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 For good governance: Samarenos from different groups and social class come together under MATA-Samar to demand for more transparency from their local government. CATBALOGAN CITY – They have different jobs, status in life, histories and most likely beliefs. But they all came together to express their common hope and goal: to help their province, said to be one of the richest in the country, to rise up and develop by demanding good leadership and management.
The Multisectoral Alliance for Transparency and Accountability (MATA-Samar) was formally launched in this laid back city December 11 kicking off with an early morning motorcade followed by a forum that culminated in the signing of their Pledge of Commitment to Good Governance.
As the name suggests, MATA-Samar is a motley mix of individuals and groups with varying interests but are bound to help their province improve its record on transparency and accountability. Members include journalists, priests, social workers, teachers, radio alert enthusiasts, environmentalists, farmers, and provincial government employees to name a few.
Although anti-corruption initiatives are not new in the province of Samar, the opportunity to consolidate efforts came about middle of this year after several CSOs, media groups and government workers held an exploratory meet with the Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project (PPTRP) to discuss ideas of a potential local transparency reporting group. The groups, which would later comprise what the MATA-Samar is now, discussed plans of forging links between media, CSOs and other sectors to increase understanding, monitoring and reporting of transparency and anti-corruption issues.
For MATA-Samar, it is about time to increase calls for better governance and transparency in their local government, now known as among the many provinces run by a single family. The most compelling reason: the worsening poverty of the people amid the province’s rich resources.
“Why are we so rich, yet so poor?” asked Charo Cabardo, MATA-Samar’s project facilitator in her welcome remarks at the group’s launch forum at the Cocina de Cabral.
Samar, she said, is said to own a wealth of biodiversity resources worth USD 25 billion, and its fisheries in Maqueda Bay has been identified as one of the richest fishing grounds in the Philippines.
But in a recent briefing of the national government on the state of poverty in the country, Samar remains to be one of the seven most depressed provinces in the Philippines, Cabardo said.
Cabardo said the province’s state of poverty could not no longer be blamed on the typhoons --- these rarely visited Samar in the last decades – but to another calamity which is “more devastating than the typhoons of yore”: corrupt governance.
MATA-Samar, Cabardo said, is being launched to address this pressing problem. “This good governance is not only about good, uncorrupt leaders but more importantly about the involvement of the citizenry in governance.”
Samar corruption index
MATA-Samar chairperson Emy Bonifacio provided a picture of corruption in Samar: random research in the internet about corruption in the Philippines shows results about Samar, including online news reports, videos and even websites dedicated to monitor corruption in the province.
Among the known cases of corruption in Samar were:
- Infrastructure irregularities in Barangay Blanca Aurora in San Jorge town
- Poor health facilities in Basey town
- Lack of monitoring and accountability in the use of government-owned equipment at the Equipment Pool Division of the Provincial Government Office
- Unfunctional district hospitals
- Unfinished road construction or poor road networks, such as the PhP 21- million (USD 488,372) road opening project of the Balante Baluog Road in Basey
Unresolved corruption, Bonifacio said, has furthered widened disparity between the rich and the poor in the province; worsened the quality of social services essential to survival such as health, education and housing; and has further led to the gross neglect of agriculture, fisheries, rural development and environmental protection – lack of which affecting the poorest citizens.
The challenge now is to mobilize the people to demand for more transparency and accountability in government, she said. “We call on everyone to be a committed citizen. Let’s be one in advocating for good governance…We can continue being critical but not damaging.”
First steps
Since its inception in September, MATA-Samar has so far spearheaded campaigns for better public access to provincial and municipal governments’ budgets and to monitor road projects.
 MATA-Samar members make a pledge of commitment to good governance, including divulging any anomaly that they learn. RORIE R. FAJARDO It as also taken part in the Millennium Challenge Account, a local monitoring counterpart that will take a major role in the implementation of the 222 km.-road network from Barangay Buray, Paranas Samar to Guian, Eastern Samar and the KALAHI-CIDSS project of the social welfare department. The project is part of the USD 434-million Millennium Challenge Corporation fund released by the U.S. foreign aid agency to address global poverty. As a requirement, beneficiaries should be committed to good governance, economic freedom and investments in their citizens.
MATA-Samar has also taken part on different trainings, including that of understanding the national and local budgets, public journalism, and safety and security especially when investigating local corruption issues.
MATA-Samar has also established its own website to make its campaigns more accessible and understandable to the ordinary citizens. Fr. Cesar Aculan, one of MATA-Samar’s advisers and director of Social Action Program of Diocese of Calbayog, said the group’s efforts would mean nothing if it fails to involve the ordinary peoples, that is why it is key to reach out to them and mobilize them.
Around 60 people gathered at the launching forum. The participants wore shirts with the MATA-Samar logo and the phrase “Go go go, Samar!” in front and the logo of PPTRP website Pera Natin ‘To! and MATA-Samar’s website address at the back.
PPTRP manager Rorie Fajardo, who joined the group for the event, congratulated the group for rising up amid risks of reprisal or retaliation from local officials frowning at anti-corruption groups.
“Please help us deepen public understanding on public sector finance. It is only when the people understand the information they have on our national and local budgets that they are able to truly have a say on these. It is our money, so it is only right that our voices should be heard,” Fajardo said.
The Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN) welcomed the formation of MATA-Samar. “…Time and again, citizens have proven that we are able to defeat the evils of corruption if we work together…We also congratulate the people of Samar for having a group like yours that has the courage to be at the forefront of the battle against corruption for the benefit of the community,” the group said in its message sent through email.
The forum ended with the signing of the Pledge of Commitment to Good Governance. “I will not be part of any graft and corrupt practices and I will divulge any anomalous activity that will reach my knowledge,” says in the portion of the pledge.
MATA-Samar members include the Social Action Center-Calbayog, Association of Concerned Emloyees in Samar (ACES), Tandaya Foundation, Samarnews Inc., and the Isog Han Samar Movement. Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project
(The author is the manager of the Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project.)
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What's wrong with these photos (apart from the blocked out bits)? 
