has
devoted its strategic direction with four main centers.

CHR Specializations and Thematic Programs:

Child Rights Center – The CRC serves as the focal point of coordination and facilitation of all CHR functions,
programs and activities relating to child rights. As the coordinating secretariat for all CHR services and
assistance to child victims, it shall lead in developing national programs and policies on critical issues and
concerns on children; formulate and coordinate the implementation of a research agenda on child rights;
establish rights-based monitoring, database and reporting systems on the status of children in cooperation
with partner agencies; prepare independent reports on compliance of government on the implementation of
the convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) focusing on the obligations and responsibilities of the
government as a state party of the convention.

Center for Gender Equality and Women’s Rights – The Center serves as the central point of coordination for
the implementation of the CHR’s role as Gender Ombud. As a specialized unit, the Center shall coordinate
and facilitate all CHR functions, programs, and activities relating to women’s rights and gender and
development; lead in developing national programs and policies on critical issues and concerns on women
and gender; formulate and coordinate the implementation of a research agenda on women’s rights; establish
rights-based monitoring, database and reporting systems on the status of women in cooperation with partner
agencies; monitor compliance of government on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) focusing on the obligations and responsibilities of the
government as a state party of the convention.

Center for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – The Center shall serve as the focal point for all programs,
activities and projects of the CHR in relation to business and human rights, the UN Sustainable Development
Goals (SDG), and the Right to Development with special focus on vulnerable and disadvantaged sectors, such
as the elderly and PWDs.
Center for Crisis, Conflict and Humanitarian Rights – The Center shall serve as the secretariat to coordinate
the implementation of mechanisms to protect people who are affected by crisis and conflict brought by armed
conflicts, disasters and other emergency situations.
Lesson 2
Empowerment, Advocacy, and Participatory Development

The Birth of Community Action

The very idea of community action originated in the United States during the 1960s. It was the time
when the US was beset with social problems within communities in a post-war economy, such as problems
on poverty, drugs, and crime especially in urban communities and even in the suburbs. These were mostly
concentrated in housing projects that later became haven for criminal activities and illicit acts. The US
government took initiatives to “wage war” not against another state actor this time, but with these social ills
that have ruined lives, endangered communities, and destroyed properties.

The US government, then under President Lyndon Johnson, enacted the Economic Opportunity Act of
1964 that later became the focal point of community action initiatives that were focused with emphasis on the
protection of its citizens. This led to the implementation of several projects and programs that helped the state
bring welfare to its citizens. President Johnson’s “war on poverty” was the heart of the state program as it
tackled the most basic needs of the community, from job creation to food security, health, education, and
financial assistance.

More than instituting programs rather than resorting to police force, violence, or unlawful detention,
the state must also employ peaceful means to know the root cause of our social problems to find solutions.
Take crime and its relationship with the community as an example. Criminality thrives in an environment of
hate and discontent and lures individuals to commit crimes. Doing bad things has become their only option
because their environment does not give them choice. The root causes of the problems on drugs, for example,
are linked with the gravity of underdevelopment prevalent in our society nowadays. To fight drugs, the
government should provide basic services, opportunities for education or jobs, and more support especially to
the marginalized sectors.

Community action was not popular before because it is inconsistent with some free-market ideals. To
an extent, social ideals were ahead of its time. With the advent of the universal adaption of human rights
principles and the evolution of the movement from individual rights toward collective rights, we saw the
gradual shift from the cascade of the ideals to what is now as an undertaking to protect them, ensuring the
realization of social justice.

The Basics of Community Empowerment

The concept of empowerment is the driving force behind community development. Empowerment
combines the idea of power relations between the communities into one concept. To empower is to provide
capability, access, and support for individuals and groups to fulfill their goals. It is when people in the
communities take control of their lives that empowerment can fulfill its mission. This is possible through
capacity-building measures and the provision of the basic needs and creation of opportunities to show their
own potentials, be it in the political, economic, sociocultural, technological, or environmental aspect.

Community empowerment therefore stretches the very idea of engagement and participation to another
level of community welfare, which is long-term and independent of external aid. A community can only be
said to be fully empowered once it can act on its own and mobilize its members for the common good.

The Public Sector and Community Empowerment

The public sector is fundamentally controlled by the government. As such, it has a very specific take
on community empowerment which is state-centric. The leading agency that ensures social community
development is the Department of Social Welfare and Development or DSWD. It is the central government
agency that is tasked to create welfare initiatives for the efficient redistribution of government aid to those in
need. It is also mandated to deputize the police to enforce the law against violators and abusers of minors.
 The DSWD was created under Executive Order 292 of 1987 and was recognized under Republic Act
7160 for the devolution of some of its duties to the local government units. It has the following mandates:

Sec. 4. Mandate

1. Care, protect and rehabilitate the physically and mentally handicapped and socially disabled
constituents, for effective social functioning;
2. Provide an integrated welfare package to its constituents on the basis of their needs and
coordinate the service facilities required from such departments or agencies, governmental and
non-governmental, which can best provide them;
3. Arrest the further deterioration of the socially disabling or dehumanizing conditions of the
disadvantaged segment of the population at the community level; and
4. Advocate for policies and measures addressing social welfare concerns.

The four main pillars of DSWD’s mandate extend to differently-abled individuals and coordination
with government agencies, primarily the LGUs, in implementing community action programs, enforcement
of civil rights, and finally, the advocacy of policies that are important for other citizens. These core mandates
dictate the direction of the agency in implementing programs for the populace and thus are important in
advancing our analysis of social development.

DSWD Project Summary

Adoption and Foster Care DSWD is the agency that facilitates and monitors adoption
and foster care for orphans
Bottom-Up Planning and Budgeting A kind of budgeting approach that is rooted from the needs
of the community in consultation with the LGUs, CSOs, and
communities
Disaster Response Operations Under the Disaster Response Assistance and Management
Bureau, the DSWD aids in disaster relief and aid operations
Gender and Development One of the primary projects of DSWD that focuses on the
empowerment and protection of women and their rights
International Social Welfare Services for A program dedicated to Filipinos serving abroad by
Filipino Nationals providing welfare and protection services
Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – One of the primary community-driven initiatives by the
Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of government as it aims to empower communities
Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS)
Listahanan A project that identifies stakeholders via a systematic survey
of poor communities in the country
PAMANA Concentrates on peace and development of communities
within conflict-affected and prone areas
Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program One of the biggest and most talked about projects by the
(4Ps) DSWD as it helps poor families via conditional cash
transfers for financial support
Protective Services Program Protective and aid services to those who are in need
Residential and Nonresidential Facilities Another well-entrenched program that promotes access to
shelter for those in need
The Recovery and Reintegration Program Focuses on the problem of human trafficking and the
for Trafficked Persons (RRPTP) rehabilitation of its victims
Social Pension Program for Indigent The pension subsidy of the DSWD targeted toward financial
Senior Citizens support for poor senior citizens (₱500)
Supplemental Feeding Program Feeding programs that supplement the programs of LGUs
and other partner organizations against malnutrition and
hunger
Sustainable Livelihood Program Serving as partners of the community, the DSWD supports
the entrepreneurial capacity-building and development
 Overall, the DSWD’s initiatives cascade over multiple areas of community development. This pattern
is the effect of globalization and changes in community needs that are constantly being monitored by the state.

