east asia regional progress report

8/8/2019 East Asia Regional Progress Report

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Regional Status Report:

East Asia

Regional Coordinator: Khalid SirajReport last updated: 09/30/2010Reporting Period: 04/07/2010 - 08/31/2010

Overview of Report

1. Executive Summary2. Ongoing PTF Projects3. Pipeline Projects4. Completed Projects5. Regional Initiatives, observations, and lessons learned6. Annex 1: Project Status Updates

7. Annex 2: Completed Project Status Updates

1. Executive Summary

There are currently eight ongoing PTF projects, three Pipeline projects, and five recently

completed projects in the East Asia Region. Out of the eight ongoing projects, the East Asia

Region has two new initiatives in the Philippines and Mongolia.

2. Ongoing PTF Projects

Activities in East Asia continue to be concentrated in a limited number of countries (Philippines,Mongolia, Indonesia). This concentration of projects in a few countries allows us to observe the relative

merits of developing a critical mass of civil society organizations in close proximity. In addition, itenables us to field-test PTFs major eligibility criteria such as: (1) limited project duration, usually about12 months, (2) addressing a specific instance of corruption, rather than awareness raising or research, (3)positive engagement with a public agency that is the object of scrutiny.

Table 1: Ongoing PTF Projects

CountryCSO &

Project title

Project AdviserDate Grant

Agrt Signed

# ofmonthsunder

impleme-ntation

Fundsremaining to

be disbursed

1Mongolia

TI Mongolia: Improvement ofJudicial Code of Ethics Khalid Siraj 3.26.2009 18 $2,480


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Table 1: Ongoing PTF Projects

CountryCSO &

Project titleProject Adviser

Date GrantAgrt Signed

# ofmonthsunder

impleme-

ntation

Fundsremaining tobe disbursed

2 Mongolia

Globe International -Transparency Campaigning at

Local Government to CurbCorruption

Khalid Siraj/Stephanie de

Chassy7.1.2010 3 $18,000

3Philippines

Ecolink: SK (Youth Council)Watch(Monitoring SK Funds

and Functionality)Gerry van der

Linden8.21.2009 13 $2,928

4Philippines

Evelio Javier Foundation(EBJIFI): Strengthening LocalMechanisms for Effective Civil

Society OrganizationsParticipation in Procurement

Processes

Gerry van derLinden

10.15.2009 11 $10,754*

5 Philippines

Concerned Citizens of Abra forGood Government (CCAGG):

Abra Water and IrrigationSystems (AWIS) Watch

Gerry van derLinden

10.20.2009 10 $9,500*

6 Philippines

G-Watch of Ateneo School of

Government: Localization ofthe Protect Procurement Project

Gerry van derLinden 06.25.2010 3 $15,000

7 Philippines

Philippine Partnership for theDevelopment of HumanResources in Rural Areas

(PhilDHRRA): Bantay AgriTayo (Lets Watch Agriculture)

Gerry van derLinden

09.04.2010

8 PhilippinesNAMFREL: Medicine

Monitoring Project IIGerry van der

Linden09.06.2010

Total Number of On oing Projects 8

* Pending completion


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3. Pipeline Projects

able 2: Pipeline Projects

Country CSO & Project Title

MongoliaWoman for Social Progress: Resolution of Conflict of INterest

in Mongolia

PhilippinesCentral Philippine University: Streamlining Business Permits

and Licensing System in Western Visayas

Philippines

Bishops-Businessmens Conference for Human Development(BBC) in cooperation with Social Action Center Bacolod:

Procurement Monitoring Systems in Negros Occidental andNegros Oriental

4. Completed Projects

Table 3: Project Co pletion Re orts

Country CSO & ProjectProjectAdviser

Date GrantAgreement

signed

Date ProjectCompleted

Monthstaken tocomplete

Has a projectcompletionreport been

received andaccepted?

1 Indonesia

Building a CitizenMonitoring System

on Budget

ExpenditureAccountability in the

Education Sector,PATTIRO

KhalidSiraj

04.15.2009Listed asongoing;

$2,500remaining

to bedisbursed

Two progressreports

completed.Awaiting PCR

2Philippines

Ecolink: Anti-Corruption and

Transparency ProjectII: LGU Vehicle

Monitoring

Gerry vander Linden

02.04.2008 5.20.2009 15

PCR pending.PCA awaitingcompletion of

PCR.

3Philippines

INCITEGov:Participatory

Monitoring forBarangay

Infrastructure andHealth Projects in theProvince of Isabela

Gerry vander Linden

6.25.2008

listed asongoing,$2,469

remainingto be

disbursed

PCA completedand posted onPTF website.


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Table 3: Project Co pletion Re orts

Country CSO & ProjectProjectAdviser

Date GrantAgreement

signed

Date ProjectCompleted

Monthstaken tocomplete

Has a projectcompletionreport been

received andaccepted?

