The study examines the use of Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) as a tool in drafting the local Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP). By understanding the current planning process, areas for improvement could be identified to improve local development planning, which will then lead to more efficient use of scarce public resources. Results of a nationwide survey of 1,373 municipalities show that majority of municipalities use CBMS, not just for ecological profiling in development planning but also for budget preparations and priority setting. Local
governments allocate funds for CBMS data collection (primarily to hire data enumerators), but not regularly so. Furthermore, there was evidence that there could be improved utilization of existing CBMS data and indicators. These results seem to suggest that municipal development planning practices generally follow the Department of Interior and Local Government-prescribed development planning and recognize the importance of this being evidence-based. Likewise, some areas for improvement include reorientation of local planners with the CBMS and regular updating of development indicators for more relevant and impactful development policies.
