POPULATION
An understanding of the growth and composition of Pateros’ population is basic to the formulation of the Pateros Comprehensive Land use Plan. Demographic analysis includes an evaluation of historic trends in population change within the locality, as well as an examination of the detailed characteristics of the town's household base. The following demographic analysis is presented in two parts, population trends and selected population characteristics.

Population Trends
Based on the 1995 census (the latest available), Pateros has a population of 55,286. This represented an increase of 7.54% from the last census in 1990. This makes for an annual growth rate of 1.46% which is lower than those of the National Capital Region (NCR) and the neighbor town Taguig but higher than neighbors Makati and Pasig. Trends from 1903 to 1995 shows Pateros experiencing rapid population growth from 1960 to 1990.

Barangay Sta. Ana composed the largest share of population with 40% while Sto Rosario-Kanluran and Aguho follows with 12% and 10%, respectively. Barangay Magtanggol has the lowest population share with 3%.

The growth rate, however, is on a decelerating trend. Based on the planning team’s analysis, the population growth rate will be around 0.67% by 2011. Projected population in 2000 is around 58,855 and in 2011 it will be about 64,811. Part of the explanation was that Pateros’ neighbor Taguig has been growing rapidly which probably absorbed would-be migrants to Pateros.

Population Characteristics

Age Group Composition and Sex Ratio

Females outnumber males in Pateros in 1995 with a ratio of 1: 0.94. Looking at the shape of the age-sex pyramid of the town, it is apparent that the town has a slowing growth trend since it is not a straight cone type (an indication of fast population growth). The age group in the 35 years old below predominates the population. By this time (2000) the pyramid shape would be straighter given the declining growth rate and the increasing longevity of the residents.

Mother Tongue of Population

The mother tongue of the population suggests the ethnic background of the residents of the population. It could have implications in the culture and social aspects of the town. In the case of Pateros, around 85% of the total population are of Tagalog origin while other substantial number includes Waray, Bicol, Cebuano and Ilocano.

Density

Pateros is among the most congested areas in NCR because of its small size and large population base. It has a density much greater than NCR and its neighbors. Barangays Aguho, Poblacion and the Sto. Rosario-Kanluran have the highest densities while Barangays Magtanggol and Sto. Rosario-Silangan have the lowest densities.

Migration Pattern

Based on 1990 census of residents who are five years old about 15% came from outside the municipality. This was technically in-migration volume, which was slightly lower than the NCR proportionally. Most of them were from outside provinces and majority were women. This trend was similar with NCR but the proportions were lower than those of the latter. For example NCR has far greater percentage of women in-migrants. Out-migration on the other hand, were computed as the difference of residents who came from the same municipality and the estimated population of 1985 (not a census year) with deductions on the number of deaths during the period. Getting the net migration revealed that Pateros is an out-migration area when compared to the rest of NCR. This was about 4 persons per 1,000 population.

Population Issues

Congestion

Given the density figures, Pateros can be considered as a congested place that will present enormous challenges to the local officials in terms of maintaining a pleasant place to live and provision of basic facilities;

Growing Population

Despite the fact that population growth has decelerated in terms of growth rate and that Pateros is a net out-migration area, population will still increase which has implications in the provision, design, and number of basic urban facilities and services;

Graying of population

While not a problem in the near future, the age composition of local residents is revealing a trend towards the increasing numbers of old residents as growth rate decreases which the locality must be ready to confront in terms tailor-fit facilities and services.

Housing Characteristics

The housing characteristics describe the trends, structure and future estimates of requirements. It would have implications in the design of other urban facilities and the spatial pattern of development of the town.

Number of Household and Average Household Size

Per 1995 census Pateros has a total of 11,377 households which was an increase of 16% from 1990’s 9,808. This increase was lower than NCR’s which posted a 26% increase in number of household formed during the period. Sta Ana has almost two-fifths of the total number while Sto Rosario-Kanluran and Aguho follows with about one-tenth each. Average household size (AHS) is 4.86 which is higher than the NCR, and the neighboring towns. However, Pateros’ AHS has declined from 1990’s 5.24 – a 7% decrease. Barangay San Roque has the highest AHS with 5.41 followed by Martires Del 96. Barangay Tabacalera, on the other hand, has the smallest AHS.