The DSWD has also taken steps in ensuring that its projects create impact on the community while
keeping in mind the sustainability of its basic services, such as pension support, adoption, feeding programs,
and transient housing. The agency has also been critical in community empowerment through training and
intra-agency consultations.

The apparent community-centric approach, indicative of an inductive policy, necessitates the inclusion
of minority community voices from the grass roots. This is an efficient approach because projects that go
through community partnerships, from planning to execution, look into the experience of individuals within
the community. In doing so, the DSWD maintains partnerships and collaborations with the community for
sustainability. The agency exemplifies community action motives by instituting devolution of power and
authority that empowers the very foundations and institutions of our society.

The Private Sector and Community Empowerment

The private sector also contributes to community development in various levels, ways, and processes.
The private sector is the division of our society that is not under government control. This sector includes
private companies, nongovernmental organizations, civil society organizations, people’s organizations, and
other nonpublic collectives.

The continued social development project is not simply the burden of the government. In this age of
globalization and collaboration, the dividing lines between local and global and between private and public
have been blurred by collaborative community action programs.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporations are often depicted as power-hungry, profit-, and rent-seeking entities that only exist to
exploit consumers and workers. They only cared for profit more than anything else, even to the extent of
exploiting their workers. Worker’s wages were barely livable, work conditions were full of health risks, and
the corporations themselves did not care about the community at all.

But times have changed. Currently, corporations are now partners for social change. During the
Industrial Revolution, workers were asked to work for more than 12 hours a day and kids as young as seven
were employed to do tasks such as cleaning chimneys. These workers, young and old, had no choice but to
work in these horrid conditions or suffer having no income. Workers simply did not have the rights they
wanted and had no power to lobby for their needs to the business owners.

From the middle of the 1800s to the start of the twentieth century, workers have learned to demand for
their rights, started conducting protests, and formed cohesive movements, thus creating labor unions. Labor
unions are responsible for the progression and evolution of labor rights and the improvement of business ethics
by employing peaceful yet coercive tactics such as strikes, pickets, and negotiations.

Toward the twentieth century, business started to shift from having a profit-only mindset to
incorporating ethical standards of doing business. Early on, ethical business practices were considered
expensive and pointless. This however was debunked later on upon the realization that business ethics actually
aided in facilitating and managing business, thus giving corporate institutions a code of conduct, which
imposed on them the prevention of red tape and corrupt activities that affect business profitability.

During the 1990s until the start of the new millennium, businesses started recognizing stakeholders
not only within the organization but also outside of it. Businesses started engaging communities by looking
not only on what communities need but also on how they can be supported to achieve sustainability. The
intermingling of business and community service creates avenues of collaboration never seen before as
business firms see the value of protecting the communities they are in.
 Examples of Corporate Social Responsibilities:

 Ethical production practices that protect the rights of its workers, the community, among other
norms
 Consideration of business impact on political, economic, sociocultural, technological, and
environmental factors
 Observance of laws and state policies
 Support or sponsorship of other institutions and movements such as ethical sourcing of raw
materials and community programs
 Redistribution of needs such as the creation of programs that aid social inequalities

Social Entrepreneurship and Social Business

The path to social entrepreneurship has been long and forthcoming. The world was on its heels in the
1980s where companies roamed across the business landscape controlling much of the agenda. It was also in
this period when businesses formed new entities that challenged the established notions of a for-profit
business. In 1987, budding entrepreneurs Josh Mailman and Wayne Silby co-founded and spearhead a network
now known as Social Venture Network (SVN). The creation of SVN was ahead of its time as it aspired to be
the common platform to support, influence, and inspire would-be entrepreneurs who want to create business
not primarily driven by profit but by values that are aimed at creating a better world.

As companies began to inculcate a new entrepreneurial paradigm that puts the people and the
community first among all other goals, social entrepreneurship was born. In other words, companies that were
part of SVN began inspiring thousands to create value not only to the company but also to the society at large.
Currently, the term “social entrepreneurship” is attributed to business establishments that cause social change
through the creation and institutionalization of businesses that embody an ethically sound and value-laden
approach to processes and procedures for the benefit of all stakeholders. Social enterprise can either be for-
profit or nonprofit, but are entirely devoted to creating positive impact on society rather than creating profits
for their own good.

A modern interpretation of the social enterprise is the social business model, a term coined by Nobel
Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus. A social business is an enterprise that also aims to produce
positive impact on society where profits are expected not to enrich its own stakeholders but to reinvested on
its own toward the improvement of the company and also its core advocacies.

One such business is Grameen Danone which was founded by Dr. Yunus on the premise of solving
Bangladesh’s chronic problem of hunger and malnutrition. The creation of Grameen Danone was a result of
the partnership of Groupe Danone, a French multinational food brand and Grameen Bank, a microfinance and
microcredit firm owned by Dr. Yunus. The partnership, forged in 2006, has completely created a new business
entity that can change and effectively solve social problems in the present time.

The innovation centered on the creation of a food product accessible to everyone. Grameen Danone
named its product “Shokti Doi” which translates into “strength yogurt.” The name was derived from its
nutrition-rich qualities that can aid in eradication of hunger and malnutrition among children. Since it is a
social business, Grameen Danone can undercut other brands in the market and be an effective partner in
creating positive social impact.

The B-Corp Movement

The transition from strictly for-profit organizations to social enterprises and social business heralded
another form of business model and this is the B-corporation or the Benefit Corporation the benefit corporation
is a type of for-profit corporate entity that includes positive impact on society, workers, the community, and
the environment in addition to profit as its legally defined goals.
 Another set of pioneering entrepreneurs, Jay Coen Gilbert, Bart Houlahan, and Andrew Kassor, set the
stage for what is now one of the most disruptive business ideas to date. With the combined efforts of the three
entrepreneurs, they created B Lab, a nonprofit organization serving a movement of people using business as
a force for good.

Before the creation of B Lab, the three entrepreneurs have successful enterprises. Jay Coen Gilbert and
Bart Houlahan were co-founders of AND1, a successful multimillion-dollar sports brand, while Andrew
Kassoy made his name as a private equity investor. The Declaration of Interdependence embodies B Lab’s
main ethos as a nonprofit movement.

Declaration of Interdependence

We envision a global economy that uses business as a force for good.

This economy is comprised of a new type of corporation – the B Corporation –

Which is purpose-driven and creates benefit for all stakeholders, not just shareholders.