4Philippines

NAMFREL:Medicine Monitoring

Project

Gerry vander Linden

6.12.2008

listed asongoing;$2,330

remainingto be

disbursed

ProjectCompletion

Assessment hasbeen preparedand posted onPTF website.Remaining

$2,330 fundspending receipt

of financialstatements.

5Philippines

G-Watch of AteneoSchool ofGovernment. ProjectProcurement Project

(PRO):Institutionalizing theCapacity Building of

CSO ProcurementObservers

Gerry vander Linden

5.12.2008 5.20.2009 12

PCR submitted.PCA under

preparation

PCR = Project Completion ReportPCA = Project Completion Assessment

5. Regional Initiatives, Observations, and Lessons Learned

As reported previously, activities in East Asia continue to be concentrated in a limited number ofcountries (Philippines, Mongolia, Indonesia). This concentration of projects in a few countries allows usto observe the relative merits of developing a critical mass of civil society organizations in closeproximity. In addition, it enables us to field-test PTFs major eligibility criteria such as: (1) limited projectduration, usually about 12 months, (2) addressing a specific instance of corruption, rather than awarenessraising or research, (3) positive engagement with a public agency that is the object of scrutiny.

Activities in the Philippines allowed us to observe two advantages of a longer-term relationship with alocal partner who acts as an intermediary. First, it allowed for scaling up PTFs activities. Second, ithelped to institutionalize local capacity and strengthen the potential for sustainability of PTF-typeactivities. However, projects in the Philippines have generally been slow to submit their ProjectCompletion Report. This observation would argue for making some changes in the tranche disbursementschedule. For instance, the final tranche could be set at 20% to create an incentive for the implementingCSO to speed up preparation of the PCR.

In Mongolia we learned an important lesson as well from a series of projects prior to the reporting periodthat built on each other, intended to prevent and curb corruption in the Mongolian judicial systems. Themost outstanding feature of the Mongolia projects was the dogged pursuit of excellent relationships withthe public agencies that were the focus of projects. Careful consensus building, rather than confrontationled to positive and sustained results with the Judiciary branch of the Mongolian government. For the


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project with PATTIRO in Indonesia we propose to enhance South-South cross-fertilization with thePhilippines, which started with a process of decentralization well ahead of its neighboring countries andhas some valuable experiences to share with others. A PTF Adviser from the Philippines has strengthenedthe Philippines team, and is facilitating the dialogue between the two countries.

Projects in both the Philippines and Mongolia have allowed PTF at large to gain important information on

the robustness of the PTF model of fighting corruption. Experiences from both countries merit widerdissemination via the PTF website and possibly other communications and outreach tools. Ourengagement in Indonesia remains limited to only one CSO, but we are making cautious efforts to broadenit.

PTF-funded initiatives in the Philippines continue to be implemented in collaboration with the CoalitionAgainst Corruption of the Makati Business Club (CAC/MBC). The submission of the Siemens Fund for projects to be implemented by G-Watch of Ateneo University was not successful. As a result of thedialogue started in earlier this year, PTF has approved a new project in Mongolia (Globe International -Transparency Campaigning at Local Government) and has also accepted a Concept Note received fromWomen for Social Progress. Both these projects are follow-up to our previous initiatives.


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Annex 1: Status Updates on Ongoing Projects

1. Mongolia: TI Mongolia, Improvement of Judicial Code of EthicsProjectAdviser Khalid Siraj

Budget and Timeline:PTF signed a grant agreement with Transparency International, Mongolia (TI-M)

for $22,380 on March 2, 2009. The first tranche of $8,900 was disbursed immediately after the signing ofthe agreement. A second tranche of $11,000 was disbursed in September 2009.

Background and Objectives: The code of ethics (CoE) for judges in Mongolia, which was first adopted in1997 and later revised in 2003, suffers from many weaknesses. Mongolias General Council of Courts(GCC) has recognized the need for upgrading the current CoE. With this background, the objectives of theTI-M project, supported by PTF, are to:

Improve the Anti-Corruption and ethics related programs at local law schools

Train justices and staff of the Supreme Court and GCC for preventing corruption in the judicialsystem

Upgrade the CoE in Mongolia to international standards contributing to improved conduct ofjudges

Make disciplinary actions more transparent and practical

Raise public awareness of judicial conduct and thereby public trust in the judiciary

Reduce corruption in the judiciary and thus protect human rights through better court decisions

Make the Association of Judges fully operational to safeguard judicial independence, protect therights of judges and enhance their accountability.

Activities and Current Project Status (September 2010): To achieve the objectives just mentioned, thefollowing activities have been planned under the project:

Training of 18 law school teachers (distribution of Corruption in Judicial Systems Handbooks,training of 54 teachers in these schools and inclusion of judicial corruption as a subject in thecourses of law schools)

Anti-corruption training for Justices of the Supreme Court and staff of Supreme Court and GCC

Refining of existing COE to comply with the Bangalore Principles (adopted by United NationsCentre for International Crime Prevention, in 2000).

