Stories | CODE-NGO

Bottom-up Budgeting (BuB) 383 Luzon Conference

by CODE-NGO | Sep 22, 2015 | Stories

“Enjoy the leadership, take the challenge,” said Paul Richard Paraguya, CODE-NGO Project Manager and NAPC NGO Sector Representative, to the attendees of the Bottom-up Budgeting (BUB) 383 Luzon Conference last June 16-17, 2015 at the Institute of Social Order (ISO), Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City. It was a two day event, which aimed to discuss the existing challenges, experiences, as well as the future of Bottom-up Budgeting in the 383 municipalities of the Philippines.

Monitoring the Implementation of BUB Projects

by CODE-NGO | Sep 21, 2015 | Stories

Last June 16-17, 2015 in Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, the BUB 383 Luzon Conference convened 42 CSO and community leaders from Ifugao, Pampanga, Rizal, Quezon, Sorsogon and Metro Manila, as well as CODE-NGO’s partners from Cardona in Rizal, Labo, Basud and Capalonga in Camarines Norte, and Pasay City, which are monitoring BUB projects that support children’s rights and welfare. The CSO and community leaders shared their experiences and challenges as watchdogs of BUB projects in their communities, particularly focusing on assessing the implementation of BUB 2014 projects.

On the other hand, the BUB 383 Visayas Conference was conducted on July 6-7, 2015 in Cebu City. Seventeen (17) CSO leaders from Aklan, Antique, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Cebu, Leyte, Samar and Eastern Samar participated in the BUB 2014 assessment forum.

LEARNING THE ROPES OF PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING

by CODE-NGO | Sep 18, 2015 | Features, Stories

Members of the Taksikad Operators and Drivers’ Organization (TODO) in Hilongos, Leyte earn an average of P280 a day transporting passengers in a tricycad, a three-wheeled bicycle. Of this income, 20% or P50 goes to rental costs of the tricycad (for members who do not...

Chit Chat: CSO Network Leaders on the Bottom-Up Budgeting (BUB)

by CODE-NGO | Sep 17, 2015 | Features, Stories

The Bottom-up Budgeting program of the national government has been and continues to be a welcome reform initiative to the citizens of the poorest municipalities, especially to the citizens belonging to the organized sector, the civil society organizations (CSOs).

Based on the model of participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre in Brazil, this reform in the public fiscal budget preparation engages, for the first time, the community members through CSOs to take an active part in preparing the budget side-by-side with the local government officials. This approach seeks to allocate scarce resources to the identified needs of the community and hopefully will result in poverty reduction.

A mini case study: An Eye Opener Called CSRC

by CODE-NGO | Sep 16, 2015 | Features, Stories

This article excerpts from narratives written by Raquel Sanlucan, Rosita Pacay, and Alberto Gador regarding their experiences and insights from first using the Civil Society Satisfaction Report Card (CSRC) in 2013. The CSRC is a citizens monitoring tool administered to civil society organization (CSO) leaders where they assess their local government unit’s (LGU) performance in service delivery and governance. It was developed by CODE-NGO in 2012 and is currently being used in 44 municipalities nationwide.

Bringing People to the Table

by CODE-NGO | Aug 9, 2015 | Features, Stories

Would local chief executives of 24 municipalities in Visayas and Mindanao stand a good chance of being reelected (if they are still qualified and interested) less than 10 months from now? The answer, in part, would depend on the leaders and members of civil society...