As B Corporations and leaders of this emerging economy, we believe:

That we must be the change we seek in the world.
That all business ought to be conducted as if people and place mattered.
That, through their products, practices, and profits, business should aspire
to do no harm and benefit all.
To do so requires that we act with the understanding that we are each
dependent upon another and thus responsible for each other and
future generations.

B Lab’s most important contribution is the institutionalization of a community of entrepreneurs

through a strict certification process that assesses corporations that claim to be social enterprises or social
business. The goal is to have entrepreneurs create capacities toward the fulfillment of the ideal set of values
and processes that are required to pass a certified Benefit Corporation.

According to B Lab, their main goals are as follows:

1. Building a global community of Certified B Corporations who meet the highest standards of
verified, overall social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal
accountability;
2. Promoting Mission Alignment using innovative corporate structures like the benefit corporation
to align the interests of business with those of society and to help high-impact businesses be built;
3. Helping tens of thousands of businesses, investors, and institutions measure what matters, by using
the B Impact Assessment and B Analytics to manage their impact – and the impact of the business
with whom they work – with as much rigor as their profits;
4. Inspiring millions to join the movement through storytelling by B the Change Media.

B Lab’s impact assessment is a grading and evaluation system that involves a battery of tests to check
if the company is indeed beneficial to the community. With the success of the movement, some regions in the
United States and Canada are already incorporating the model into law to protect, to give incentive, and
promote benefit corporations as a corporate entity. As of September 2016, B Lab now has over 1,863 certified
B Corporations spanning 50 countries in over 130 different industries. Furthermore, B Lab has also been
adapted internationally as their influence grew. In 2015, Sistema B has been created to advance the same ethos
in Latin America with slight alterations in their evaluation process to fit the country.
Microfinance

Dr. Muhammad Yunus’ quest for social change started in Bangladesh when he noticed the lack of the
poor’s access to capital. He saw that the main problem of people and families across Bangladesh was that no
bank was willing and able to lend money to the poor. The main reason is that banks will not lend to those
cannot give a definite guarantee that the loans will be paid on time or at all, since the poor cannot give any
collateral or assurance of pay.

Dr. Yunus vowed the situation by providing the poor an opportunity to have access to capital. He first
started to lend money to the poor in 1976 with just $27 as a guarantor for 44 people. Being the guarantor, he
signed all the necessary document. Theoretically, Dr. Yunus’ idea would not work since it was often assumed
that the poor would not pay and were inclined to use the money in different vices. This, however, did not deter
Dr. Yunus and his quest for giving financial access to the poor. Despite assuming all the risks as the guarantor
for the loans, his plan gained support and the poor repaid the loans by using the money in starting their own
small business.

Before this, banks concentrated on the wealthy and affluent and their branches were based on city
centers. Being an innovator, Dr. Yunus went against these standards and started to give loans to poor women
who were based in rural areas. The poor in these communities finally had access to capital that enabled them
to start their own enterprises. He granted more loans as the quality of life of the community grew, as well as
the enterprise brought upon by micro loans stimulated growth. This started a ripple of development for the
poor in 1983, Grameen Bank, which translates into “village bank,” was finally accorded by their state
government as a bank.

Dr. Yunus’ feat is an example of how an idea can take over and change the lives of millions. Currently,
Grameen Bank has over nine million borrowers, 97% of which are women. Grameen has also diversified its
business by creating consumer products with the label Grameen Danone Foods. This has become a social
business aimed at fighting malnutrition and hunger. Most recently, it formed Grameen Shakti, a non-profit
village using a renewable energy scheme, which pioneered use of solar energy by families in Bangladesh.
Empowering the citizens not only through capital access but also access to health and the environment,
Grameen, with its innovations, continues to inspire people from all over the world.

Participatory Development: Public, Private, and the Community

The community traverses the public and private sectors as it is affected by any relational shift in
structures, policies, and institutions. The term “participatory development” first emerged in mainstream
academic discussion with the release in 1983 of the book Rural Development: Putting the Last First by Robert
Chambers. It was coined primarily in reference to the importance of participation from the grass roots for the
better planning, execution, and review of community development project. “Putting the last first” is indicative
of the initial agendas highlighting community participation as the most vital step in engaging development at
its core.

Before, community development was done with a deductive approach. This means that every
procedure, from planning until review was done by a central body that had all the power, to setting the agenda
and planning about the programs. Centralization would mean in some cases that there would be a more
efficient way in management by cutting down on the bureaucratic decision-making thereby making processes
more direct and easier. Opting this kind of process streamlining, however, is a case-by-case basis.

To work with stakeholders who are objective and predictable with their goals, such as shareholders in
a company whose motive is to gain profits, we can easily direct management goal toward lowering operational
costs and maximizing profit gain. Communities, as well as subgroups and other collectives, have varying
interests. Each group has more specific needs that may be different from other groups. This adds a level of
complexity not found in structures such as in companies.
 Participatory development deals with the empowerment through the decentralization of authority to
empower the grassroots by giving them the opportunity to be part of social change. The Asina Development
Bank (ADB), according to the report of Richard Ondrik title Participatory Approaches to National
Development Planning, cites specific nuances and processes on how to go about participatory development
based on its initial experiences in the Philippines and as well as other beneficiary countries. The report
pinpoints the most significant stakeholder groups that can be tapped for coordination and consultation.

Stakeholder Groups:
 General Public – those who are directly or indirectly affected by the project (women’s groups,
individuals and families,, indigenous groups, religious groups)
 Government – civil servants in ministries
 Representative Assemblies – elected government bodies (parliament, national and local
assemblies, district and municipal assemblies, elected community leaders)
 Civil Society Organizations – networks, national and international NGOs, grassroots
organizations, trade unions, policy development and research institutes, media, community-based
organizations
 Private Sector – umbrella groups representing groups within the private sector, professional
associations, chambers of commerce
 Donor and International Financial Institutions – resource providers and development partners

Aiding the stakeholders in their quest for community development, the ADB also has specified the
processes that are needed to be improved to better carry out development projects for the community.

 Decentralization of power and authority to the local government units.

 Cooperation with civil society organizations and non-government organizations.
 Harmonization of development policies and initiatives among government and development
partners.

The aforementioned points reinforce our assumptions on how development should be about the
renegotiation of power and empowering communities. Development in this line takes on a more aggressive
stance in fulfilling inclusive partnerships with the community. A more robust partnership will garner more
support from the collective as the sense of ownership on the projects takes root as they go about from
engagement and planning to execution and review.

The level of engagement created by the bottom-up approach is paramount in participatory

development. Aid agencies, local government units, and civil society organizations, while they are in the
process of bargaining with each other, have a hard time in synchronizing their acts together and understanding
each other’s view of what development is. Acknowledging the partnership between public, private, and the
community will be the next step in levelling the field and uplifting the lives of millions that are experiencing
inequalities worldwide. Interagency participation will effectively create avenues for synergistic cooperation
for development.
Lesson 3
Gender Equality

The protection of women’s rights and the fight for equity have long been uphill battle. Gender equity
has been a global issue as it traverses cultural, ethical, and historical differences among nations. From health,
education, and reproductive rights, the welfare of women should be included in proactive policy directions
and social acceptance. Protection of women’s rights should be a universal norm and the struggle for women
can only be reinforced with the proper education of people who understand and appreciate the concept of
protection as empowerment.