Initially, project implementation proceeded as scheduled. An update of the CoE was prepared to make itcompliant with the Bangalore Principles, and discussed in a series of Round Tables. These CoE havebeen approved and a resolution by the Chief Justice to adopt and implement the code issued in February2010. However, the project completion is delayed because of: (a) Political struggle between the newPresident of the country and the Parliament. Earlier this year, the President launched a new programaimed at further deepening of the judiciary reforms and asked for the resignation of the Chief Justice ofthe Supreme Court (being resisted), the General Prosecutor and the head of Anti-Corruption Agency.These developments have implications for the effective application of new CoE; (b) The Association ofCourt Workers approached TI-M for financial support for organizing a conference on CoE to be attended

by its members as well as Mongolian Association of Judges and the Association of Women Judges. Theobjective of this Conference is to issue a declaration on the ethical norms for and vision of workers in thejudiciary. This conference is planned in October 2010; and (c) TI-M is waiting for information from theMinistry of Education whether the law schools have incorporated into their curriculums information givenin TI-Ms handbooks and the extent to which lecturers are making use of the handbooks.

2. Mongolia: Globe International, Transparency Campaigning atLocal Government to Curb Corruption

Project Advisers: Khalid Siraj/Stephanie de Chassy


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Budget and Timeline: PTF signed, on July 1, 2010, a grant agreement with for Globe International,Mongolia (GI-M) for a grant of $30,000. The first tranche of $12,000 was disbursed at the time theagreement was signed. The project implementation commenced on August 15, 2010 as scheduled.

Project Background and Summary:The mission of GI-M, a non-profit NGO founded in 1999, is to workfor sustaining democracy and civil society in Mongolia through spreading the power of information andknowledge. GI-M has been actively working to promote the Mongolian National Anti-CorruptionProgram (over 80 projects implemented). It is managed by an independent Board (5 members) andemploys a core staff of eight. This is second GI-M intiative supported by PTF; the first, Empowering thePublic Council for Promoting Transparency to Curb Government Corruption, approved in December 2008has since been successfully completed.

In Mongolia, citizens right to information is guaranteed by the Constitution and the Government iscommitted to provide the citizens with rights to access any information. Yet, in effect, the civil societysaccess to critical information remains highly constrained because of the absence of a law on freedom ofinformation and the arcane secrecy laws that enable the government officials to restrict release ofinformation.

In 2007, GI-M drafted and submitted to the Parliament a draft bill on Freedom of Information. But therehas not been much progress on this front. However, more recently there are positive signs of promisingdevelopments and opportunities. The Government is planning to work on legislations concerning statesecrecy, access to information, and media freedom. The Parliament has set up a Working Group for thepreparation of a new Secrecy legislation. In 2009, GI-M managed to push the law makers to revise the2007 FOI law draft. For this purpose the Parliament has established a Working Group with GI-Ms leaderas its consultant.

While these positive developments are unfolding, GI-M is keen to continue its efforts to make thegovernment more open within the current legal framework. Towards this end, GI-M has conductedseveral trainings on freedom of information issues for the government officials, journalists and civilsociety groups. But more activities are needed, particularly for rural areas and local authorities to better prepare them in handling public requests for information through awareness raising, knowledge ofinternational standards and capacity building.

Project Objectives:

Within its overall goal of improving the transparency of the local public organizations to curb corruption,the projects objectives are:

To raise the awareness of the local communities and the public off icials on publicsright to access information.

To expose issues of transparency and corruption at local level through the monitoringso that the local citizens will be able to obtain required information.

To identify and expose local corruption so that local communities are c a p a b l e o fpreventing and controlling it.

Activities and Current Project Status: The project activities will be carried out in two selected Baghs (thelowest administrative level) of Ovorkhangai and Khentii aimag (about 550 and 353 km from Ulaanbaatar,respectively). Broadly, the project activities will comprise raising awareness of the local communities(audio and video handbooks), community workshops, training and preparation of manual for the localleaders, transparency actions, and monitoring to evaluate the transparency and training. The projectimplementation commenced as scheduled on August 15, 2010.


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3. Philippines: Ecolink SK Watch, Monitoring SK Funds and FunctionalityProject Adviser: Gerry van der Linden

Budget and Timeline: PTF signed an agreement on August 21, 2009 for an amount of $29,228 with SKWatch in the Philippines. A first tranche of $15,000 has been disbursed, and project implementation hasstarted.

Project Background and Summary:The SK Watch is a citizen-based approach in effectively curbingcorruption in the long term. This corruption involves billions of pesos of public funds annually in theSangguniang Kabataan, or SK (Youth Council). The Youth Council is a government body composed ofyoung citizens elected through regular elections. The initiative highlights the need for direct and activeinvolvement of every young citizen at the community level in monitoring the fiscal administration andfunctionality of every SK Council all over the country. Direct and active involvement means organizing atleast 4,000 young Filipinos in 4 pilot cities all over the country into organized groups of volunteermonitors equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills in monitoring all aspects of SK governance,especially in the area of documenting and reporting corruption issues. This also means that direct andprioritized access for monitors towards all national agencies mandated to resolve corruption cases needsto be established.

