s:723:"TI RUPES: a bright future for Philippine upland poor AU Villamor G B AU Lasco R D AB Rewarding Upland Poor for Environmental Services or RUPES is a promising program for the upland people in the Philippines. The two RUPES action research sites in the Philippines namely: the Bakun, Benguet and Kalahan, Nueva Vizcaya, are testing payment mechanisms to reward the upland people while providing environmental services. The paper presents the major RUPES activities implemented in the sites and accomplishments achieved during the project implementation. Also a national technical committee on payment on environmental services (PES) is introduced including its roles and functions for the Philippine PES initiatives. ";