Global Struggle for Gender Equality

There are still thousands of women subjected daily to abuse, maltreatment, and women’s rights
deprivation, among other kinds of violence. Given the differences on state policy, culture, and norms, there
are states that have not internalized international norms such as human and women’s rights. Internalization of
cascaded norms from international organizations such as the United Nations can only be effective once states
have institutionalized such norms as local policies. For now, here is a rundown of all the issues regarding
women’s rights according to the UN Women, the UN’s arm that advances women’s rights and protection
globally.

Women’s Global Condition by the Numbers:

 It is estimated that 35% of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate
partner violence or sexual violence by a non-partner at some point in their lives. However, some
national studies show that up to 70% of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from
an intimate partner in their lifetime.
 Women who have been physically or sexually abused by there are more than twice as likely to have an
abortion, almost twice as likely to experience depression, and in some regions, 1.5 times more likely
to acquire HIV, as compared to women who have not experienced partner violence.
 Although little data is available – and great variation in how psychological violence is measured
across countries and cultures – existing evidence shows high prevalence rates. Forty-three percent of
women in the 28 European Union (EU) member states have experienced some form of psychological
violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
 It is estimated that of all women who were the victims of homicide globally in 2012, almost half were
killed by intimate partners or family members, compared to less than six percent of men killed in the
same year,
 In 2012, a study conducted in New Delhi found that 92% of women reported having experienced some
form of sexual violence in public spaces in their lifetime, and 88% of women reported having
experienced some form of verbal sexual harassment (including unwelcome comments of a sexual
nature, whistling, leering, or making obscene gestures) in their lifetime.
 Worldwide, more than 700 million women alive today were married as children (below 18 years of
age). Of those women, more than 1 in 3 – or some 250 million – were married before 15. Child brides
are often unable to effectively negotiate safe sex, leaving them vulnerable to early pregnancy as well
as sexually transmitted infections including HIV.
 Around 120 million girls worldwide (slightly more than 1 in 10) have experienced forced intercourse
or other forced sexual acts at some point in their lives. By far the most common perpetrators of sexual
violence against girls are current or former husbands, partners, or boyfriends.
 At least 200 million women and girls alive today have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting in
30 countries, according to new estimates published on the United Nation’s International Day of Zero
Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation in 2016. In most of these countries, the majority of girls were
cut before the age of 5.
 Adult women account for almost half of all human trafficking victims detected globally. Women and
girls together account for about 70%, with girls representing two out of every three child trafficking
victims.
 One in 10 women in the European Union reported having experienced cyber-harassment since the age
of 15 (including having received unwanted, offensive sexually explicit emails or SMS messages, or
 offensive, inappropriate advances on social networking sites). The risk is highest among young women
between 18 and 29 years of age.
 An estimated 246 million girls and boys experience school-related violence every year and one in four
girls say that they never feel comfortable using school latrines, according to a survey on youth
conducted across four regions. The extent and forms of school-related violence that girls and boys
experience differ, but evidence suggests that girls are the greater risk of sexual violence, harassment,
and exploitation. In addition to the resulting adverse psychological, sexual, and reproductive health
consequences, school-related gender-based violence is a major obstacle to universal schooling and
the right to education for girls.

The reasons behind the abuses stretch beyond states and encompass institutions. This is due to the
amalgamation of factors that stunt the emergence of norms within communities. To counter this, it is important
for community development practitioners be critical in factoring in issues that are firmly community-based.
Factors such as cultural differences, historical precedence, and differences in ethics should always be taken
into consideration before engaging and developing schemes to help the community. Through participatory
development, practitioners can crowdsource ideas that can aid current programs and develop new initiatives
while maintaining focus on coordination and partnerships with community leaders, civil society organizations,
and local government units.

Local Struggle for Gender Equality

The Philippines has been one of the most progressive countries in Asia that internalizes international
norms and bridges them to local policies, with focus on the protection of women’s rights and promotion of
their welfare. With the enactment of Republic Act 9262, or the Anti-Violence Against Women and their
Children Act of 2014, the government finally consolidated a policy that protects women and children from
abuses. The statute covers issues of physical, psychological, and economic abuses against women, as well as
the protection of children’s rights under the law. While it is one of the most important steps in advancing
women’s rights and welfare, our government needs more statutes to cover other needs of women, such as
equity in education and reproductive health.

Reproductive Health

Reproductive health was one of the biggest issues in Congress and in the public forum during the
deliberation of the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill which was introduced in the floor of Congress in 1988.
Several politicians, faith-based organizations, and pro-life advocates lobbied against the bill, basing their
arguments on the sanctity of life, effects of the promotion of contraceptives on the community, and their
alleged negative effects to women. Supporters of the bill said that the RH Bill supports the community by
making reproductive health equipment accessible to combat childbirth and pregnancy mortality, HIV/AIDS,
and unwanted pregnancies.

In spite of differing opinions from various sectors, the Congress was able to push for reproductive
rights with the enactment of Republic Act 10354, otherwise known as the Responsible Parenthood and
Reproductive Health Act of 2012.

By creating the law, the state mandated the improvement of access to reproductive health to millions
of Filipinos by the use of state funds to provide reproductive health services. Specifically, the law indicated
the importance of the protection of the women’s rights be defending the following:

a. The right of spouses to found a family in accordance with their religious convictions and the
demands of responsible parenthood;
b. The right of children to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, special protection from
all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their
development;
c. The right of the family to a family living wage and income; and
 d. The right of families or family associations to participate in the planning and implementation of
policies and programs.

Human Trafficking

Every year, thousands of women become victims of illegal trafficking or white slavery and other forms
of sexual exploitation, pornography, sex tourism, and forced labor. To implement the legal structure that
protects women in the status quo form these illicit activities, the government enacted R.A. 9208 (Anti-
Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003) and R.A. 10364 (Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012).

According to the law (R.A. 9208), it shall unlawful for any person to commit any of the following acts:
a. To recruit, transport, transfer; harbor, provide, or receive a person by any means, including those
done under the pretext of domestic or overseas employment or training or apprenticeship, for the
purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary
servitude, or debt bondage;
b. To introduce or match for money, profit, or material, economic or other consideration, any person
or, as provided for under Republic Act No. 6955 (Anti-Mail Order Bride Law), any Filipino
woman to a foreign national, for marriage for the purpose of acquiring, buying, offering, selling,
or trading him/her to engage in prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor,
slavery, involuntary servitude, or debt bondage;
c. To offer or contract marriage, real or simulated, for the purpose of acquiring, buying, offering,
selling, or trading them to engage in prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor
or slavery, involuntary servitude, or debt bondage;
d. To undertake or organize tours and travel plans consisting of tourism packages or activities for
the purpose of utilizing and offering persons for prostitution, pornography, or sexual exploitation;
e. To maintain or hire a person to engage in prostitution or pornography;
f. To adopt or facilitate the adoption of persons for the purpose of prostitution. Pornography, sexual
exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude, or debt bondage;
g. To recruit, hire, adopt, transport, or abduct a person, by means of threat or use of force, fraud,
deceit, violence, coercion, or intimidation for the purpose of removal or sale of organs of said
person; and
h. To recruit, transport, or adopt a child to engage in armed activities in the Philippines or abroad.

