Nearly 200 civil society organization (CSO) leaders convened last November 11-13, 2015 at the annual Kasali Ka, Sumali Ka! Social Development Celebration (SDC) of the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO) held at the Vista Mar Resort, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

Co-hosted by the Central Visayas Network of NGOs (CENVISNET), this year’s SDC also served as the 19th General Assembly of the CODE-NGO’s 12 member networks (MNs) which represent more than 1,600 development NGOs, people’s organizations, and cooperatives all over the Philippines.

In line with the theme of the celebration, “Citizens’ Call: Sustainable, Equitable and Inclusive Development”, the SDC focused on discussing critical and urgent issues which need to be addressed and reforms which need to be considered as we change leadership through the upcoming 2016 national and local elections.

Prior to the SDC2015 in Cebu, the member networks of CODE-NGO organized with its member networks (in NCR, CAR, R5, R6, R7, R8 and CARAGA in Mindanao) information sessions and consultations to prepare for the SDC2015 conversations on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), an ongoing assessment of the government’s performance viz its Philippine Development Plan (PDP) and an assessment of how far the country has gone since a broad cross-section of CSOs presented its Development and Reform Agenda (DRA) 2010-13 and 2013-16 to the current administration. The review of these documents served as an anchor for formulating the ‘CSO Reform Agenda’, a set of recommendations for a few critical actions that the next administration should take to sustain the reforms toward inclusive development.

The 3-day SDC2015 event opened with a Learning Visit organized by CENVISNET member provincial networks – Bohol Alliance of NGOs (BANGON) and Kaabag sa Sugbo (Cebu) to feature participatory governance initiatives as actually practiced in their respective partner communities. In the evening, a “Cultural Night and Cebu Festival” featured the colorful dance and musical traditions of Cebu.

On Day 2, November 12, Former COMELEC Chairperson Atty. Christian Monsod gave his keynote speech on “National Situationer: Key Challenges for CSOs Today” – political, economic and social situationer which helped frame the discussions all throughout the SDC events. Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in the Philippines Mr. Ola Almgren presented the highlights of Philippine’s performance on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the highlights of its successor document the Agenda 2030: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to provide a global perspective on key development issues confronting Philippine society. CODE-NGO Chairperson Patricia Sarenas shared the network’s response to challenges posted by the keynote person by highlighting the CSO Reform Agenda 2016-19 and the network’s plan to disseminate information on the SDGs and commit to campaign for the translation of these goals in concrete programs and projects in our organizations and by the government at local and national levels. CODE-NGO’s Dodo Macasaet and Paul Paraguya also shared about the CSOs’ key lessons on their engagement with government through its various projects and advocacy initiatives, such as in the Citizens’ Monitoring of LGU Performance Project supported by the European Union in the Philippines, on CODE-NGO’s engagement in the government’s Bottom-Up Budgeting (BUB) Program, its advocacy for a more inclusive and participatory DRRM system through its project with Christian Aid and its Decentralized Governance Project as supported by Misereor of Germany.

CODE-NGO invited the top 4 Presidential and top 5 Vice Presidential Candidates for this dialogue. However, only former DILG Secretary Mar Roxas confirmed his attendance.

Venue host was the University of San Jose Recoletos (USJR) in their campus in downtown Cebu City. Our 200+ SDC2015 delegates were therefore joined by around 700 students (of voting age and registered as voters) and faculty from the university, who engaged Mr. Roxas on key development concerns of CSOs and students. CODE-NGO Advocacy Commission Chairperson Bert Aquino of PHILDHRRA presented the highlights of the CSO Reform Agenda 2016-19 for comments of Mr. Roxas. SDC2015 event partner MEGA Cebu, led by its Chairperson Dondi Joseph, also presented their Roadmap for a Sustainable Cebu 2025 for the candidate’s comments.

On Day 3, November 13, there was a Gallery Walk to showcase CSOs’ good practices and simultaneous learning sessions organized by CODE-NGO member networks and partners. Some of the topics include: Philippine Business for Social Progress on “Building Partnerships for Collective Action”, Iloilo CODE on “Innovative Solar Energy Small Infrastructure Projects for Small Islands”, CODE-NGO ACED Project on “Lessons from Yolanda: Inclusive DRRM”, PHILSSA on “Angat Calamianes Rehabilitation and Resilience Project”, and PHILDHRRA on “Agusan Marsh Climate Change Adaptation Project for the Gallery Walk exhibits. #iVoteGood, by Dilaab Foundation, Show and Tell: Unlocking the Perks of Being in Development Work, by the Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF), Unleashing the Power of Social Accountability, by Partnership of Philippine Support Service Agencies (PHILSSA) and ANSA-EAP, CSOs are Vital Players in Inclusive Business Projects by the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), The Forces at Work: CSO Sustainability Index and Enabling Environment for CSOs in the Philippines by CODE-NGO, and Mega Cebu and Our Cebu: Creating the Future We Want, by MEGA Cebu and Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) – Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies Center for the Learning Sesions.

Before the Business Meeting, CODE-NGO/EVNET Board Member, Mario Ian Mosquisa, presented the synthesis of the just concluded Simultaneous Learning Sessions. This was followed by CODE-NGO Deputy ED Roselle Rasay’s presentation of the Highlights of the CSO Sustainability Index 2014 – Philippines Report. Lastly, KDM Officer Celia de Jesus shared with the body the topline results of CODE-NGO’s CSO Perception Survey 2015 on Government and Civil Society.

The CODE-NGO 19th General Assembly followed later in the day.

Click to access SDC2015_Documentation.pdf

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A copy of the Annexes of the SDC2015 Documentation may be downloaded from here.