Project Objectives:

The goal of this project is to effectively and sustainably curb corruption related to SK funds and properties in 4 pilot cities by establishing accountability and transparency mechanisms within the SKsystem. There are three interventions that ECOLINK Philippines proposes to carry out to address the rootcauses of massive corruption of SK funds.

First, low-cost and popular awareness raising campaigns shall be conducted to raise the awareness

of as many Filipino youths and citizens as possible on the extent of corruption in the SK, and the

reasons and urgent need to curb it.

Second, at least 4,000 youths all over the country will be organized and mobilized into SK Watch

networks that will monitor their respective SK councils. They will be taught the practical skillsand knowledge on SK governance and on handling corruption cases that they may encounter. SK

Monitoring kits will be developed and distributed.

Third, a formal linkage shall be established between the Office of the Ombudsman, the

Commission on Audit, National Youth Commission, Presidential Anti-Graft Commission, the

Department of the Interior and Local Government, and Department of Education, and the SK

Watch networks to provide community-level youths direct access to technical support and action

from these agencies.

Activities and Current Project Status: In March 2010 the first progress report was received and the firsttranche released. MBC/CAC met with Ecolink in Mindanao to discuss project progress. Ecolink is now

strengthening the established networks of volunteer monitors for the SK. A regional workshop on Youthin Philippine Governance will be organized in October 2010 to gather youth volunteers and SK officialsto present the SK Watch findings and come up with proposed policy recommendations concerning theSK, the Junior Graft Watch, and other laws concerning youth participation in governance. A similaractivity will be organized in Iloilo and Manila by the end of the year. Ecolink is also preparing to launchthe SK Watch internet portal which could provide an online venue to discuss youth issues especiallyconcerning the SK.


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4. Philippines: Strengthening Local Mechanisms for Effective Civil Society OrganizationsParticipation in Procurement ProcessesProject Adviser: Gerry van der Linden

Budget and Timeline: PTF signed an agreement on October 15, 2009 with the Evelio B. JavierFoundation, Inc. (EBJFI) to provide a grant of $21,508 for a project intended to strengthen localmechanisms for effective civil society participation in procurement processes. A first tranche of $10,754was disbursed on October 20, 2009. The project is supposed to be completed in October 2010.

Background and project objective:The Government of the Philippines (GOP) spends an average of PhP121 Billion annually on procurement. This is fifteen percent (15%) of the nations annual budget.Approximately thirty percent (30%) or PhP 30 Billion of the said amount is lost annually due to leakages.Repeatedly mentioned reasons for the leakages were corruption, inefficiency, disorganization, andignorance of the law.

There was a lack of trust and confidence in the public procurement system amongst civil societyorganizations (CSOs), non-government organizations (NGOs), peoples organizations (POs), and theprivate sector.

The need to reform public procurement was therefore a must in order to combat graft and corruption and

also as an essential part of good governance and a cost-effective public expenditure program which in thecase of the Philippines have always been constrained by a limited national budget.

The most obvious and immediate reform measure was to unify the numerous and often conflicting procurement rules and regulations existing in the country and ensure that the end product will beauthoritative. As such, Republic Act No. 9184 entitled An Act providing for the Modernization,Standardization and Regulation of the Procurement Activities of the Government and for other Purposesmore commonly known as the Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA) was passed in January 26,2003.

In this Act, the GOP laid down the foundation of its procurement processes based on the followingprinciples: transparency, competitiveness, streamlined process and utilization of information technology,accountability, and public monitoring.

Positively, GPRA has been hailed locally and internationally. For instance, World Bank Country DirectorJoachim von Amsberg has been quoted as saying that R.A. 9184 is one of the best procurement laws inthe world. Also, Dr. Benjamin E. Diokno, former Secretary of Budget and Management in thePhilippines, said: Unknown to many Filipinos, the Philippine Procurement Law is world class. It is seenby international experts as a very good model for other developing countries.

The goal of the EBJFI is to assist both Steering Committees in Davao del Sur and Cebu to enable them tosustain their activities as a unified force actively participating in public procurement activities and makingreforms happen.

In addition, EBJFI, banking on the active participation of several Local Government Units (LGUs) and

Local Government Agencies (LGAs) in the Interface, also aspire to:

Bring about a change in the way Local Government Units (LGUs) and Local GovernmentAgencies (LGAs) view BACOs and their participation in procurement processes,

Stimulate start-up activities geared towards creating inter-BAC mechanisms aimed at upgradingtheir capabilities to implement procurement activities so as to assist them in their efforts to fullyabide by the provisions of the law.


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Activities and Current Project Status:The first project workshop was held in November 2009. MBC/CACmet with the project staff in March 2010 to discuss the progress of the project.

EBJFI organized strategic planning sessions with local partners in Davao and Cebu in January 2010.Training for new observers and retooling for active observers were held in February 2010. The observersmet in March 2010 to share their experiences on procurement monitoring.

