CCAGG CONCERNED CITIZENS OF ABRA FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE

CASE STUDY A local grassroots organization in the , CONCERNED CITIZENS FOR ABRA FOR GOOD INITIATIVE NAME: GOVERNANCE (CONCERNED CITIZENS), CONCERNED CITIZENS monitors the completion and quality of public OF ABRA FOR GOOD infrastructure projects in the province of Abra. GOVERNANCE (CCAGG) The citizens of the province who volunteer to ONLINE PRESENCE: monitor these projects receive training from HTTP://CCAGG.ORG Concerned Citizens’ team of engineers, learning how GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE: to generate data themselves. Over the past 20 years, ABRA, PHILIPPINES the organization has successfully monitored more than 600 infrastructure projects valued at 7 million USD in total, including roads, school Photos taken from http://ccagg.org buildings, irrigation systems and bridges. CASE STUDY: Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Governance (CCAGG) | 2 4  3  2 1  Concerned Citizens. as such organizations, government, through NEDA and MBM,provided the implementing civil society Management (MBM). Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Ministry of Budget and working closely with the national planning and development agency, National They monitored public infrastructure projects, starting with road construction, as amonitoring group. contractors effectively carried out the development of public works projects by acting (Concerned Citizens). Their objective was ensure to that the public officials and got together and formed Concerned Citizens Abra for Good for Government In the context of the CEDP, a group of two-dozen teachers and community organizers THE STORY:CONCERNEDCITIZENS ensureto that government agencies used funds as intended. monitorto progress and the quality of construction of infrastructure projects managed rural its public works program. (CEDP) this by creating the development projects in Abra. In 1986, President Corazon Aquino sought improve to The Government of the Philippines has found it difficult to followthrough its on of politically motivated violence, causing instability and corruption. many citizens have no access hospitals to or schools. Moreover, the country has ahistory Abra is one of the largest and poorest. is currently at 25.8%, meaning one in four families lives in poverty. The poverty incidence in the 7,100 island archipelago of that makes up the Philippines BACKGROUND Authority, 2015.Authority, “Philippines in Figures 2015.” Report on Census Data. Republic of the Philippines: Philippines Statistics Ibid. Rushda Majeed, “Power at the Grassroots: Monitoring Public Works in Abra, Philippines, 1986–1990.” 2015, 2015, in Innovations Successful for Societies, Princeton University, February 2013, accessed September 28, Majeed, op cit. http://successfulsocieties.princeton.edu/sites/successfulsocieties/files/Policy_Note_ID231.pdf , aone-year initiative that dramatically changed the way government https://psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/2015%20PIF.pdf COMMUNITY EMPLOYMENT AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM COMMUNITY 4 The below chart maps out the knowledge and tools that 2 Without paved roads or basic infrastructure, 3 The program empowered communities 1 The province of 6 More about projects in “Power at the Grassroots: Monitoring Public Works in Abra, Philippines.” 5 Ibid. volunteers monitor to roads and infrastructure projects, providing detailed guidance citizens of Abra and engineering team at Concerned Citizens. These engineers trained The monitoring and data collection was acollective between effort the passionate TRAINING, MONITORINGANDDATACOLLECTION ignorant so that they could do what they wanted.” they exclaimed “We had been shortchanged. People in the government kept us province. During researcher Rushda Majeed’s interviews with community members, were very surprised know to that such so much money had been invested in their hall meetings, local radio stations and through print media. The people of Abra beto implemented, discussed monitoring activities, and reported findings townat and media. They informed the Abra community about the new government projects mobilisation, programs, logistics, education, research and documentation, legal, Concerned Citizens organised themselves into committees: organisation and COMMUNITY ORGANIZINGANDEMPOWERMENT identified 20 incomplete projects. Working with the support of the government, Concerned Citizens successfully only after [civil society] monitors confirmed completion of variousstages of work”. During this year-long CEPD program, “[public works] contractors were be to paid ● ● ● ● ● GOVERNMENT PROVIDED CSOS WITH ● ● ● ● ● with organizations during process Open channels of communication training technical and General schedule the for release of funds Statements of project and costs agencies projects of the implementing the about Information theirand locations A list of local projects

