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Prof. Boncodin, in one of the forums she had appeared in to help people understand the the national budget and what people could do to protect it from corruption and wastage.
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PPTRP holds 7th budget reporting training in Davao City May 27 |
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PPTRP
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Friday, 03 June 2011 |
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 The Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project (PPTRP) held its seventh training on advanced transparency and anti-corruption reporting called “Numeracy for Journalists, Civil Society Organizations and Citizens” on May 27 at the Ateneo De Davao in Davao City.
The training is the second leg of the PPTRP training series in Davao City. The first was held in August 2010, where members of the media and civil society organizations were trained on basic laws on transparency and accountability and anti-corruption in the public sector and ways in monitoring and reporting corruption in their respective local governments. The recent training revisited basic concepts on corruption and later focused on understanding local government finance processes, including the powers and limitations of local government officials when it comes to budget matters. It also comprehensively tackled the procurement process, where corrupt practices reportedly continue to take place especially in the absence of public scrutiny.
A total of 14 persons took part in the training. Of this number, seven are female and seven are male. All are media practitioners; members of civil society organizations invited for the training were not able to attend.
After reviewing the basic concepts on corruption and transparency, the participants received inputs on Republic Act 9184, also known as the Procurement Act of 2003 from resource person Reylynne Dela Paz, advocacy officer of the CSO Transparency and Accountability Network.
Dela Paz, who was part of the CSO team who monitored the bidding and procurement process related to last year’s automated national elections, stressed that despite the law ensuring transparency in every step, members of both the media and CSOs that strict monitoring must start at the planning stage, where “deals” or collusion are allegedly already made.
Rowena Paraan, PPTRP lead trainer and NUJP secretary general, discussed the powers and limitations of the local government unit, specifically on budget administration matters. “The LGU budget is a rich source of stories,” she said, adding that while it is supposed to reflect the development priorities of a certain LGU, most often it has been used as a political tool or has sadly reflected corrupt practices of elected officials.
 The participants later took part in a workshop to discuss the barriers in reporting the local government budget, and the possible solutions to these. Among those identified were the inaccessibility of documents; refusal of sources to provide information; limited time to research and report; disinterest among the audience; and threat to one’s safety and security. The participants laid down some solutions: developing multiple sources of interviews and documents; reporting and interpreting budget stories in ways where the ordinary citizens could relate to; and proper coordination with one’s editorial office and existence media protection groups when pursuing sensitive stories on local budget spending and accountability.
When asked to list down critical issues on corruption in their city, the participants listed these: pork barrel utilization; rehabilitation of Davao City’s drainage system; accountability in the use of the city’s development funds and also that for programs supporting women and children; and the state of elementary education in Davao City.
Overall, the participants found the training useful and relevant to their field. Bj Patino of MindaNews said among the main things he learned from the training were the basic workings of LGUs, laws on corruption, and what media and ordinary people could do to hold those in power accountable for.
Ethel Constantino of PTV/NBN said the training helped her look beyond government budget figures and linking these to issues which the people could identify with. Hernel Tocmo of ABS CBN Davao, meanwhile, said he could apply learning from the training when assigned to cover the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
The training was made possible through the financial assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and technical assistance of the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI).
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BLOGS
End-of-Project Survey – Your Opinions So Far
Thursday, 07 July 2011
While the first of our two end-of project surveys has just been posted, the results coming in already make for some very interesting reading. This survey largely centers on which direction you think the fight for greater transparency and accountability is headed in the Philippines and what you think is currently present, necessary or missing in thinking, plans and action. READ MORE
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The People’s Budget – It’s Up To us to Really Make It So
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Senate Bill 2186 or the People's Participation in Budget Deliberations Act is a very welcome move in the fight against corruption and graft and the Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project was lucky enough to see it first a few weeks ago and be tapped for our own opinions on it. READ MORE
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Truth Telling as We Remember the Lessons from EDSA
Monday, 21 February 2011
Former state auditor Heidi Mendoza’s message to the public at the Valentine’s Day forum where she was key speaker was very timely given we are just days away from marking the 25th anniversary of the EDSA Revolution that toppled the Marcos dictatorship and ushered in democracy. READ MORE
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The Public Watch
Saturday, 19 February 2011
It is encouraging to see the Senate Conference Room on February 18 filled with students, nuns, socialites, activists, CSO workers and other concerned citizens who are all wanting to follow the continuing Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on alleged corruption within the Armed Forces of the Philippines. READ MORE
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General Heidi
Thursday, 03 February 2011
We have a true ‘soldier’ in the form of anti-corruption fighter Heidi Mendoza –we just need to encourage more people like her to step forward and join her army. READ MORE
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In the National – Not Personal Interest
Wednesday, 02 February 2011
‘Basic fair play, decency, good manners and right conduct.’ These words appeared in a well-argued column yesterday by William M. Esposo, the self-styled Chair-wrecker from the Philippine Star. READ MORE
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Poor Budgeting, Too Many Contingency, and Special Purpose Funds and ‘Savings’ – All A Recipe For Corruption
Tuesday, 01 February 2011
Without commenting on who is charging what about whom in the AFP right now, it is not difficult to see how pabaon (send-off money) scandals can so easily happen. Blue Ribbon Committee hearings and politicians talk incessantly about slush-funds - and they seem to feature in every high level case of alleged corruption: But as yet, we don’t seem to link the ubiquitous slush funds with the ubiquitous and hugely discretionary contingency and special purpose funds (and dare we say it again, the PDAF/Pork Barrel Allocations) which are written into national budgets and approved by legislative committees year after year.” READ MORE