The Davao Procurement Transparency Core Group (DPTCG) interfaced with business and academe inApril 2010 before the training of trainers. In June 2010, the Cebu Observers Core Group conducted itsown trainers training then met with business and academe in July 2010. EBJFI and DPTCG will conducton-the-job -training of its trainers in September 2010. MBC/CAC will visit Davao during the workshopand conduct a preliminary assessment of DPTCGs plans after the project ends in October.

5. Philippines: Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Government (CCAGG) Abra Water andIrrigation System (AWIS) Watch

Project Adviser: Gerry van der Linden

Budget and Timeline: PTF signed an agreement on October 20, 2009 with the NGO Concerned Citizens

of Abra for Good Government, Inc. (CCAGG) to provide a grant of $19,000 for a project intended toaddress corruption in water and irrigation projects. A first tranche of $9,500 was disbursed in late October2009. The project is supposed to be completed in October 2010.

Background, rationale and objective: The Abra Water and Irrigation Systems (AWIS) Watch is acommunity-led anti-corruption initiative that aims to address massive corruption of public funds in waterand irrigation projects covering the five (5) Abra municipalities of Luba, Tubo, San Quintin, Sallapadan,and Villaviciosa through responsive capacity-building and participatory advocacies and the establishmentof a participatory mechanism to prevent corruption in the water and irrigation systems sector.

The major problem that this project wishes to address is the rampant corruption of public funds in theimplementation of water and irrigation systems projects in the Province of Abra. Based of CCAGGstudies, an estimated 30% (10.5 million) of the 36.5 million total worth of projects in the province went to

corruption. This further results into four problems currently affecting the sector: defective project plans,anomalies in the disbursement of project funds and implementation of contracts, low and sub-standardquality of completed projects and sluggish implementation of projects.Rampant corruption in the conduct of water and irrigation systems projects in the province of Abra is aresult of three interrelated issues that have been rooted within the existing social and institutionalstructures concerned. These are: 1) minimal knowledge of the general public on the extent of corruptionin the implementation of water & irrigation systems projects and the ways to prevent it; 2) weaktransparency and ethical standards within the National Irrigation Authority in Abra; and, 3) weak capacityof community beneficiaries as well as CSOs in monitoring water & irrigation systems projects. Shouldthese three underlying issues be addressed, then corruption of public funds in water and irrigation systemsprojects will be prevented and eradicated.

Because of the lengthy project preparation process CCAGG has changed the list of specific projects to bemonitored.

Activities and Current Project Status: CCAGG conducted training for irrigators, water system officers,and other stakeholders in cooperation with the Metro Bangued Water District and the National IrrigationAdministration of Abra on July 23-24, 2010. The participants from different Irrigators Association (IAs),Water Districts Officers and CCAGG Monitoring Team joined Engr. Roberto Eustaquio, Project SiteEngineer of NIA SubOffice in Bangued, the visit to Cautit and Ballasiang Communal Irrigation Systems


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of Pidigan, Abra as part of the on-site monitoring training activity. These activities were documented onvideo.

After meeting officials of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), the municipal engineers, andthe municipal planning and development officers, CCAGG found that of the seven water system projectsof LWUA, the biggest funded is in Bucay costing P32 million while the rest are P26 million to P20

million. CCAGG is concerned because not one of the seven municipalities has a program of work and noprocurements were held in these towns. One of the project team members will visit LWUA office inManila to photocopy pertinent documents.

CCAGG is now suggesting a realignment of project funds to monitor the LWUA projects and to conduct aprocurement seminar for 27 municipal engineers and development officers to safeguard resources incollaboration with citizens.

6. Philippines: G-Watch Ateneo School of Government,Localization of the Protect Procurement Project

Gerry van der Linden

Budget and Timeline: On June 25, 2010, PTF signed a grant agreement for $30,475 with G-Watch for the

Citizen Action for Accountability in Education Procurement project.Background, rationale and objective: The project builds on earlier projects supported by PTF at thenational level, by extending the involvement of CSOs in education procurement by regional and localoffices of the Department of Education. G-Watch will partner with local CSOs, including parent-teacherassociations to build a local capacity for monitoring the work of the education department and thusenhance transparency and accountability. The grant agreement was signed by Dr. Tony La Vina, Dean ofthe School of Government of Ateneo University, and Mr. Geert van der Linden, PTF Board member.

Activities and Current Project Status: The first tranche disbursement was made on July 9, 2010 for$15,475. $15,000 remains to be disbursed.

7. Philippines: Partnership for the Development of Human Resourcesin Rural Areas (PHILDHRRA), Bantay Agri Tayo

Project Adviser: Gerry Van der Linden

Budget and Timeline: On September 4, 2010 PTF signed a grant agreement with the PhilippinePartnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas or PhilDHRRA in support of theBantay Agri Tayo project (All of us monitor agriculture).

