“The full human potential, once achieved, may well be the highest achievement of every public servant. Every person, every family, deserves a comfortable life. By achieving this in the individual and household levels, we also increase our chance at sustained growth and resilience.”
HEALTH & SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Strongly anchored on the legislative agenda of those who served before him (his grandfather, Raul, and father, Paul), Representative Niko Raul S. Daza believes that for a country to progress and reach its highest potential, it must always prioritize the health and wellness of its citizens.
Indeed, health is wealth. From the individual’s health to that of the whole community, it is the most important asset that is at the heart of the agenda of the Daza family, now being carried by Niko. “The full human potential, once achieved, may well be the highest achievement of every public servant. Every person, every family, deserves a comfortable life. By achieving this in the individual and household levels, we also increase our chance at sustained growth and resilience,” Niko shares.
However, it is often easier said than done. It is quite complex because a nation that has limited resources will find it challenging to allocate enough resources for equally important needs of the Filipino people, not the least of them is healthcare.
Therefore, the legislative agenda of Rep. Niko Daza considers such challenges, contributing to the discourses on sustainable development. For example, at the heart of his agenda and advocacies is universal health care (UHC)—a pillar of healthcare development and system.
UHC is a continuing challenge but for Niko and the Dazas, every small step counts. Stronger primary health care and referral systems are just some of the foundational requirements for UHC.
Alongside health, a country’s social welfare and development agenda should also be anchored on a long-term perspective. Emergency and interim aid programs are important but the highest imperative is to reach a point where aid (ayuda) is no longer necessary or only needed during crisis and emergency situations. Clearly, the interlocking health and social welfare and development requirements call for a united and strategic action, and this is where Rep. Niko Daza strives to contribute more in terms of legislation, particularly in the following areas:
Universal health care
Children’s, youth’s, and women’s rights and welfare
Anti-poverty interventions through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)
EDUCATION & EMPLOYMENT
Families, societies, and governments make huge investments in education because it is not only a way out of poverty, it is also the foundation for self-actualization. Self-actualization is usually appreciated as the full realization of one’s creative, intellectual, and social potential through internal drive against the concepts of, for, example, external rewards like money, status, or power (Selva, 2017).
Education allows every person a sense of fulfilment. Education, as a part of learning, paves the way for better access to opportunities and employment.
However, education also comes with responsibility: it motivates every person to make a difference in the lives of others.
Based on a study in 2017, only 23% of Filipinos graduate in college (Business Mirror, 2017). That’s quite a low number but in the bigger scheme of things, it is still significant. For example, in Bangladesh, the rate is only 1.9% in 2019 (World Bank, 2019). In Indonesia, it is only 9% in 2016 (Dilas, 2019).
While it is still a long way to go for the Philippines, at 23%, the future prospect is good especially with the enactment of The Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (RA 10931). The implementation of the law is not without its accompanying problems but, clearly, this is a big step already. In fact, the Philippines is just one among 39 countries with free college education (World Population Review, 2023). That’s just 20% of all countries in the world. These statistics are not mere numbers. They show how much importance is being given to education while demonstrating the challenges that families and societies have to undergo in order to attain it.
Indeed, education is the best equalizer in life; everyone can aspire for it, rich or poor, as long as there is determination and eagerness to dream big. Meanwhile, there is a need for reforms in the employment sector. For example, effective job-matching as well as reforms in the licensure examinations are critical if the Philippines is to achieve a more sustainable and resilient future. The job is not done when students graduate. They need to find employment and opportunities.
Through legislation and engagement with relevant agencies, Rep. Niko Daza works for the following:
improvement of access to tertiary education through better and more focused interventions such as scholarship programs;
improvement of job-matching through more focused research and data mining and collaboration between universities, and technical and vocational schools and industries; and
review and reforms in the country’s licensure systems, allowing more inclusion in employment and practice of professions
“Families, societies, and governments make huge investments in education because it is not only a way out of poverty, it is also the foundation for self-actualization.
However, education also comes with responsibility: it motivates every person to make a difference in the lives of others.”
“Good governance—in both local and national levels—requires adherence to positive values, which are the foundation of a peaceful, progressive, and resilient society.”
GOOD GOVERNANCE & TRANSPARENCY
As a son of a former governor of Northern Samar, Rep. Niko Daza has seen and strongly believes in the important role of local government units (LGUs) in addressing poverty and attaining sustainable development. Good governance—in both local and national levels—requires adherence to positive values, which are the foundation of a peaceful, progressive, and resilient society.
However, all these are just words. In the operational level, there is an expectation for strategic planning, effective budgeting, and prudent spending. As a graduate of BS in Accounting degree (and currently pursuing MS in Financial Technology), Rep. Niko pushes for reforms in the national budget process particularly proposing more inclusion and transparency in the development of the National Expenditure Program (NEP) and the crafting of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB).
