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MEMBERS
of civil society are urging the government to allow them
to monitor the use of the national budget to see if
enough resources are channeled to programs and
activities related to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Social
Watch
Philippines said
this would ensure efficient use of government funds,
especially those allocated for MDGs.
Lead
convenor and former national treasurer Leonor
Magtolis-Briones said, “We urge the government to allow
civil society to participate in assessing how the budget
is being used. We demand accountability.”
Briones
said at the sidelines of a national consultation among
civil society groups on the Philippines’s midterm
progress report on the MDGs that while they had been
successful in lobbying Congress to increase funding for
some MDGs such as in education, there is a need to track
the increased allocations to make sure they are being
used as intended.
They
also want to ensure the funds would be channeled
equitably to other parts of the country, added Briones,
who noted that most of government resources are not
spread out equally and are focused mostly on Luzon.
Minar
Pimple, deputy director of the United Nations Asia
Millennium Campaign, said this inequitable distribution
of resources is problematic since this would make people
“restive.”
Social
Watch and similar groups like Piglas Kababaihan and the
Assalam Bangsamoro People’s Association point out that
governance characterized by citizen participation,
transparency, and accountability will go a long way in
achieving the MDG goals of the UN.
The MDGs
refer to the eight goals and the 18 targets the
international community had committed to attain in 15
years mostly in developing countries. In the year 2000,
the
Philippines
joined 189 other countries and signed the Millennium
Declaration and the covenant to attain the MDGs by 2015.
Mid-way
to the target date, civil society has noted Philippine
progress on the MDGs remains unsatisfactory. Social
Watch, for one, said most of the goals would not be
fully met based on the country’s performance in the past
seven years.
“Mindanao is the biggest evidence that the MDGs cannot
be achieved,” said ABPA national secretary general Jolly
Lais, adding the armed conflict in
Mindanao is simply not about terrorism, but survival because
Mindanao
depicts social insecurity in all its aspects.
“[This
is because] the government is not fully committed to the
MDGs. Direction and focus needs to come from the highest
political leadership. Rhetoric and gimmicks are not
sufficient,” said Social Watch in a statement.
Briones
noted the recent State of the Nation Address of the
President and the priority bills being pushed by the
Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council
touched mostly on revenue-related measures and little on
social services. “The Sona and the bills being pushed by
Ledac are two of the best sources that reflect the
government’s priorities.”
“While
there is brief mention of education and health, the Sona
talked mostly about infrastructure projects. There was
even no mention on how the Philippines intends to
improve the state of the environment,” added Briones. |