6 ● ● ● CSOS WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR ● ● ● for Providing recommendations and the number of days they worked citizens employed at the project site, Documenting the number of local and†local implementing agencies and reporting back NEDA to Documenting the project’s progress resolving any irregularities any resolving the income they received income they the 5

CASE STUDY: Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Governance (CCAGG) | 3 CASE STUDY: Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Governance (CCAGG) | 4 8  7  that the government could have done more enable to their work. as it waited for progress Itis reports. the view of Concerned Citizens members before paying contractors. For the part, its department could not delay payment onwards, local officials no longer waited for Concerned Citizens’ monitoring report government support and involvement, dissolved over time. Come mid-1990s Unfortunately, following the end of CEPD, some elements of the program, specifically Economicfor Co-operation and Development, and the Asian Development Bank. Council, the World Bank, the Partnership Transparency for Fund, the Organisation Their project funding comes from organizations such as the UNDP, the British mature and economically emancipated citizenry who will work good for governance.” Today, their mission has evolved “establish to aself-reliant community of apolitically institutionalizing and consolidating after initial its success in 1987 with CEDP. In 1988, Concerned Citizens registered as an independent nonprofit organization, THE EVOLUTIONOFCONCERNEDCITIZENS “We had death threats breakfast,” for recalled founding member Madriaga. In some cases, volunteers were often harassed or offered bribes at project sites the thought of monitors who were not engineers looking over their shoulders. angry with us and said we were meddlers and faultfinders. They could notstand development agency instructed them to. There were government officials who were district office “would not give us the program of works even if the national Finding out aproject’s specifications was challenging.often For example, the local Even with the support of the engineers, the teams encountered many roadblocks. Citizens forms, which were later supplemented by the engineers. non‑technicalfor readers. The citizen monitors used the manual fill to out Concerned the engineers developed alayman’s version of their own monitoring manual, monitorto their project. infrastructure projects in the area. technical of aspects monitoring infrastructure projects. The third session, hands-on training at available and negative experiences and the legal bases of conducting monitoring. The second session, learning the These training sessions were spread over aperiod of several weeks. The session, first sharing positive Rushda Majeed, “Power at the Grassroots: Monitoring Public Works in Abra, Philippines, 1986–1990.” in Innovations Successful for Societies, Princeton University, February 2013, accessed September 28,2015, http://successfulsocieties.princeton.edu/sites/successfulsocieties/files/Policy_Note_ID231.pdf 7 To make the monitoring process easier the for volunteers, 8 ” Beyond the numbers, the organisation’s advocacy work helped broker achange 149 school buildings, 123 deep wells, 42flood control projects, and 19 bridges. 46 provincial and 17 national roads in subsequent years. Volunteers also inspected The projects included 100 CEDP projects in 1987 and 145 , 29municipal, projects worth P300 million (US$7 million) from 1987 2006. to In Abra, Concerned Citizens volunteers monitored more than 600 infrastructure and highway officials. led the to commission’s recommending prosecution of anumber of public works The Concerned Citizens report and subsequent Commission on Audit investigations Detour Bridge, which had P8.26 cost million (US$300,000), was of poor quality. road that linked the two provinces. In 1996, monitors reported that the Sinalang the remote Tubo municipality and missing gravel in the national Abra- technical flaws in a number of projects, such as afaulty irrigation system in of the anomalies committed by them. The group’s monitoring activity exposed officials have been prosecuted, sanctioned and dismissed from service because Due the to work of Concerned Citizens, there have been cases where public Many†of Concerned Citizens’ monitoring activities have had high profile successes. have been unearthed and reported higher to authorities by Concerned Citizens. specifications, budget overruns and other project implementation anomalies the use of substandard materials in construction, deviation from technical Over the last two decades of monitoring, public infrastructure “ghost” projects, MEASURING IMPACT 13 Majeed, op. cit. 12 Ibid. 11  10  9  similarlyto monitor their province’s projects [i]. They also shared their knowledge and experience with other organizations looking and accounted for. We demanded accountability from our officials.” officials. It was their right because public money tohad be guarded, monitored, would accept whatever they got, but we taught them ask to questions and engage in citizen norms and behavior. Founding member Baltar recalls that “earlier, people   Luz Rimban, “Helping Communities by Monitoring Infrastructure: ACase Study of the CCAGG in the Philippines,” Concerned Citizens of Abra Good for Government, 2012.  Initiatives in Asia,” World Bank Institute, 2007, 48. Karen Sirker and Sladjana Cosic, “Empowering the Marginalized: Case Studies of Social Accountability http://internationalbudget.org/groups/concerned-citizens-of-abra-for-good-government-ccagg on the International Budget Partnership’s website: Organizational profile of Concerned Citizens of Abrafor Good Government (CCAGG) 10