Background, rationale and objective: The project aims to reduce corruption by establishing transparencyand accountability in the operations of the Department of Agriculture in the Central Visayas Region of thecountry. Under the project a volunteer monitor group will be created, public forums organized and auditfindings widely published. The grant agreement was signed by Ms. Annie Cynthia C. Corpin,Chairperson, Regional Board of Trustees, PhilDHRRA, and Mr. Geert van der Linden, PTF Boardmember.

Activities and Current Project Status: Pending first tranche disbursement.

8. Philippines: NAMFREL: Medicine MOnitoring Project IIProject Adviser: Gerry van der Linden

Budget and Timeline: On 6 September PTF signed a grant agreement with the National CitizensMovement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) for a second project aimed at monitoring de procurement,delivery and stocking of essential drugs and medicines.


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Background, rationale and objective:The project, entitled Medicine Monitoring II, will build on theexperience gained through the first project in reducing corruption in a vital area of public service.NAMFREL will work with the Department of Health and deploy volunteers at critical stages in the cyclefrom procurement to management of stocks of drugs and medicines. In this second phase the target will be 21 hospitals and 7 regional health offices, selected on the basis of reports from the governmentsCommission on Audit. The grant agreement was signed by Mr. Eric Jude O. Alvia, Secretary General ofNAMFREL, and Mr. Geert van der Linden, PTF Board member.

Activities and Current Project Status: Pending first tranche disbursement.


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Annex 2: Status Updates Projects Completed

1. Indonesia: Building a Citizen Monitoring System onBudget Expenditure Accountability in the Education Sector

Project Adviser: Khalid Siraj

Timing and Budget: PTF approved a grant of $25,000 on April 5, 2009 for the Centre for RegionalInformation and Studies, Indonesia (PATTIRO). The agreement was signed on April 15 2009, and twotranches totaling $22,500 have been disbursed.

Background:PATTIRO is an Indonesian NGO established in 1999, with a mission to promote and creategood governance and develop public participation in Indonesia, particularly at local level. In its ten yearsof existence, PATTIRO has carried out successfully a number of programs/projects, some in collaborationwith international organizations.

Corruption in the education sector in Indonesia is becoming a more pressing issue given the substantialincrease in public funds channeled into this sector, after the national constitution mandated an education budget of - at least - 20 percent of the national budget, starting from 2009. However, corruption andinefficiency in the education sector are significant and anti-corruption initiatives are few. Despite the

increasing budget allocation for the education sector, students do not achieve desirable results; drop outrates and effective costs to students are high.

Project Objectives, Expected Outcomes and Activities: This project will focus on developing amonitoring mechanism and empowering community groups to monitor special government fundsexpenditure in West Bandung Regency. Its goal is to improve participation of civil society in monitoringof the education budget with a view to improve budget efficiency at school level. The specific objectivesare to:

Develop a monitoring model to identify misuse of funds and sources of corruption so thatnecessary improvements can be identified and implemented

Improve participation capacity of community organizations in education fund managementmonitoring.

Improve participation capacity of community organizations in revealing various violations of

education fund management at the school level.

The following project activities are to be undertaken:

Conducting research on special government funds at school and district level to identify sourcesof corruption and inefficiency

Conducting research on the capacity of citizen organizations to monitor funds

Enhancing the capacity of citizen organization in this area

Conducting training on monitoring funds management

Preparing guidelines on funds monitoring and disseminating these guidelines to civil societyorganizations

Providing technical assistance to CSOs

Conducting a dialogue among stakeholders to formulate solutions with regard to prevention ofcorruption and misuse of education funds

In addition PATTIRO will conduct advocacy for the establishment of a system for monitoring educationfunds through a regional seminar and distribution of a newsletter.

Current Status (September 2010): The project implementation has proceeded according to schedule.PATTIRO submitted two progress reports including financial report. The President of PATTIRO, Mr.Ilham C. Srimaga, visited Washington in November 2009 and met with Khalid Siraj, the Project Adviser,and with Dan and Pietronella of PTF. All project activities have been completed excep printing and publishing of a book on the findings school budgeting system. We expect to receive the projectcompletion report shortly.


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2. Philippines, Ecolink: Anti-Corruption and Transparency Project II: LGU Vehicle Monitoring(Completed. Still awaiting the PCR)

Adviser: Gerry van der Linden

Budget and Timeline

PTF signed a new grant agreement for $27,168 with ECOLINK on 23 January 2008. The first tranche of$7,467 was released on February 4, 2008 and the second tranche of $11,250 on 24 March 2008. A thirdtranche of $8,451 was released upon project completion in the middle of 2009. The project is nowcompleted. A Project Assessment is awaiting the submission of a completion report.

Background and Approach

ECOLINKs project builds on its successful implementation of the Vehicle Use Monitoring of the CityGovernment of Oroquieta, replicating the same approach in two more city governments, namely PagadianCity and Dipolog City. These are both semi-urbanized cities in Region IX and XII, respectively.