According to the state agency Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), in 2015 alone,
there were 198 successful rescue and entrapment operations, 430 rescued victims, and overall, led to the arrest
of 132 criminals. There were also 413 incidents of halted IACAT, with its core four-point strategic plan against
trafficking, has successfully protected the lives of thousands of women in the Philippines.

IACAT’s Strategic Plan:

 Prevention and Advocacy
 Protection, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration
 Prosecution and Law Enforcement
 Partnership and Networking

IACAT’s strategic plan employs interagency coordination from its line agencies alongside partnerships
and networking with CSOs and LGUs to streamline agencies to combat human trafficking. IACAT show how
coordination can help mitigate criminality through sustained efforts and planning.

Still, it may be said that there is much to be done to protect women’s rights, but it is pleasant to know
that the state is actively taking steps in decentralizing its power to empower communities and sustain its
initiatives. Together with local and international actors, it sets the agenda forward with the much-needed
support and momentum to make sure no one is left behind.
Unit VI
Methodologies and Approaches of Community Actions and Involvements

After we have traversed deep into understanding and studying the community, we have finally reached
the point where we have to learn the most important part of community scholarship, and this is research.

Lesson 1
Community Planning

Community Research Refresher

Research is the soul that binds theory into practice. The understanding of theory is vital in diving into
the study of the community.

Community researchers use most of the tools similar to those used in other fields of study under the
social sciences. The only obvious difference is in terms of variables being studied. Social scientists need a
different set of tools that will be useful in studying people and the different phenomena that exist.

Community Research Tools

1. Key Informant Interviews – Conducted by engaging people through a prepared set of questions
that highlight the necessary information to be acquired to answer the research question.
2. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) – Compared to interviews, FGDs need more participation by
people from specific groups that share common agenda or coming from the same background to
crowdsource much-needed information as reinforced by the group.
3. Participatory Observation/Field Research – A data-gathering method wherein the researcher
embeds himself or herself with his or her subjects for a specified length of time to observe and
gather data for research use.
4. Sampling/Surveys – Gathering of data samples through the use of a set of questionnaires to be
distributed to a specific or nonspecific subset of the population.
5. Secondary Data Analysis – The use of documents to gather data, such as related studies, policy
notes, news, journals, and books in articulating and supporting the ideas within a topic being
studied.

Kinds of Research

1. Exploratory Research – This is a kind of research where the study is aimed at exploring the
different variables of a topic where little or no prior work was done on the matter and therefore,
substantial time will be needed to fully incorporate concepts, factors, and variables.
2. Descriptive Research – This merely describes the topic at hand without digging deeper into the
concepts and theories underlying it.
3. Explanatory Research – This is focused on identifying conceptual and ideological links between
variables.
4. Policy Research – This strictly looks into secondary data analysis and documents that surround
the policy regarding agenda, effects, impact, and other correlated and causal factors.

As a researcher, you can use any of these methods to understand your subject community. It may be
intimidating at first, but this will guide you through the process.

Partnership with Local Groups and Community Leadership

You can start your research by engaging with your subject community. Start off with your homework
of getting to know your community by gathering the necessary information about it from firsthand or
secondary data sources available, such as the Internet, related books, news articles, and interviews. After your
data gathering, you now start building trust, which is a critical part of your community research. Building trust
with your community starts with yourself by observing the right values and ethics of community research.

Remember the three Cs of Community Research

 Clarity – Be clear with your intention and be sensitive to the mores, ethics, and values in the
community.
 Conviction – Internalize the purpose of your research and always consider the stakeholders as a
priority in your agenda.
 Collaboration – Be open to collaboration and partnerships as well as avenues for capacity-building
with actors.

Community Profiling (PESTEL Model)

You have had numerous activities in the preceding units that helped you learn more about your own
community which actually are already a part of community profiling. Now, you can use what you have learned
by getting the community profile in you actual study of your subject community.

Name of Community:

Population:

Community Type:

Main Economic Industry:

Identified Community Government Leaders:

Identified Community Nongovernment Leaders:

History of the Community:

 Mission Vision Initiatives/Projects

After knowing your community, understand it further by engaging the actors within the different
community sectors. While doing so, study the relationships between them and the current milieu of their
sectors alongside their importance in and contribution to the community. What is utilized here is called the
PESTEL, a tool that is used to identify and analyze the key drivers of change in the strategic or business
environment. PESTEL stands for political, economic, sociocultural, technological, environmental, and legal.
However, we are leaving legal behind to stick to what is readily accessible and understandable since it is
assumed that we are working with no legal expertise or counsel as of the moment.

Your task now is to map out institutional relations in your community by researching on who are
currently under each sector, as well as the status quo or current condition of relations. To cap it off, indicate
the lack of each sector in contributing to the community in the second box.

PESTEL Model

Sector Actors Sector Status

Political

Economic

Sociocultural
 Technological

Environmental

PESTEL Mapping
Political Economic Sociocultural Technological Environmental Personal Notes

Present Contributions

What is still needed to be done?

Community Needs Assessment

Community needs assessment is aimed at gathering accurate information representative of the needs
of a community. Being a specific tool, needs assessment is done in three phases: pre-assessment, assessment,
and action plan, which are used to identify the gaps within the community and why they are not attained.
Community researchers split the idea of community needs assessment into two very distinct categories:
extensive needs and intensive needs. Extensive needs pinpoint a broad perspective that deals with the current
conditions of the community and its operations and results. Intensive needs deal with the ranking of priorities
derived from the extensive needs.

The researcher must know both categories of needs to identify patterns within the community
dynamics. It is necessary to draw the most important characteristics and patterns of behavior first before
planning an established scheme to help out. This is the reason focus group discussions (FGDs) or interviews
are necessary to engage the community. This is a very important step that is overlooked by community leaders
and aid givers. Without knowing the community in a systematic way, projects lose its purpose because projects
that are planned without research and consultation will eventually lose track of the needs, wants, and priorities
of the stakeholders, thus a complete waste of resources. This is why a thorough needs assessment is important
to maximize the potential of each project.

