Philippines overview

Template J Content Blocks

In this Image IPA enumerators travel in the field for an IPA study in the Philippines. © 2022 IPA Philippines.

Features Section Title
Research Findings

Features Repeater
Repeater Media Image
Image
Innovations for Poverty Action logo in white and green on black background, without word-mark

Repeater Feature Title
Impacts of Judicial Reform in Criminal Case Procedures on Court Congestion in the Philippines

Repeater Content Feature

The Supreme Court of the Philippines has introduced several reforms to address the longstanding issues of high volume of pending cases and severe delays in case disposition, which consequently deny citizens the ability to access swift and fair justice. A key reform is the Revised Guidelines for Continuous Trial of Criminal Cases (CT), which aims to expedite trials and resolutions by imposing strict timelines on existing rules for court action and introducing best practices for speedy disposition of criminal cases. Researchers assessed the effect of CT on court efficiency by comparing changes in outcomes two years before and two years after the implementation of the reform. They found that while the reform increased court efficiency, it did not significantly reduce backlog.

Read More
Repeater Media Image
Image
Innovations for Poverty Action logo in white and green on black background, without word-mark

Repeater Feature Title
Monitoring Digital Financial Payments of Cash Transfers in the Philippines

Repeater Content Feature

Digital payments offer a fast and transparent way to distribute cash aid to households that have been economically hard hit by the pandemic. In the Philippines, researchers conducted a survey to learn about the experience of recipients of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP), an emergency cash transfer program implemented by the government. Results revealed that recipients were highly satisfied with their withdrawal experience of digital cash transfers, however, account awareness and use among recipients remained low.

Read More

Repeater Feature Title
The Impact of Productive Assets and Training on Child Labor in the Philippines

Repeater Content Feature

Around the world, 152 million children are engaged in child labor, and in the Philippines many of the children working illegally are in occupations that pose a threat to their health and safety. Because poverty is considered to be the root cause of child labor, policymakers have aimed to reduce child labor by improving the economic welfare of poor households that are using or vulnerable to using child labor. In the Philippines, an IPA research team worked with the government to test whether providing poor households with a one-time productive asset transfer equivalent to US$518, along with a short business training, improved economic well-being and reduced in child labor. Preliminary results indicate that the program increased household business activity, food security, and some measures of child welfare, but it also led to a modest increase in child labor from family-based economic activities, specifically for children who had not worked before.  

Read More

Policy Impact

3 Column Repeater

Education

Subtext

IPA Philippines has a longstanding partnership with the Department of Education to promote the use of evidence. We support the evaluation of education programs, provide training on monitoring and evaluation, co-organize events to inform policy, and more. 

 

Learn More

Social Protection

Subtext

IPA Philippines works with the Department of Social Welfare and Development to assess the impact of various social programs. Recently, IPA Philippines monitored and supported the government's emergency cash assistance program implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

 

Learn More

Consumer Protection

Subtext

IPA supports Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to improve the user experience of their financial consumer complaints chatbot and develop ways to categorize consumer chat text to identify trends and concerns within the more than one million chat messages received to date.

Learn More
In this image:A photo of the IPA Philippines team. © 2022 IPA Philippines
Philippines

Our Team

Philippines

Our Team

Country Director

Aftab Opel

Aftab is currently the Country Director of IPA Philippines and Bangladesh Country Programs. Aftab has nearly three decades of experience in the development sector working on the implementation and evaluation of programs in the areas of social and economic development across Asia.

Read Full Bio

Research Associate

Ana Cruz

Ana Christina Cruz is a Research Associate working on the Housing Microfinance and Climate Resilience in the Philippines project.

Read Full Bio

Research Associate

Eduardo Darriba Velado

Eduardo Darriba Velado is a Research Associate working on different projects aimed at reducing violent extremism in the Southern Philippines.

Read Full Bio

Senior Research Associate

Emma Davies

Emma Davies is a Senior Research Associate working primarily on the Philippines Panel Study.

Read Full Bio

Research Associate

Aubrey Jolex

Aubrey Jolex is a Research Associate working on the Philippines Panel Study.

Read Full Bio

Research Manager, Philippines

Yuna Liang

“IPA's culture is quite progressive. We value diversity. We have people from different countries and religious backgrounds. We all work well together.”

Read Full Bio

Policy and Project Development Manager

Tara Marwah

Tara Marwah is a Policy and Project Development Manager with IPA Philippines, promoting evidence-informed policy and engaging with external stakeholders to grow new partnerships.

Read Full Bio

Finance Manager

Christina Masalonga

Christina Masalonga leads IPA Philippines' Finance and Accounting support team in the preparation and analysis of financial reports and forecast financial positions.

Read Full Bio

Peter Srouji

Peter Srouji is IPA's Associate Director of Program Development and is currently serving as Acting Country Director for IPA Philippines. He previously served as Deputy Country Director for IPA Philippines.

Read Full Bio

Country Director

Aftab Opel

Aftab is currently the Country Director of IPA Philippines and Bangladesh Country Programs. Aftab has nearly three decades of experience in the development sector working on the implementation and evaluation of programs in the areas of social and economic development across Asia.

Read Full Bio

Research Associate

Ana Cruz

Ana Christina Cruz is a Research Associate working on the Housing Microfinance and Climate Resilience in the Philippines project.

Read Full Bio

Research Associate

Eduardo Darriba Velado

Eduardo Darriba Velado is a Research Associate working on different projects aimed at reducing violent extremism in the Southern Philippines.

Read Full Bio

Senior Research Associate

Emma Davies

Emma Davies is a Senior Research Associate working primarily on the Philippines Panel Study.

Read Full Bio

Research Associate

Aubrey Jolex

Aubrey Jolex is a Research Associate working on the Philippines Panel Study.

Read Full Bio

Research Manager, Philippines

Yuna Liang

“IPA's culture is quite progressive. We value diversity. We have people from different countries and religious backgrounds. We all work well together.”

Read Full Bio

Policy and Project Development Manager

Tara Marwah

Tara Marwah is a Policy and Project Development Manager with IPA Philippines, promoting evidence-informed policy and engaging with external stakeholders to grow new partnerships.

Read Full Bio

Finance Manager

Christina Masalonga

Christina Masalonga leads IPA Philippines' Finance and Accounting support team in the preparation and analysis of financial reports and forecast financial positions.

Read Full Bio

Peter Srouji

Peter Srouji is IPA's Associate Director of Program Development and is currently serving as Acting Country Director for IPA Philippines. He previously served as Deputy Country Director for IPA Philippines.

Read Full Bio