Housing Units

The last housing census (1990), showed that there were about 9,465 occupied housing units in Pateros (out of a total of 9,632). Of this, about 61% were built during 1980 and earlier just as what happened in NCR. Of the total, 77% needs no repair which was higher than NCR’s 75% (Table 4-7). While Pateros, had a higher percentage of houses that needs major repair it had a lower percentage of houses that are considered condemned. Most of houses in Pateros were of the single house type unlike in the NCR which has substantial multi-unit type. Its percentage share of commercial and industrial units is miniscule attesting to the town’s residential character. In addition the housing units (62%) of the town are mostly less than 30 meters square in floor area compared to NCR which has majority of its houses (50.4%) having floor areas 30 square meters or more.

As of CY 1990, more than three-fourths of the total households in Pateros owned their houses whose lot are either being owned or rented. This was much higher than NCR. This means most of Pateros are deeply rooted in the locality. On the other hand, its figures for either house or lot occupied without consent of owner were far lower than NCR. This means that proportionally the town has fewer problems in the house unit and lot tenure status of its residents. This would have implications in the squatting issue, which seems to be less of a problem in Pateros in relative terms compared to the rest of NCR.

Of the owned occupied housing units about 91% were financed by residents using their own resources with only about 2.2% availing of government financial assistance while private banks provided 1.1%. These figures were far greater than those in NCR. This reinforces the deep root of residents to Pateros in relative terms.

Housing Materials and Construction

Most of the municipality’s occupied houses have galvanized iron as roofing which was higher than those of NCR (as of CY 1990). However, in outer walls Pateros has mostly half concrete and half wood, which contrasts NCR having more concrete and wood housing materials. This suggests the relative non-permanence of the town’s housing units and reinforces the residential character of the town. On makeshift/salvaged/improvise materials – the portion that needs replacement, the town has less proportion than NCR. This suggests the extent of blighted areas in the town, which is relatively less of a problem in Pateros than the whole of NCR.

Squatter Materials and Construction

There are about 1,270 squatter housing units in the municipality in 1999 constituted by Tabacalera with 86, the various barangays along Pateros River with 969, and the rest scattered in the other sections of the municipality. This seems to be insignificant relative to NCR. However, they present numerous problems to the local government because of their impact to the environment, peace and order and provision of social facilities.

Housing Issues

Pateros is more residential with deep-rooted houses in the town and are mostly small in floor areas compared to the average in NCR. This means the spatial and sectoral strategies of the city should take into consideration these characteristics to achieve pleasant living and adequate facilities and services. If these will not be maintained or enhanced possible emigration may arise especially among the young urban professionals.

EDUCATION

Educational characteristics will reveal the trends, grade structure, educational attainment, quantity of teachers and classrooms, and educational performance. These parameters will show among others the potential capacity of the residents to be productive and innovative given the new developments in education and intensification of knowledge-based economic activities in urban living in the municipality.

Literacy

Literacy is the ability to read and write a simple message in any language or dialect. The latest census on literacy was undertaken in 1990. Pateros has a slightly lower literacy rate than NCR. Males were slightly more literate than females. These figures are slightly lower when compared to figures of the NCR’s. While literacy rate was high, the town would probably need more efforts to increase its literacy level since it is below the regional average. The aim is to increase its literacy above the NCR figure.

Level of Educational Attainment

Pateros in 1995 has 68% of its population above 7 years old having finished at least an elementary education, which was a vast improvement from 1990’s 63%. However, it is slightly lower than NCR’s 70%. Twenty-eight percent have at least finished high school, an increase from 1990 level of 26% but was lower than NCR’s 32%. Twenty-five percent have at least tasted college education, which was an increase from 1990’s 22%, but lower than the 28% of NCR. About thirteen percent obtained college degree, which betters 1990’s 10% but still lower than NCR’s figure of 15%. Comparing the 1990 and 1995 educational performance showed that Pateros made strides in students reaching high school and college education, which follows the trend in the NCR. But in comparing Pateros achievements with NCR, the town is better than NCR in the elementary and high school level but lags behind in the higher education category in both 1990 and 1995. In post-secondary education it even performed worse than NCR. This suggests that while Pateros has gained a lot of progress in increasing the ranks of highly educated residents it still lags behind the NCR. The fact that during that time Pateros has still no tertiary educational facility probably contributed to this situation. The challenge is for the town to continue to encourage residents to pursue higher education through incentives and provision of necessary service and facility.