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Officials Ignoring DILG Orders to Stop Personalizing Public Projects
Friday, 21 January 2011
A public-spirited citizen from Samar has just sent us in a series of photos and a complaint that government officials there appear to be in clear breach of a circular from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) banning the use of “names or initials and/or images or pictures of government officials in billboards and signages of government programs and projects.” READ MORE
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The Good and Bad News from TI’s 2010 Global Corruption Barometer
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
There is both good and bad news for the Philippines in the latest Global Perception Barometer Index released by Transparency International last week to mark International Anti-Corruption Day (December 9). READ MORE
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SC Ruling Is No Surprise
Friday, 10 December 2010
Sadly the Supreme Court ruling on the legality of the Truth Commission comes as no surprise. We put ‘sadly’ not for the reasons that some might think – that many claim the Court to be biased against the Aquino government. It is ‘sad’ because it was perfectly clear back in May that any attempt to set up a commission which would only look at the alleged misdeeds of the Arroyo administration was a very poorly judged one. It suggested the move was much more about politics than it was about addressing the root of the problem of corruption in the Philippines. READ MORE
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University Budget Cuts – Fact or Fiction and the Media’s Mission To Explain
29 November 2010
Opinion is critical and freedom of expression an inalienable (natural) right. Too is the right to information and often we assume they are the same thing. Yet information is essentially data and fact. Unfortunately, too much reporting the world over is poorly rooted in fact and too heavily in opinion and hearsay. READ MORE
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Open Budget, Open Government
29 November 2010
Government officials, members of civil society organization workers, academic experts, business people and international development agencies met on Saturday November 20 in Pasig City to sign an agreement in a bid to make government budgets more open. READ MORE
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Transparency in Government Contracts to Big Business and Consultancies
22 November 2010
“We are beginning to learn who works where, what departments spend and who are the big business recipients of taxpayers’ money,” journalists from the UK Guardian wrote last Friday in response to the latest release of financial details by the British Government. READ MORE
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PROJECT NEWS
 PPTRP holds 10th budget reporting training in Bohol June 30
The Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project (PPTRP) held its 10th training on advanced transparency and anti-corruption reporting called “Numeracy for Journalists, Civil Society Organizations and Citizens” on June 30 at the JJ’s Seafood Village in Tagbilaran City in Bohol. READ MORE
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 PPTRP holds 9th budget transparency reporting training in Kidapawan City June 6
The Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project (PPTRP) held its 9th training on advanced and anti-corruption reporting dubbed as “Numeracy for Journalists, Civil Society Organizations and Citizens” on June 6 at Boylyn Pension Plaza in Kidapawan City. The training was made possible with the financial assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the technical assistance of the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI). READ MORE
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PPTRP holds 8th budget reporting training in Pampanga June 3
The Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project (PPTRP) held its 8th training on advanced and anti-corruption reporting dubbed as “Numeracy for Journalists, Civil Society Organizations and Citizens” on June 3 at the Social Action Center of Pampanga in San Fernando City, Pampanga. READ MORE
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 PPTRP-supported Local Transparency Groups Share Experiences in Reporting, Fighting Corruption
Three local transparency reporting groups which the Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project (PPTRP) supported and helped establish gathered on June 3 in Bohol to share experiences in building transparency and accountability in their respective communities. READ MORE
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PPTRP holds 7th budget reporting training in Davao City May 27
The Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project (PPTRP) held its seventh training on advanced transparency and anti-corruption reporting called “Numeracy for Journalists, Civil Society Organizations and Citizens” on May 27 at the Ateneo De Davao in Davao City. READ MORE
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 PPTRP holds 6th budget transparency reporting in Dipolog City May 23
The Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project (PPTRP) held its 6th training on advanced transparency and anti-corruption reporting called “Numeracy for Journalists, Civil Society Organizations and Citizens” on May 23 at the Top Plaza Hotel in Dipolog City. READ MORE
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 PPTRP meets with editors and columnists May 18 to discuss media coverage of public corruption
The Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project met with editors and columnists of selected national and international media organizations May 18 in Manila to discuss current media behavior and thinking in relation to public corruption and transparency. READ MORE
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 PPTRP meets NBN ZTE scam whistle blower Rodolfo Lozada May 9
Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada, the former CEO of the Philippine Forest Corporation who later disclosed explosive information on the anomalous USD 329 million NBN-ZTE deal that nearly brought down the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, shared his views May 9 with the Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project on continuing the fight against corruption and for genuine transparency under the new administration. READ MORE
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 PPTRP holds 5th budget reporting training in Ozamiz City April 26
The Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project held its fifth training on advanced transparency and anti-corruption reporting called “Numeracy for Journalists, Civil Society Organizations and Citizens” on April 26 at the Naomi’s Botanical Gardens in Ozamiz City. READ MORE
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 PPTRP holds 4th training on budget reporting in CDO April 2
The Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project (PPTRP) held its fourth training on advanced transparency and anti-corruption reporting called “Numeracy for Journalists, Civil Society Organizations and Citizens” on April 2 in Cagayan de Oro City. READ MORE
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