Like Oroquieta City, Pagadian and Dipolog suffer from problems of abusive and unregulated expenditures

on gasoline and lubricants, misuse of vehicles, minimal citizen awareness on proper use of governmentvehicles, weak capacities or absence of transparency networks, and weak local institutional policies. Toaddress the situation, ECOLINK will consult with other government and civil society stakeholders, andsign a Memorandum of Understanding, and Covenant during the Project Launching Ceremonies.

The monitoring and evaluation scheme undertaken in Oroquieta will be repeated in the two other cities.Citizens vigilance and engagement with media, such as through SMS, are considered to be crucial in themonitoring. To address sustainability, the project plans to seek the passage of a City Ordinance setting therules and guidelines for vehicle use and maintenance.

Observations and Achievements so far

As of 25 March 2008, ECOLINK reported that it had won the cooperation of key stakeholders with thesigning of the Memorandum of Agreement. The transparency and accountability networks had also beenformed in the target localities while multi-stakeholder action planning sessions were in full swing.

By September 2008, ECOLINK had accomplished the following:

Reduced expenses in LGU vehicles use and maintenance. Oroquieta City reported a savings ofP877,999.10 for gasoline, lubricants, repairs, and maintenance costs. Dapitan City reported a reduction ofP100,203.00 for repairs and maintenance. No available data yet from Pagadian City.

Documented and prevented cases of vehicle misuse. In Oroquieta City, 11 cases of vehicle misuse byprovincial and municipal officials were reported. Dapitan City had 17 cases. The government vehicleswere often seen at beach resorts, markets, club houses, and the cockpit. Pagadian City received 21 reportsof vehicle misuse coming from the local media and the Junior Graft Watch Units.

Increased citizens awareness and participation on anti-corruption and transparency programs. About1,000 young people joined the Youth Festival at Pagadian City in June 2008, which featured a live-band,

arts, and literary competitions. In Dapitan City, at least 800 people watched the cultural shows and dancesdepicting the negative effects of corruption. Oroquieta City also had a youth festival that brought togetherthousands of people.

Strengthened CSO capabilities. After training in corruption monitoring, the CSOs were accredited by theOffice of the Ombudsman of Mindanao and recognized in local procurement bodies and fiscal councils. Agroup of 14 NGOs, church groups, and individuals formed the Pagadian Transparency and AccountabilityNetwork (PTAN).

Improved LGU policies in procurement, use and maintenance of vehicles. Policy formulation workshopsled to the drafting of ordinances in Pagadian and Dapitan. ECOLINK and the local networks inspected the


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motor pools, checked gasoline gauges, logos, and For Official Use Only stickers. The OroquietaCoalition Against Corruption, with ECOLINK as secretariat, is now observing 17 Bids and AwardsCommittees. Moreover, three officials in Oroquieta City have been dismissed from office due to vehiclemisuse.

ECOLINK encountered problems in project implementation due to the war in Pagadian and the dismissalof its project coordinator. On February 2009, the ECOLINK was presented at the CODE-NGODevelopment Week in Manila.

The project completion report is still awaited and is long overdue.

3. Philippines, INCITEGov: Participatory Monitoring for Barangay Infrastructure and HealthProjects in the Province of Isabela (Completed. PCA prepared)


Budget and Timeline

PTF signed an agreement on June 24 2008 for $25,069 with INCITEGov. A first tranche of $12600 wasdisbursed on June 26, 2008. A second tranche of $10,000 was released subsequently. A final tranche of

$2,469 has been released.Background and Approach

Isabela is the second largest province in the Philippines located in the northeastern part of Luzon. GracePadaca, its governor and one of the countrys reform minded politicians, realized that there is a need tostrengthen citizens participation, improve transparency in the use of public funds, and monitor localservice delivery.

INCITEGov spearheaded the project in partnership with the provincial government of Isabela and thePeoples Alliance for Justice, Democracy and Good Governance (PAJDGG), a multisectoral organizationcomposed of professionals, farmers, women leaders, and church workers of different faith denominations.

Project Objectives and Activities

This participatory project aims to set up systems to improve transparency in the use of public funds,empower civil society organizations, and improve the procurement of medicines in five (5) provincialhospitals.

As of September 2008, INCITEGov reported that it has set up procedures in determining the criteria forproject selection. To implement the system, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signedbetween the Provincial Government of Isabela and the PAJDGG.

Monitoring teams were also organized after convening the PAJDGG members and signing of anotherMOU between INCITEGov and PAJDGG. After finalizing the list of projects, 14 monitoring teams areready to check infrastructure projects and two study groups will review drug procurement.

At least 65 participants joined the basic training on participatory monitoring held on September 3 52008. Barangay officials and chiefs of hospitals were invited on the last day of the workshop.

A project assessment report has been prepared and posted on PTF's website.

4. Philippines, NAMFREL: Medicine Monitoring Project (Completed. PCA prepared)


Budget and Timeline

PTF signed an agreement on June 12 2008 for $23296 with the National Citizens Movement for FreeElections (NAMFREL), a volunteer based organization active during elections. By November 2009 two


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tranches had been released for a total of $20,966. A remaining tranche of $2330 will be released uponreceipt of the financial statements from NAMFREL.


