One of the major key reforms under the Aquino administration is increased transparency and accountability in government. Relatively, the participation of the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and other citizens’ group in attaining good governance was taken into cognizance.
In its effort to contribute to this goal, Memorandum Circular No. 2010-83 dtd August 2010 on Full Disclosure Policy was issued by DILG which requires all local governments to fully disclose particular financial transactions to keep their constituents informed of how the LGU budget is managed, disbursed or used. Further, the Department has entered into a partnership with the People Power Volunteer for Reform (PPVR) and INCITEGov to assertively scale up interventions and elevate the practice of governance that values and institutionalize transparency, accountability and performance.
Along this line, DILG Region III, played host to the activity dubbed as “Building on the Full Disclosure Policy (FDP): Developing the Capacity of CSOS to Engage in Local Budgeting and Governance” on November 27-29, 2012 at Maharajah Hotel, Angeles City. It was attended by DILG FDP Regional Focal Persons and selected partner CSOs and citizen’s group from the Luzon Cluster composed of Regions 1,2,3, 4-A, 4-B, National Capital Region (NCR) and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). The activity, in coordination with PPVR, INCITEGov and Hanns Seidel Foundation, was geared towards increasing the awareness of the participants how to read, understand, analyze and relate disclosure statements and relevant public fiscal reports.
Ms. Nieves Osorio, consultant of INCITEGov acted as the resource speaker while Mr. Carlos Tabunda of PPVR facilitated the 3 day activity.
CSOs are now being involved as third party validators on LGU compliance to the FDP.