Education Facilities

At present, there are 6 public elementary schools (2 of which have an annex building each), one public high school (with an annex building), 5 private schools (three of which offer both elementary and secondary education), and a non-stock non-profit technological college in the municipality that offers computer-related courses.

Elementary
The two largest elementary schools in terms of enrollment were Pateros Elementary School and Pateros Catholic School, which are public and private, respectively. Following DECS standard ratio of 1:50 per teacher and classrooms (which are used twice in the morning and afternoon) it would seem that Pateros has more than adequate facilities at the moment. However, if we are to use the old DECS standard was 1:40 which is much better, the statistics will show that Pateros is experiencing shortage of teachers in three schools, and in classrooms in five out of six public elementary schools and one out of four in the private schools.

High School
The two biggest institutions are Pateros National High School (public) and Pateros Catholic School (private). Using DECS standard of 1:50 per classroom standard, this data reveal the inadequacy of schoolrooms in both schools. The teachers are still more than adequate in quantity in both public and private schools.

Tertiary
There is a lone tertiary educational facility in the locality, the Pateros Technological College. Enrollment for the school year 1997-1998 totaled 803 students. This increased by 21% during the school year 1998-1999, thus reaching 978 enrollees. However, the enrolment in 1999-2000 decreased by 18%.

Participation Rates

Based on the projected school-age population, school participation rates in Pateros are very high. In the elementary level, projected population in 1999 was only 7,976 but enrollment was 9,761 for school year 1999-2000 making for an elementary participation rate of 122%. In high school, projected population was only 5,006 (CY 1999) but enrollment was 8,387 or a high school participation rate of 168%. Only in tertiary level was participation rate below the projected school age population and is very low, i.e., 802 enrollees against the 4,904 population or a participation rate of 16%.

In both elementary and high school, the projected rates suggest that a lot of residents from around Pateros are availing of school facilities in the town probably because of inadequate facilities in their own localities (although data are unavailable to substantiate this inference). However, the town could not just turn them away in the case of public schools. Pateros would have to live with the fact that it will continue to attract enrollees from its neighbors.

On the other hand, majority of its college-age residents is most probably enrolled in tertiary school facilities outside Pateros. Part of the reason is the lack of tertiary facilities in the town and the accessibility of other higher learning facilities in NCR from Pateros.

Educational Issues

Need for better performance in the tertiary education

Despite the fact that the town has improved its cadre of residents with higher education than the previous years, it is still below the regional average, which leaves a lot of room for improvement. One suggestion is that the town needs to expand its existing tertiary facility or encourage big colleges in Manila or Quezon City to conduct satellite classes in the town. A big base of urban residents that are highly educated will go along way in improving the local economy and in sustaining healthy and pleasant urban living.

Need for expanded elementary and high school facility

The town is congested physically and it will be a challenge for the local leadership to look for spaces for new classrooms to accommodate the high school population participation rates due to the expected increases in the school-going age population of Pateros and surrounding communities.

HEALTH

The health sector provides a general picture of the health condition of the residents of Pateros. It has implications in the productivity of the labor force and demand for health facilities and space.

Health Indicators

Mortality Rate

The general mortality rate in Pateros was about 1.65 persons per 1000 population in 1999, which was lower than the 1998 rate of 2.32. This was much lower than the mortality rate in NCR, which was 5.3 per 1000 population in 1995. However, in the causes of death that it can be compared with at the national level, Pateros has much greater number of persons per 1000 population who died of diseases of the heart, diabetes mellitus, and bronchitis. It fares better in tuberculosis with its rate far lower than the national average. The disease of the heart was the primary cause of most deaths during the period. It is noticeable that one cause of death, diabetes mellitus, is much higher than the national figures.

Morbidity Rate

Morbidity indicators are hampered by lack of comparable data. Those available in the local level do not match with those published at the national level. For Pateros overall morbidity recorded in 1999 was about 247 per 1000 population. This is quite high when compared to overall morbidity published so far by the Department of Health (DOH) which is about 46 per 1000 population. Leading causes for the morbidity fix the town were respiratory disorder, the others were dermatological and gastro-intestinal conditions. The available data suggest a serious problem in the locality because of the high prevalence rate of these conditions when compared to national data on morbidity.

Infant Mortality Rate

Infant mortality is one indicator of the state of health in the locality. Based on the 1998 and 1999 data, infant mortality rate in Pateros decreased from 5 per 1000 infants in 1998 to about 4 per 1000 in 1999. This rate was much lower than the national average of 49 and the NCR rate of 32 per 1,000 infants, the latest of which was registered in 1995.

