Statement of the CSO Members of the UNCSAC and Other CSOs

7 December 2009

Recent typhoons Ondoy, Pepeng and Santi caused great suffering and damage to lives and properties. While the floods were also occasions for generosity and heroism, the extent of damage also shows the vulnerabilities of our communities, the lack of preparedness of our government agencies  and the need for an effective reconstruction and risk reduction program. There is a need for a participatory and inclusive reconstruction of our communities. 

Tropical storm Ondoy (international name – Ketsana) and Typhoons Pepeng (Parma) and Santi (Mirinae) that affected the Philippines in September-October 2009 caused hundreds of death, countless injuries, great suffering and significant damage to infrastructure and properties. Independent rapid researches sourced from reports released by different government agencies estimated the cost of devastation at as high as 23 billion Pesos.
 
The typhoons and the floods were also occasions for the generosity, solidarity and heroism of various civil society organizations and ordinary citizens, including some who gave up their lives to rescue others. However, the extent of the damage and loss shows the vulnerability of our communities, the lack of preparedness of our government agencies and the need for an effective reconstruction and risk reduction program.
 
The government, being most ill-prepared and uncoordinated, could not respond fully and effectively to desperate calls for helps during the height of the floods. Over-crowded evacuation centers, disorderly distribution of relief goods and poor health and sanitary conditions compounded the sufferings of the typhoon victims.   The rights of affected families to dignity and basic needs were drowned in the sea of ineptitude.  Up to this day, two months after the typhoons, there is still a great need for continuing and effective relief efforts in many areas, especially those that are still under flood water.
 
These recent disasters have also shown the need to build and strengthen community resilience. In order to do this, there is a need for participation and inclusion of stakeholders, especially the informal settlers and the laboring urban residents and the rural poor.
 
After Ondoy hit Metro Manila and nearby provinces, the poor informal settlers residing near the waterways were soon tagged as the culprits by some in government, media and the other sectors – forgetting the bigger role of loggers, developers and government officials in damaging our environment.
 
Rather than focusing on wholesale off-city relocation, a solution that has never worked in our country, we should concentrate on participatory and inclusive reconstruction of our communities.
 
We need to develop community reconstruction plans that are:

need-oriented (based on the felt needs and desired directions of people in the communities, including those of special and vulnerable groups);

technically-sound (consistent with available technical studies of the environment and of hazards, and maximizing appropriate mitigation and adaptation systems and technologies);

holistic and comprehensive (focusing not just on infrastructure and housing, but also on livelihoods, livability and community cohesion/ cooperation); and

integrated and harmonized with city, regional and national plans (for land use, area development, etc.) .
       
There is then a need for a people’s planning process that is

both participatory and inclusive,
focusing on the local communities, especially the poor and marginalized,
highlighting participation of all sectors and stakeholders, especially community-based and basic sector organizations,
emphasizing the technical contributions of academe and planners, and
promoting cooperation between government, communities and civil society groups.
       
Finally, we must also look at the financial side of disaster relief and reconstruction. Given the billions of pesos worth of damages, the demand for the government to create different financing mechanisms to fund relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction initiatives has also taken center stage.
 
However, instead of implementing innovative measures, the government has relied on usual remedies such as new borrowings. The P12-billion supplemental budget for the emergency relief and rehabilitation efforts and the P50-billion Reconstruction Bonds are examples of this.
 
The government’s response will only compound the current climate crisis as the financing mechanisms it is pursuing will bloat the national government debt and our fiscal deficit, which shall be borne eventually by the people including the typhoon victims.
 
In fact, even before the country suffered from the recent typhoon calamities, it is already reeling from a deep and enduring fiscal crisis as a result of inflexible fiscal and debt policies which fused with the still unresolved global economic crisis. As a result, as of end-October, the government’s budget deficit had already reached P266.1 billion, already higher than the ceiling of P250 billion set for the whole of 2009. Some economic experts say the deficit for this year can go as high as P300-350 billion.
 
According to government data, state borrowings increased by 7.6% in the first nine months of the year as the government sought funds to finance the ballooning budget deficit. Government borrowings rose to P421.2 billion during January to September this year from P391.4 billion in the same months last year. Of the amount, P168.2 billion were foreign borrowings, representing a 227.9% increase from last year’s P51.3 billion.
 
Also, the growing budget deficit could worsen state under-spending on important social services like health and education.
 
In order to effectively address the economic and climate crises, we strongly urge the Philippine government to implement a moratorium on the payments of foreign debts. This is to free up much needed resources to fund measures to stimulate the economy, create new jobs and expand the fiscal space while simultaneously implementing strategic rehabilitation and reconstruction programs especially in areas which suffered the most from the typhoon calamities.
 
The moratorium would last until an official comprehensive investigation and audit of all public debt and contingent liabilities is completed by the Philippine Congress while “unbendable” policies such as the Automatic Debt Servicing Provision of the Revised Administrative Code of
1987 which perpetuate our debt problem are overhauled.

We strongly urge the Philippine government to earnestly discuss with developed countries’ governments and international and regional financial institutions their historical responsibility in changing the climate and the actions they should take to help the developing countries now vulnerable to and  affected by climate disasters.

We also demand that the Philippine government and international and regional financial institutions repudiate and/or cancel all odious and illegitimate loan agreements claimed from the Philippines especially those that were incurred in the name of the environment.
 
More than ever, the recent climate catastrophes as well as the grueling fiscal and economic crisis must become crucial junctures for the Philippines as a united people to take bold steps to reconstruct our communities and our nation.

-By the CSO (Civil Society Organization) Members of the United Nations Civil Society Advisory Committee (UNCSAC) and other CSOs

UNCSAC Members:
-Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO)
-Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society Organizations (CBCS)
-Cordillera Network of Development NGOs and POs (CORDNET)
-Eastern Visayas Network of NGOs and POs (EVNET)
-Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC)
-International Center for Innovation, Transformation and Excellence in Governance (INCITEGov)
-Mindanao Coalition of Development NGO Networks (MINCODE)
-Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA)
-Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF)
-Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA)
-Western Visayas Network of Social Development NGOs (WEVNET)
-Women’s Action Network for Development (WAND)

Other CSO Networks/ CSOs:
-Association of Schools of Public Administration in the Philippines (ASPAP)
-Central Visayas Network of NGOs and POs (CENVISNET)
-Consortium for the Advancement for Peoples Participation through Sustainable Integrated Area Development (CAPP-SIAD)
-Fair Trade Alliance (FTA)
-Family Planning Organization of the Philippines (FPOP)
-Foundation for a Sustainable Society, Inc. (FSSI)
-Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute (GZO-PI)
-GenPeace Youth Network (GenPeace)
-National Council of Social Development (NCSD)
-NGOs for Fisheries Reform (NFR)
-Partnership of Philippine Support Service Agencies (PHILSSA)
-Philippine NGO Support Program (PHANSuP)
-Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (PhilDHRRA)
-Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM)
-PILIPINA