Last May 22 to 23, 2018, Ms. Stéphanie Carette the Program Manager of the European Union (EU) Philippine Delegation together with PhilDHRRA representatives and implementing NGO partner St. Catherine Family Helper Inc. (SCFHI) met with local Civil Society Organization (CSO)  representatives in the three projects sites of CCCE PAG-PR in the province of Negros Oriental.

CCCE PAG-PR or Consolidating CSO network for Citizen Engagement towards Participatory and Accountable Governance for Poverty Reduction is a 3-year project being implemented by Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (PhilDHRRA) in partnership with Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in East Asia and the Pacific (ANSA-EAP), and local implementing NGO partners (INPs) funded by the European Union. The project has 27 municipal project areas in 9 provinces in the Philippines. Currently, the project is in the last year of implementation and is focusing on citizens’ led monitoring.

During the visit, the EU program manager was able to talk to representatives from different local organizations such as the People’s Development Council of Dumaguete City, Baslay Farmer’s Association, Negros Oriental Network of NGOs (NegOrNet), and Bindoy Citizen Monitors. In a series of focus group discussions, CSO representatives eagerly shared their stories and experiences from the community, highlighting the gains they got from the project and the challenges they have to go through in participating in local governance.  CSOs claimed that the capacity building component of the project really helped them in improving their competencies in engaging their respective governments. There is also a growing realization among CSOs on enhancing their understanding on the realities of operations of the local government bureaucracy to participate effectively.

Aside from CSOs, the EU Program Manager also met with Local Government Unit representatives of the partner project areas including Hon. Valente D. Yap, the Local Chief Executive of the Municipality of Bindoy and Hon. Manuel R. Arbon, City Councilor of Dumaguete and the co-sponsor of Ordinance No. 62-2016, an Ordinance Institutionalizing the Democratic Participation of Civil Society Organizations in Policy Formulation at the Legislative Department of Dumaguete City. The CCCE PAG PR project helped in facilitating the passage of the said ordinance and the CSO Empowerment Ordinance of Bindoy.

The representatives of local partners, both CSOs and government, who were able to meet with the EU Program Manager said that they were glad to be visited and heard by someone from the EU. They are now more motivated in consolidating their data gathered from the field in preparation for the interface meeting with the LGU representatives set in July-August 2018.

Katlea Zairra Itong is the Project Manager of PHILDHRRA’s CCCE PAG-PR.