Health Facilities

The Municipality has no government or private hospital but is served by five (5) health centers and a lying-in clinic, which cater to different catchment areas. The health centers provide services from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. daily, from Monday to Friday (Table 4-24). The Masikap Health Center, however, temporarily closed in November 1998 due to some administrative problems concerning the building where it was located. The lying-in clinic at the same building as the Mayor M.R. Flores Health Center operates 24 hours daily from Monday to Sunday. So far if we consider the health clinics as Rural Health Units, Pateros would be sufficient in number of centers. However, if we have the health clinics as Barangay Health Stations (which based on ocular inspections, they are) the town will need 8 more clinics by 2011. The town has 5 doctors, 3 dentists, 9 nurses and 16 midwives. If we compare the population ratio of these facilities with the Philippine and NCR figures, Pateros is much better off since its population to health facility ratios are much lower. In term of bed capacity, there were no figures in Pateros. However, if we use the 1 bed for every 2,000 population Pateros would need about 29-32 beds during 2001 to 2011 while if we are to use the Philippine’s ratio, the town would need 65-72 beds. This figure is good enough to justify a hospital to be constructed inside the locality.

Other personnel who man the health facilities of the municipality are Dental Aide, Laboratory Aide, Utility Workers, Driver, Clerk and Barangay Nutrition Scholars. The above mentioned health facilities offer services ranging from general, emergency care, pediatric care, minor surgical procedures, delivery, malnutrition ward, pre-natal & post-natal, pre-marriage counseling and others.

Health Issues

Inadequate Tertiary Health Facilities

The lack of hospital is really a concern since the nearest tertiary health facility is either in Pasig or Makati. This is particularly critical during emergencies. Either the LGU builds their own or invite private investor to put up the facility. A lot depends on improving access to and from Pateros so that establishing a hospital becomes a viable option. There is enough demand in the town to justify building a small 25-50 bed capacity hospital which will require roughly 2 hectares of land.

Inadequate number of basic health clinics

Primary health care facilities is inadequate if the BHS standard is used with about 8 units needed for the next ten years.

High morbidity rates

The prevalence of sickness in Pateros is quite high compared to NCR. It suggests an aggressive program toward preventive health programs and services. Also, the higher prevalence of diabetes than the Philippine figure suggests programs to improve health awareness among the population.

Others

Health condition performance was generally better than the rest of the country and there is no alarming health situation in the town, which bodes well for its long-term development outlook.

PROTECTIVE SERVICES

The protective service sector provides the security and public order in the locality. It facilitates effective operation of government operations/projects and protects the residents as they go about their daily lives.

Police

The municipal police headquarters is the only police station in the town. In 1997, the police force numbered to about 62 members, six of which are civilians. The number of policemen in Pateros increased from 80 in 1997 to 95 in 1998. This makes for about a population ration of 1 policeman to every 605 residents. This is lower than the national average registered in 1998, 1:706. This means it has sufficient number of policeman compared to the national level. However, the PNP standard is 1:500, which means Pateros is below the ideal number of policeman. Other facilities include 2 outposts, 4 mobile cars, and 9 motorcycles. Using the police outpost population ratio standard of 1:10,000, the town lacks about four (4) outposts. Over the years crime rate was declining in Pateros, which partly reflects the performance of the local police. Barangay tanods number 183 that make up for the less than ideal number of policemen.

Fire Protection

There is only one fire station in Pateros. This is located at the back of Pateros Cemetery along M. Almeda Street Barangay Sto. Rosario-Silangan. The fire force consists of about twenty-six (26) firemen. There are three (3) serviceable fire trucks. Using the population ratio standard of 1:1,000, Pateros should have 57 firemen. However, the current ratio is about 1: 2,210 which is much better than the national ratio of 1:5,836. The fire station and the number of fire trucks are still within the standards and are thus sufficient. Given recent data on fires it would seem there are no dramatic increase which in a way reflects the relative success of fire prevention measures.

Protective Services Issue

Relative adequacy of police and fire services

While the number of personnel is less than ideal, Pateros when compared with the situation in the Philippines seems to have much better number. It would probably needs upgrading of present facilities. If the planned expanded commercialization of Pateros pushes through, the municipality would need additional and modern facilities to reduce response time and improve solution efficiency. For starters the municipality would need more police outposts and one police sub-station in the next ten years.