SWOT analysis, force field analysis, and FGDs are important tools in drawing the picture/profile of
the community and fulfilling the gaps between its needs and wants and helping project planners plan
interventions in current social issues.
Focus Group Discussions/Key Informant Interview

Needs Wants

Institution and Actors Interviewed Possible Intervention

Government

Family

Economic

Educational

Religious
SWOT Analysis

Mapping Guide:

 Strengths – What are the standout characteristics of your community in political, economic,
sociocultural, technological, and environmental aspects?
 Weaknesses – What does your community lack or need in the status quo? It may include facets of
your community that you think need to be addressed or improved.
 Opportunities – Reviewing the different actors, you may include the different aspects of your
community that are ripe for intervention and aid to solve and counter the weaknesses you have
indicated.
 Threats – Understand the various threats that may jeopardize your community. You may include
broad concerns such as crime or poverty, or be more specific by mentioning actors or other issues
that may threaten your community.

Answer the following questions to come up with an analysis:

 How can your community’s strengths minimize the threats you have indicated?
 How can your community’s strengths maximize the opportunities you have indicated?
 How can your community minimize the weaknesses by utilizing the opportunities you have
indicated?
 How can your community minimize the weaknesses by avoiding the threats you have indicated?

SWOT Analysis
I Strengths Weaknesses
N
T
E
R
N
A
L
E Opportunities Threats
X
T
E
R
N
A
L
Force Field Analysis

Mapping Guide:
 Driving Forces – These are factors that drive positive change.
 Restraining Forces – These are factors that impede or are obstacles for positive change.
 Desired State – In your own opinion, what should the community, state, and individuals do to
contribute to the driving forces and overcome these restraints?

Driving Forces Restraining Forces

 Issue Ranking
Issue 1
Driving Force:
Restraining Force:
Desired Outcome:

Issue 2
Driving Force:
Restraining Force:
Desired Outcome:

Issue 3
Driving Force:
Restraining Force:
Desired Outcome:

Issue 4
Driving Force:
Restraining Force:
Desired Outcome:

Issue 5
Driving Force:
Restraining Force:
Desired Outcome:

Issue 6
Driving Force:
Restraining Force:
Desired Outcome:

Issue 7
Driving Force:
Restraining Force:
Desired Outcome:

Issue 8
Driving Force:
Restraining Force:
Desired Outcome:
Lesson 2
Community Operationalization

Resource Mobilization and Social Action

A community is composed of a lot of variables and it may seem too complex and hard to understand
for a student studying the community. Taking notes from social movements, resource mobilization is one of
the pillars of community understanding. Mobilization, as what we have previously discussed from several
lessons back, has two major components that support and create movements: people and resources. Simply
put, resource mobilization is the ability of the movement and its supporters to mobilize people and resources.

In here, we have used the following matrix as well as the SPOA (specific plan of action) matrix in
plotting out the dynamics of the community relative to the current situation in the community.

You can use the tools below to plot the relationship and the dynamics between actors all sectors in
your communities and how they do or do not deal with the situation at hand.

What are the problems Where do you think the How do you think the Why do you think it is
in your community? problems emanate from? actors can solve these important to solve this
(Problem) (Root Cause) problems? ongoing issue?
(Solution) (Impact)

Specific Plan of Action (SPOA) Template

 Projects – Specific programs or initiatives that you are going to implement. It can be specific
project or a series of activities toward one goal of solving a major problem.
 Time Frame – How long will you be implementing the project? Cite specific timelines.
 Specific Budget Breakdown – Allocate a budget for your project or how much you will need and
have a specific breakdown with justification on cost.
 Networks – Who will you tap to make your project a reality?
Project Name: __________________________

Projects Time Frame

Specific Budget Breakdown Networks

After implementing the project, it is necessary for community leaders to evaluate the impact of the
project to the community. Here, we will use the project impact evaluation matrix to plot out the efficacy of
the project relative to the community. Evaluation will have four main parts: input, output, outcome, and
impact. These are designed to simplify your evaluation of the project. For your final project, you will need
to choose at least three projects that you feel are essential for your community.

Project Impact Evaluation

Mapping Guide:
 Input – These are the resources used and tapped to carry out the community project (e.g., money,
time).
 Output – These are the projects implemented with the use of the resources tapped.
 Outcome – These are the benefits your stakeholders have gained from the project.
 Impact – These are the long-term benefits of the initiative.
 Recommendations – After assessing the project, recommend what specific action can be taken to
ensure that it will reach its full impact for its stakeholders. You may use an existing project or create
your own.

Input Output Outcome Impact

Recommendations
Unit VII
Community Action Initiatives: Field Practicum

Finally, you have come to this end. As a fitting end to your journey, you will learn how to employ
your knowledge and skills in a real-life setting by testing your research and creating your own community
action initiative. You will experience how it is to become a contributor to the communities.

It is time for you to break out of your shell and proceed with your journey to become a full-fledged
community builder. It is time to dream big; be creative in expressing yourselves in your project.

May this academic journey be your North Star as you aspire to reach your full potential. Remember
that your purpose is beyond your own; it is also for your fellow Filipinos. May you rediscover the essence of
becoming a Filipino.

Lesson 1
Partnership with Local Communities and
Preparation of the Community Action Plan

Putting It All Together: Final Research Project

Instructions: Choose a community to study as well as a possible local government unit or nongovernmental
organization to partner with. Think of an ongoing project that your local government unit or NGO partner is
currently implementing. The goal at the end of the paper is to come up with a recommendation to revise or
improve the project to serve the public better as proven by your data gathering, research tools, and analysis.

Format:
 Times New Roman
 Font Size 12
 Double-spaced
 1 inch on all margins
 Short bond paper

Requirements:
 To be passed in a sealed short brown envelope.

Parts:

Introduction – Community Profiling

o Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal (PESTEL) Model

Body – Community Needs Assessment

o Key Informant Interviews
o Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) Analysis
o Force Field Analysis
o Focus Group Discussion
o Specific Plan of Action (SPOA)
o Project Impact Evaluation

Conclusion and Recommendation

Six-Step Community Action Plan

Step 1. Study the Community (PESTEL Model).

Not all who study communities are part of their subjects. There are community scholars who help
communities that need support. There are those who volunteer to change the current state of affairs of their
community. So it is important to know or research about the community. This will help you learn if there are
issues that must be addressed. Always remember: Never limit yourself seeing things at face value for there
are critical links that need to be uncovered or rediscovered. Conduct historical data analysis or participatory
observation. Being involved will be essential in your study, as this will give you a firsthand look on how things
are done in the community.

You can start your community study by considering secondhand data sources such as books or the
Internet. Always be critical in the mores and virtues of the community. It is a grave error for the for first-time
community scholars to ignore the norm of the communities that they choose to immerse in. Always remember
that not all people see the world just as you do. Respect the community and its traditions and customs. This
will be vital in creating a culture of trust between you and your subject. Opting to be an outsider will not help
you gain substantial information about the subject you are studying. Do not fail to also see it as they do. Having
a one-dimensional understanding of your environment and your topic will leave you blind of realities that
exist outside your standard perception. This blind spot normally does exist with new researchers and thus, you
should anticipate such pitfalls.