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CASE STUDY: Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Governance (CCAGG) | 5 CASE STUDY: Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Governance (CCAGG) | 6 a remote southern region on the country’s main island of . In 2010, it trained 35 monitors oversee to infrastructure projects in Bicol, By 2007, the organization had representatives or partners in 15 provinces. trained about a hundred volunteers monitor to roads in different regions. construction monitoring project. Along with other partners, Concerned Citizens Network -a coalition of 24 organizations- lead to Road Watch, anational the organization collaborated with the Transparency and Accountability sought out the help and training of Concerned Citizens. Then in 2006, of 30mostly parish‑based groups from Abra and two other northern provinces- For example, the Northern Luzon Coalition forGood Governance -acoalition Address:  Phone: +074 752 8196 Email: Sumangil Pura CONTACT POINT: without these structures intervention for within the government.” citizen volunteers recognize that “even if we are driven, we can do only so much into government monitoring and accountability The organisation efforts. and its needs put to in place systems enable to Concerned Citizens feed to their findings As was the case in 1987, when the government supported CEDP, the government remained is no panacea. Asof 2012, 75%of national and provincial roads in Abra about long‑term structural changes in the province. Byitself, citizen monitoring and observers of Concerned Citizens’ work debate whether it has brought Although the organisation’s work helped improve service delivery, members CHALLENGES 14 elections everyfouryearsasaNAMFRELchapterandledprogram s onvotereducation. to monitorlocalpoverty-reductionprojects.Inadditiontho se activities,thegroupmonitored Natural Resources.In2003,ConcernedCitizensworkedwiththe NationalAnti-PovertyCommission of PublicWorksandHighwayscommunityprojectsthe DepartmentofEnvironmentand Development Programme(UNDP)-fundedauditinvolved23roadprojectsoftheDepartment Commission onAudit,DepartmentofAgrarianReforms.TheyalsoworkedwiththeUnitedNations the Department of Education,theEnhancingPublicAccountabilityProgramofPhilippine [i] ThegrouppartneredwiththeDepartmentofEnvironmentandNaturalResources, Endnotes

Majeed, op. cit. [email protected] unpaved. 2nd Floor DZPA Bldg. Philippines , Abra 2800 Cor. &Zamora Sts. (Executive Director) (Executive

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CASE STUDY: Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Governance (CCAGG) | 7 CASE STUDY: Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Governance (CCAGG) | 8 [email protected] and and DataShift is an initiative of people-powered accountability drives progress on sustainable development. and data monitor to sustainable development progress, demand accountability capacity and confidence of civil societyto produce and use citizen-generated DataShift campaign transformative for change. Ultimately, our vision is aworld where Wingu is a multi-stakeholder, demand-driven initiative that builds the . For more information, visit . CIVICUS , in partnership with www.thedatashift.org the engine room engine the or contact