Citizens’ Roadmap for Poverty Reduction and Achieving the MDGs

Recommendations for the 2010-2016 Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan

The Citizens’ Roadmap is the response of a broad range of civil society organizations to the challenge of shifting from fault-finding to helping find solutions to our society’s problems.  It contains our recommendations for the 2010-2016 Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP), which will serve as the economic and development blue print of the Aquino administration.  This publication also signifies our commitment to participate and constructively engage government to help reduce poverty, achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and improve the lives of the Filipino people, especially the poor and marginalized. 

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There has been very little progress in attaining some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in recent years.  In fact, the situation has worsened in some areas such as poverty reduction.  Much remains to be done if the Philippines is to achieve the MDGs which it has committed to accomplish in 2015.  

The task of meeting the people’s expectations and achieving the MDGs will be difficult.  Government is faced with serious challenges, which include increasing poverty incidence, bankrupt government coffers, and weakened government institutions.  President Noynoy Aquino acknowledged in his inaugural speech that he will need the support of the Filipino people in making our dreams and hopes a reality.  He also challenged the people in his First State of the Nation Address to shift from fault-finding to participation and help find solutions to our problems.  

The Citizens’ Roadmap is the response of a broad range of civil society organizations to this challenge.  It contains our recommendations for the 2010-2016 Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP), which will serve as the economic and development blue print the Aquino administration.  This publication also signifies our commitment to participate and constructively engage government to help reduce poverty, achieve the MDGs and improve the lives of the Filipino people, especially the poor and marginalized.  

It is thus with great expectations that we submit this document to President Aquino, to the National Economic Development Authority, other national government agencies and Congress.  We look forward to the government living up to its commitment of opening up spaces for participation.  We hope the Citizens’ Roadmap will help facilitate the participation of civil society organizations and citizens in the process of planning and implementing the new MTPDP.  We also hope that this is the start of a process that will lead to more open discourses on the government’s development strategy – bringing it from the domain of the experts and advocates to the entire Filipino citizenry.

Download a copy of the Citizens’ Roadmap for Poverty Reduction and Achieving the MDGs