When doing your final research, it is best to have a copy of all your communications as proof and for
your protection, if the need arises. Do not be scared in creating bridges with organizations. In making the
people the center of your research, you are also helping them discover other things that they themselves may
have overlooked. Using the PESTEL model demands work significantly on the side of qualitative research.
Your main goals is to describe the current status quo and compartmentalize these in such categories that are
easier for researchers to understand or to either decouple or correlate. This is the primary baseline of your
study in which you will base your big picture perspectives. Finally, it is nothing wrong in gathering data from
other sources, it is best to get information from the community managers or members themselves.

Step 2. Map out the community (Community Needs Assessment).

Mapping out the community requires a keen eye to observe the relationships of the members of the
community. The dynamics that will be created in mapping will be indispensable in your objectives.
Understanding the inherent dynamics between actors can be a source of inspiration in creating venues for new
opportunities. What this initial process can do is to show you what the actors are in the community at large.
Knowing whom to tap, influence, or partner with will prevent you or your group in going around in circles
and not fulfilling any task.

Start by familiarizing yourself with the organizational and personnel charts of the organization you are
researching. Look not only for the ones with the highest rank but also for those who are most hands-on or
more involved. In most cases, you will be surprised that the levels of involvement in these organizations differ
among officials or members; therefore, experiences and perspectives may vary. As a researcher, your role is
to synthesize gathered data into a body of analysis that cuts through the totality of subject that either proves
or disproves certain misconceptions or ideations in the bigger scheme of things.

By mapping the community and its actors, you will see the power relations that you need to tap and
the linkages that you need to create for the initial network or partnerships. Also keep in mind that a community
already has established networks and institutions. You may not need to create a new network; otherwise, you
will be redundant or irrelevant in the first place. What you will rather do is to consult your network map first
and see where you can intervene or help. Before any kind of engagement, you or your group must know the
power relations within the community as well as the actors, institutions, or influential groups that can help in
your projects.
 Your community needs assessment toll will lay out your findings thoroughly. Use this in differentiating
the specific needs and wants of your community. Again, remember that your needs and wants differ from
those of the subjects you are studying. Expand your worldview to see a unique perspective altogether. You
may also have your group huddle throughout your study to streamline your definitions and understanding of
new findings and concepts. This will help you, especially in writing down your research.

Step 3. Engage the stakeholders (Key Informant Interview/Focus Group Discussion).

The only way to know the community is to engage it firsthand. You can set up a key informant
interview or even a focus group discussion (FGD) to deepen your understanding of the community. When
dealing with officers or leaders, a key informant interview is most preferable since it is highly probable that
they hectic schedules and may prefer a secluded setting for privacy or even discretion. On the other hand, an
FGD is better when targeting community members that share common experiences but may have other ways
in interpreting issues or giving insights. Assimilating opinions from various sources into one group gives the
study firsthand experiences of members of the community that will highly influence the initial findings by
either reinforcing, recalibrating, or completely debunking the first notions created in the research. Since not
everyone sees one thing the same way, the FGD, being set in group dynamic, will create a consensus which
is valuable to the study.

Prior to the interview, prepare your questions and the possible follow-up questions. Remember to draft
your questions with political sensitivity in mind. Be careful with the use of words and labels that may offend
your resource person. Observes objectivity during the interview to avoid leading questions and tainting the
interview session with your own personal biases.

By engaging the stakeholders, community developers and scholars can peek into a world that can only
be understood and felt by the stakeholders themselves. As an outsider looking in, you will gain substantial
realizations from the group discussions that can never be done in a one-on-one interview. FDGs have long
been the method of choice for many community leaders, as they see in these discussions the importance of
communal participation in creating projects. It will be best to record these conversations so that it will be
easier to analyze later. Choose a conducive location for the interview to lessen background noise and improve
sound quality for your recording, and to also not miss vital inputs.

The right kind of engagement is vital, as well as collaboration between all stakeholders and actors, in
creating projects that matter to the community. as scholars, you should be sensitive to the needs of the
community and hear what the members must say because at the end of the day, they are the ones who would
benefit in every effort that is geared to achieve a better quality of life.

Step 4. Plot the community needs (SWOT and Force Field Analyses).

While FGDs give the researcher important input on the topics relevant to the community, plotting the
needs of the community develops the opinions and views of the people into workable models that can be acted
on and solved with political will. Tools such as the SWOT and the force field analyses are valuable in actuating
the community’s needs. The challenge in plotting the needs falls into the researcher’s ability to stitch stories
together and see the bigger picture of the community. The SWOT analysis will help in pinpointing specific
gaps for intervention that aids in mobilization planning.

What is essential when dealing with the SWOT analysis is to clarify the variables you are inputting.
Having a more specific or targeted data will make your analysis more direct and pragmatic. Abstract claims
or variables may also play a part but these are hard to measure or quantify, thus lacking the substance you
need when using the SWOT analysis. To use it effectively, always go back to the guide questions and back up
you claims with data gathered through the prior models and tools used.
 Force field analysis emphasizes on the varying relational dynamics as well as the current situation on
the status quo to draw out the central forces that counter change or reinforce development. Contrasting with
the SWOT analysis, the force field analysis may have more abstract observations about the community
because it studies the community with a larger lens or scope. It will include cultural, behavioral, or normative
assumptions that may play a role in the dynamics being analyzed.

Using both the SWOT and force field analyses can help the researcher gather important narratives that
can be utilized in making a specific plan for community action initiatives. The needs of the community are
often neglected in the process of community-action initiatives. Most of the time, people’s voices are not heard,
or worse, they are not even allowed to take part in the discussion. Community leaders should always hear both
sides of every story and try to keep abreast of latest developments. Using the SWOT and force field analyses
in tandem will get you a deeper and more holistic take on the issue and thus create more viable solutions.

Step 5. Mobilize the project (SPOA).

A specific plan of action (SPOA) should be used to concretize the plans into working models or
improvement tasks. More than being a guide for future projects, the SPOA is a tool that can be used to track
and validate current projects. When using the tool, you will know if there are inconsistencies in the plan or
priority areas that are left in the process of planning.

Your role as researcher is to uncover current roadblocks and assess how to solve them. The tools
presented here are like those that are in the field. Working with a real-life case will help you see realities that
you may have not known existed prior to taking this course. Through the SPOA, you are expected to break
down your chosen project into details, such as the budget, step-by-step activities, network, and time frame.
Using this model demands discipline to deal with all the numerous factors and simplify complex variables to
arrive at a working plan that is implementable.