Because of NAMFRELs large network and monitoring experience, the Department of Health (DOH)sought its help to monitor procurement, delivery, and inventory of medicines in DOH-managed hospitals.

Over 100 volunteers were mobilized and deployed in 66 public hospitals from 2004 to 2007.NAMFREL, however, needs to improve further its training module and strengthen citizens participationas well as focus its monitoring on selected hospitals that play a crucial role in providing health services tothe public.

Identification of Issues and Needs

In July-August 2008, the project started to review its training module for medicine monitoring.NAMFREL has consulted the chiefs of hospitals of eight (8) DOH Retained Hospitals. In additionNAMFREL consulted regional directors of three (3) Centers for Health Development during the period 4September to 29 October 2008. The issues raised were as follows:

Volunteers should have basic knowledge of health management and medicines to understand thenuances of their procurement.

Hospitals accepted delivery of medicines that were less than the required shelf life of 18 monthsbecause they assumed that suppliers will replenish the delivered medicines three (3) months priorto their expiration.

NAMFREL volunteers will join the Integrity Development Committees (IDCs), the anti-corruption units in the hospitals.

Observers are expected to give their comments right after the bid proceeding to determine if theBAC complied with RA 9184.

Carry out the delivery and inventory monitoring for drugs and medicines once a month tooptimize volunteer mobilization.

Suggested a penalty of 1% per day of delay to deliver the goods should be imposed to suppliers

who fail to make the full delivery on time.

Suggested to establish and implement a Code of Conduct for suppliers participating in hospitalbiddings.

NAMFREL suggested to the IDCs to create a report-handling mechanism.

Results

As of October 2008, 40 volunteers have been monitoring a total of P233.9 million-worth of medicinesand medical supplies in the project sites.

After the orientation of volunteers in November 2008, monitoring started in the first quarter of 2009. Itwas done for P5.3 million worth of drugs and medicines in four hospitals in Western Visayas, CordilleraAutonomous Region, Central Luzon, and National Capital Region. Of this amount, P2.4 million have

already been accounted for while the protect team is processing additional monitoring reports.There was also an effort to augment the volunteer base through a meeting with Gawad Kalinga, especiallyin National Capital Region. Lastly, the project team attended the Department of Healths IntegrityDevelopment Committee to share initial findings of the monitoring.



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5. Philippines G-Watch of Ateneo School of Government. Project Procurement Project (PRO):

Institutionalizing the Capacity Building of CSO Procurement Observers (Completed. PCA prepared)


Budget and Timeline

PTF signed an agreement for $27,500 with the Ateneo School of Government through its G-Watchprogram on 15 April 2008. In the meantime the entire grant has been disbursed and a Project CompletionReport has been submitted to PTF. A Project Completion Assessment is in preparation.


The objective of the G-Watchs PRO project was to sustain and expand the gains of civil societyparticipation in the Department of Education (DepEd), specifically arising from the Textbook CountProject, which enabled transparency in the bidding and delivery of textbooks.

PRO sought to reinforce the gains of CSOs and DepEd, thus ensuring the procurement of books atreasonable prices and the timely delivery of high quality textbooks to students. The CSO-governmentcollaboration has helped institutionalize the Government Procurement Reform Acts (RA 9184)requirement for third-party observers.

G-Watch met with the DepEd-Procurement Service to fine-tune the project and sealed the partnershipthrough a memorandum signed by DepEd Undersecretary Teodosio Sangil Jr. on 14 July 2008. Educationofficials were receptive to a project that would enhance the capacity and influence of CSO observers.

Project Outcomes

After 12 months of implementation, the project successfully set up and piloted a system of mobilization,capacity building and recognition of civil society observers in the procurement process. Theseaccomplishments are detailed as follows:

Commitments to pilot test PRO were solicited from 12 CSOs on 9 May and 5 June 2008. Theproject produced 31 graduates from seven organizations, who underwent intensive and on-the-job training on procurement monitoring.

An orientation-workshop was conducted in August 2008 to instruct the volunteers about thegovernment procurement process, role of civil society in monitoring of processes in the Educationsector, raising red flags, and reporting and documentation responsibilities. It made use of a varietyof learning tools, including lecture-discussion, case analysis, small group work, organizationplanning, and diagnostic tests.

Proceedings were observed in 10 procurement items, the contracts for which amount to P1.3billion.

The proceedings observed were found systematic and according to prescribed process, whichcould partly be attributed to the presence of observers.

The projects culminating activity was the public forum entitled, The InstitutionalizationQuestion: Forum on Ways and Means to Institutionalize the Mobilization and Capacity-Building

of CSO Procurement Observers. It reaffirmed the value of sustained government-civil societypartnership and vital recommendations to enhance participation, such as strategic targeting ofitems to monitor.


east asia regional progress report

Documents