Beginning in Northern Samar (and hopefully cascading in the region and the rest of the country), he is also pushing for more strategic efforts in increasing employment and livelihood opportunities. Local communities, for example, can do this through stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors such as in sustainable tourism, enterprise development, and skills and capacity building.
Moreover, Rep. Niko also pushes for improvement in the planning and reporting of LGUs. LGUs are required to submit several reports and plans that oftentimes, there is not much left time to do the actual work given the very short term (three years) of LGU executives such as mayors and governors. For example, LGUs are required to submit the following plans: Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP), Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP), Local Development Investment Program (LDIP), and Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP). All these could actually be merged into a single comprehensive plan, with specific sections updated earlier than others.
Through legislation and collaboration with stakeholders, Rep. Niko Daza contributes in the following reforms:
ensuring more inclusion and transparency in the national budget process
supporting local governments in forging partnerships between public and private sectors particularly in increasing employment and opportunities
improving efficiency, thereby increasing productivity, in LGUs through more targeted and efficient planning and reporting systems
ICT & INFRASTRUCTURE
Coming from the Visayas region—where many communities are located in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas—Rep. Niko Daza works with relevant organizations to help improve access to the internet. Internet access is not just about social media; internet access is about democratizing access to information, knowledge, and opportunities. In a World Bank study, it was estimated that every 10% increase in broadband connectivity leads to about 1.38% increase in gross domestic product (World Bank as cited in Gamboa, 2018).
Along with access to education, access to technology and the digital highway, is the only way toward a sustainable and resilient future. In fact, education, as we see it now, is better facilitated by advances in information and communications technology. However, in order to realize meaningful results, we need to look at the current challenges and bottlenecks. The following are just some of them:
Lack of infrastructure and high capitalization cost – the Philippines is an archipelagic nation and the challenge of connecting the islands both physically and digitally entail cost;
Policy disconnect – it is now the age of world wide web and space technology yet our ICT sector is still governed by analog and antiquated policies (e.g., 1931 Radio Control Law, 1936 Public Service Act, etc.);
Lack of continuity and political will – the government has brilliant plants but the “doing” part needs better work; it’s also getting more complicated because for every change in administration, there is a corresponding change in people, delay in implementation, differences in strategic frameworks, and sometimes, misprioritization; and
Lack of support in enhancing skills and talents – the country needs to further advance ICT professionals’ skills instead of mainly relying on outsourcing business model; we have great talents in software and app development but we need to “up our game” in innovation, ownership, and even manufacturing.
There is also a need to link ICT with challenges in climate change and food security. Our farmers, fisherfolks, and environmental managers can benefit so much from advanced technologies and applications.
Along with reforms in the ICT sector, Rep. Niko Daza also pushes for enhanced legislation and interventions in public infrastructure particularly roads, irrigation, and ports. In Northern Samar, where there is a high potential for agriculture , fisheries, and tourism, there is an urgent need in improving facilities and infrastructure such as irrigation, farm-to-market roads, bus/PUV terminals, and seaports.
Image by Ruel del Jamorol /Unsplash
“Internet access is not just about social media; internet access is about democratizing access to information, knowledge, and opportunities.”
Image by Dileesh Kumar /Unsplash
“Environmental planning—as part of good governance—at both the local and regional levels must be strengthened.”
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE
The challenges of climate change requires science-informed decision-making.
Such decision-making includes the ways through which the government analyzes, preempts, and manages extreme events. Northern Samar, in particular, is among the most vulnerable places in the world. The Philippines’ economic losses from extreme events and disasters were estimated at about P463 billion in 10 years, from 2010 to 2019 (PSA, as cited in Ordinario, 2020).
With the agriculture sector experiencing the highest cost of damage, at roughly 63%, it is indeed necessary that the government takes more serious steps in enhancing our systems and technologies in understanding weather and climate patterns and their impact on our capacity to produce food. Clearly, attaining food security is among the most important challenges right now.
Northern Samar has suffered over the years from poverty and underdevelopment. This is aggravated by extreme climate-related events and natural disasters such as typhoons, landslides, and flooding. Rep. Niko Daza then pushes for a deeper understanding of provinces’ and regions’ ecosystems, assets/resources, and vulnerabilities. Relevant agencies are certainly doing their share but on the policy side, there is still a room for more coherence and re-engineering.
Rep. Niko Daza believes that many provinces—including Northern Samar are ripe for growth—with their skilled and motivated talent pool, business environment, infrastructure, and lower cost of living. However, economic gains must never sacrifice our ecosystems. Environmental planning—as part of good governance—at both the local and regional levels must be strengthened. His proposed legislation and efforts focuses on the following:
further strengthening and institutionalization/rationalization of climate action planning
promoting Northern Samar as an emerging eco-tourism area as well as education and convention hub
review of environment-related legislation and help ensure amendments /repeal (if and when necessary)