Coordination of the plans with the time frame and allocated budget challenges the practitioner to
balance the necessary and the dispensable. Ideal plans normally are the ones that do not pass the acid test of
the SPOA. Unrealistic solutions may look great on paper but will not do much good in application. As a
community builder, it is not bad to dream up grand schemes to fight world hunger or stop war, but always
consider that everything starts out small. All dreams start off as a grain of idea that was cast and has slowly
taken root. Your initiative for the community may also be as small at first, but with focus and determination,
you too can make your grand dreams for your community come to life. When you pursue a dream, be prepared
for any adversity and act with courage. Remember that you should do things not for your own gain but for the
betterment of your fellow men. Some problems can be solved by simple processes but it takes imagination
and foresight form leaders to create solutions that hold value through time.

Step 6. Evaluate and document the process (Project Impact Evaluation).

Finally, we have evaluation and documentation. This may be the last but should not be overlooked.
First, evaluation’s importance in the process is immense. It is in evaluation that we can look in front of the
mirror and see what is missing. By considering who we are and what we have done, then we can truly plan
our next move. It is only in our acceptance that we can see what can do about our next endeavor or our future.

The project impact evaluation template will lead you to the inner workings of communities,
institutions, agencies, and in practice; and how projects should be scrutinized and improved through this tool
for self-evaluation.

Remember that in your final project, you are expected to create your own analysis and improve a
current initiative or initiative of a local government or NGO of your choice. You are free to choose the concern
you want to address you want to address and the improvements on the project you wish to implement. Make
your variables and intentions clear to make your conceptual models, arguments, and analysis more precise.
To have definitive proof of your work, measure your results by recording, tallying, and documenting
everything during the implementation. You may first use dummy numbers to draw a projection of impact if
you are on the proposal stage. But once the projects starts, all data should be duly recorded and analyze as
benchmark and for future troubleshooting and calibration.

Through proper documentation, we can fully encapsulate the story behind every initiative that has
impact in the community. As the last step, the process of evaluation and documentation ensures the continuity
and relevance of the project. Even if a project is successful, there will always be another way to improve and
scale the project to help more people and gain more insights.
Lesson 2
Experiences in Community Engagement,
Solidarity, and Citizenship-Building

Community Development in the Philippines

The spirit of community development in the Philippines is a tale of grassroots collaboration that taps
personalities, agencies, and institutions to aid in the government’s efforts to serve the people. The role of these
actors is irreplaceable in terms of their real impact to communities across the Philippines and their stories
represent the flame of hope that burns within community builders as well as ignite the passion to volunteer.

In this lesson, we will focus on the stories of the three best local NGOs in the Philippines that are in
the frontlines of their chosen advocacies: poverty reduction, environmental protection, and women’s rights.

Gawad Kalinga (Poverty Reduction)

One of the most awarded and well-known NGOs in the Philippines, Gawad Kalinga (GK) has left a
footprint that future community builders dream to emulate. With a name that translates into “to give care,”
GK’s primary advocacy and goal is to support communities with housing and anti-poverty programs through
the efforts of volunteers and donors. GK’s history stretches back from 1994 where the initial phases of the
concept were incubated. However, it was only in 2003 when GK was formally established with its GK expo
aptly named GK777, with the goal to build 7,000,000 houses in 7,000 communities in 7 years. Currently, its
mission is to end the poverty of 5 million Filipinos by 2024 through its expanding initiatives and also has
extended its reach internationally with presence in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Cambodia. GK
envisions building a nation empowered by people with faith and patriotism; a nation made up of caring and
sharing communities dedicated to eradicate poverty and restore human dignity.

GK’s own paradigm sees the importance of targeting poverty by breaking the negative social
reinforcements that perpetuate the very idea of poverty in both material and non-material forms such as
spiritual and mental aspects. More so, GK believes that to defeat poverty, there should be a concerted effort
to create an enabling environment to empower everyone within the community. To sustain this, GK puts
importance to values formation and presence that it sees are keys for continued progress and development,
which composes the core of its organizational philosophy.

The model that GK uses at present has evolved through the years as it continues to discover innovative
ways on how to improve and best reach out to the population. The GK model has two primary ideals: padugo,
which literally translated into “bloodletting,” and bayanihan, roughly translated into “being heroes toward one
another.” These two concepts come together to illustrate a community that is grounded on collective
participation and accountability.

GK has now expanded its scope as it has also included social business in its growth model, as well as
a plan to mainstream anti-poverty initiatives through creating a movement to call on volunteers to join their
advocacy for transformational change. Aside from being the premier community builder in the Philippines,
GK also has now included peace-building initiatives and disaster response and reduction in its advocacy that
evolves and slowly expands toward further inclusiveness. GK and its Chairman, Antonio Meloto, were
bestowed one of Asia’s most prestigious awards, the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership,
for their work on poverty reduction in the Philippines.

Haribon Foundation (Environment)

The Haribon Foundation has long since been the primary NGO for nature conservation in the
Philippines. Founded in 1972, its main vision to transform everyone into biodiversity champions and its
mission is to advocate biodiversity conservation through building constituencies, empowering communities,
and applying multidisciplinary research. The inspiration of the name was derived from the Philippine Eagle
or haring ibon, which directly translates into “king eagle” in English.
 Haribon Foundation’s strategy revolves around four central goals, namely, conserving sites and
habitats, saving species, encouraging stability, and empowering the people. It is well known that Haribon has
had extensive experience in its community efforts and has since created a multisectoral model that has had a
good track record based on their numerous successful and sustainable engagements through the years.

Haribon Foundation’s core initiatives:

 Conserving sites and habitats – The restoration of greening/planting projects, restoring of mangrove
forests, improving coastal management, among other projects in partnership with companies and
private individuals.
 Saving species – The conservation of endangered animals and marine life.
 Encouraging sustainability – Linking with the community and society groups in creating awareness to
encourage sustainability and secure the welfare of already established protected areas.
 Empowering people – Training and educating the citizenry and mainstreaming its environmental
initiative.

Visayan Forum (Women’s Rights)

Instituted in 1991, Visayan Forum Foundation, Inc. (VF) is one of the most highly recognized NGOs
in the Philippines whose primary objective is to stop modern-day slavery and trafficking. Having been one of
the pioneer NGOs in the 1990s, VF is well-credited for its 200 strong partnerships in both local and
international civil society organizations and other nongovernment actors. VF has also been known in effective
use of its networks to help victims of abuses by providing much-needed support and services. VF is also active
in disseminating public information regarding the dangers of human trafficking and modern-day slavery,
creating community-based programs, and mobilization of interventions and efforts for the promotion of
women’s protection against abuses.

VF’s mission is to innovate lasting solutions to end exploitation and modern-day slavery while it
envisions a society where people are free, protected, and empowered to explore opportunities without the risk
of exploitation and slavery. Operationalizing these are its five-core concepts that empower the organization to
push toward the complete eradication of exploitation against women. VF’s five core values are: first, human
transformation, compassion, and respect and dignity; second, social entrepreneurship and innovation; third,
professionalism, excellence, accountability, and transparency; fourth, courage and resiliency; and finally,
teamwork and volunteerism.