‘May pera pa ba’ for the MDGs?

MDG is perhaps the best known three-letter word in English in the world. One-hundred ninety countries, whatever their languages, swear by it. It means Millennium Development Goals. The MDGs were launched in 2000, with the Philippines among the signatories. Right now, a race is feverishly going on to reach the goals on or before 2015.

In 2006 graduate students of the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance wrote a book and asked the all-important question: May Pera Pa Ba? The book emphasized the importance of generating adequate financing to achieve the MDGs. The authors revealed the huge gaps between required financing and actual budget allocations.

Also in 2006, Social Watch Philippines and 22 civil-society organizations (CSOs) banded together with like-minded legislators and launched the Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI). The campaign yielded additional allocations in the 2007 budget totaling over P5 billion. By 2007 the number of CSOs had increased to 48 and more legislators joined the advocacy, including the chairman of the appropriations committee and leading members of the Senate. The campaign generated additional allocations of more than P6 billion for MDG-related expenditures.

These efforts emphasize the crucial importance of funding the MDGs. No one in his or her right mind, especially the politicians, will quarrel with the MDGs. After all, who is against poverty reduction, education for all, reduction of infant and maternal mortality, fighting against HIV/AIDS and other dreaded diseases, caring for the environment and finding sustainable solutions to global problems?

Songs have been written, documentaries have been produced, poems have been recited and tons of books have been written on the MDGs. Rivers of tears have been shed for the MDGs by movie stars and celebrities, heads of government and politicians.

The question, however, remains: Are the members of the international community and the individual countries generating adequate financing for the MDGs?

Financing for development at the regional level

The matter of financing the MDGs is not just a big issue in the Philippines. It is a matter of regional and international concern. The bigger issue is not just MDGs. It is financing for development, including the MDGs.

On May 8 and 9, leaders of civil-society organizations from nine Asian countries will meet for a consultation on Financing for Development. The consultation is in preparation for the big international meeting on Financing for Development, which will be held in Doha, Qatar, in October 2008.

The Asian CSOs are meeting to identify and consolidate issues which they will bring to the Qatar meeting regarding domestic-resource mobilization, foreign direct investment, trade, debt and the international financial architecture.

By way of recall, a summit was held in Monterrey, Mexico, in March 2002 to consider important issues related to Financing for Development. The Qatar meeting will assess progress on the Monterrey Consensus.

The May meeting is jointly organized by Friederich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and Social Watch Philippines. Participating Asian CSOs are from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Mongolia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Roberto Bissio, director of the global network of Social Watch; Frank Schroeder of FES and Nicola Bullard of Focus on the Global South will join CSO leaders from seven Asian countries in leading the discussions and analyses.

In the Philippines, CSOs are already in the thick of campaigns for more financing for development. Their experience, as well as those of other Asian countries, will certainly be instructive and useful to the global community of nations.

Of giggles and titters

Last week, the President was seen and heard giggling over her impending Cabinet revamp, which she declared a secret. By specifying who are not in the “secret” list, she gave hints as to who will go, as well as those who will come in.

Governance is not a matter for presidential giggles and titters. What is becoming clear is that the “revamp” is primarily to make way for losers in the last elections who need to be accommodated, as well as to reward loyalty. It is not a response to increasingly loud demands for reforms in governance.

Only recently, concerned quarters raised questions about the qualifications of the newly appointed chairman of the Civil Service Commission. In one gathering, one defender passionately recited the qualifications of the appointee.

The issue is not just the qualifications of the appointee. It is important to remember that the Civil Service Commission is an independent constitutional body. The question is: Will he be independent? Let’s see.

TOMORROW, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) will hold a consultative meeting that will bring together key players in the energy industry, as well as consumers, to discuss the recent increase in electricity costs.

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