Merits of CSO Networking and the Bottom-up Budgeting (BUB) roll out in 2013-16 
(Photo of the Regional Forum on the BUB and BUB 383 Mindanao Conference, August 2015, Davao City)

Despite the COVID-10 challenges in the past seven months, Philippine civil society organizations found ways to engage the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to cement reforms towards improving local governance. 

The DILG issued a memorandum circular (MC) in January 2021 that encourages local governments to establish and institutionalize CSO Desks and People’s Councils in their locality. A provision in the MC 2021-012 required civil society organizations (CSOs) to obtain clearance from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police before they can be part of the People’s Councils. CSOs reacted to this provision, and CODE-NGO led the signing of a position paper released in March 2021 to call for revoking the contentious provision. The DILG heeded the call of CSOs and invited them, including leaders of the Basic Sectors of the National Anti-Poverty Commission, to comment on a second draft MC which would amend the first MC issued. 

To give substance to the second draft, the DILG organized the online focused group discussion, “Prospects and Challenges in Coalition Building”, last May 12, 2021. CODE-NGO member networks/organizations were resource persons in the event. Dodoy Magdolot of Mahintana Foundation talked about the experience of the Coalition of Social Development Organizations in South Cotabato. Albert Aquino of the Negros Oriental Network of NGOs (NEGORNET) shared the experience of the People’s Development Council in Dumaguete City. Damins Francisco and Aurora Chavez of the Coalition of Bicol Development (CBD) discussed the formation of the Provincial Development Council in Sorsogon City. CODE-NGO discussed the merits of networking when the “BUB 383” network was formed at the height of the Bottom-up Budgeting (BUB) roll-out in 2013-2016. The FGD served its objective to identify conditions that enable local people’s councils and make them viable organizations, and to understand its advantages, benefits, challenges, and possible pitfalls.

The second MC 2021-054, which amended the first MC 2021-012, came out on May 18, 2021. Because clarifications needed to be addressed in the revised MC, CODE-NGO and its co-member institutions comprising the Task Force Participatory Local Governance (TF-PLG) convened the “#CSOTalk: Strengthening Governance through People’s Councils”. Many questions raised in the online event were mainly about the operationalization of the MC. These were forwarded to the DILG bureau in-charge. The DILG committed to give feedback to the CSOs. 

Related Resource:

Back in 2013, CODE-NGO published two case studies of local mechanisms for citizen participation and accountability instituted in Naga City, Camarines Sur, and Bingawan, Iloilo. With the DILG MC 2021-54 now in place, we reshare the publication “People Power Governance ” to encourage CSO leaders to learn from these successful good governance initiatives and to replicate these in their areas.

Download a copy of the “People Power Governance: Local Mechanisms for Participation and Accountability” here: