A DOCUMENTATION REPORT BY THE POLITICAL DEMOCRACY AND REFORM (PODER) AND GOVERNMENT-WATCH (G-WATCH) TEAM OF THE ATENEO SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT AUGUST 4-5, 2015 RICHMONDE HOTEL, ORTIGAS, PASIG CITY PUBLISHED AUGUST 18, 2015 “The conclusion of our unfinished revolution is anchored on people like you— who serve rather than criticize, collaborate rather than divide, build up, rather than tear down, people who engage to understand.” JESSE ROBREDO (AS QUOTED BY CONG. LENI ROBREDO, IN HER KEYNOTE SPEECH ON AUGUST 5, 2015) 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Opening remarks 4 Atty. Jaime Hofileña ADMU Backgrounder on the conference-workshop 5 Ms. Joy Aceron ADMU Opening keynote 6 Sec. Florencio “Butch” Abad DBM First panel discussion 8 REFORMS AND THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL PLATFORMS LIKE THE OPEN GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP Panel moderator Asec. Maxine Tanya Hamada DBM Usec. Richard Moya 8 DBM Atty. Nepomuceno Malaluan 10 R2KRN Usec. Austere Panadero 11 DILG Mr. Arjan Aguirre 12 PODER / G-Watch Open forum 13 Second panel discussion 16 PREVENTING CORRUPTION AND THE IMPACT OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN MAKING PROCUREMENT TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE Panel moderator Dr. Francisco Magno DLSU-JRIG Usec. Francis Varela 16 DepEd Atty. Dennis Santiago 18 GPPB Mr. Rechie Tugawin 19 PODER/ G-Watch Open forum 22 2 Second opening keynote 25 Rep. Maria Leonor “Leni” Gerona Robredo Camarines Sur Third panel discussion 28 QUESTIONING OUR ASSUMPTIONS: RESEARCH AND LEARNING ON “WHAT WORKS” IN CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Panel Moderator Ms. Carmel Abao ADMU Mr. Francis Isaac 28 DLSU-JRIG Dr. Ma. Elissa Jayme Lao 29 IPC Dr. Rosario Manasan 30 PIDS Open forum 32 Fourth panel discussion 34 EXERCISE OF RIGHT TO SUFFRAGE: HAS IT IMPROVED ALMOST THREE DECADES AFTER MARTIAL LAW? Panel moderator Ms. Joy Aceron PODER / G-Watch Mr. Ramon Casiple 34 IPER Hon. Jose Luis Martin “Chito” Gascon 35 CHR Com. Luie Tito Guia 36 Comelec Ms. Risa Hontiveros 37 Akbayan Dr. Ronald Mendoza 38 AIM Open forum 39 Closing keynote 42 Sec. Jose Eliseo Rocamora NAPC Closing remarks 43 Atty. Antonio La Viña ADMU 3 AUGUST 4, 2015 OPENING REMARKS Atty. Jaime Hofileña Vice President for Social Development Ateneo de Manila University Atty. Hofileña, in his welcoming remarks, emphasized that topics like the Open Government Partnership (OGP), bottom-up budgeting, and citizen participation in procurement processes contribute to the main agenda of achieving justice for all and inclusive and accountable institutions, not only in the Philippines, but also the world. Highlights Contributing to the reform of Philippine governance and politics is an express strategic goal of the academic community, said Atty. Hofileña. It is within the ambit of the university’s adopted strategic thrust of contributing to the building of the nation. Through workshops, fora and related activities such as those entailed today and tomorrow, the university strives to be a catalyst in transforming Philippine governance and politics, undertaking research and convening initiatives that enable as many as possible to be truth- tellers and consensus-builders for ethical and effective solutions to governance and political challenges. The discussions of the next two days of Quo Vadis, Citizen Participation, thus aim to closely examine key, continuing initiatives to advance citizens’ participation and transparency in governance and to critically assess where such participation is headed in the project of advancing Philippine democracy. He shared that in the launch of the Sustainable Development Solutions-Network Philippines—another event ASOG organized—the final set of 17 sustainable development goals, replacing the millennium development goals, included that of “promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.” Particular initiatives to be inquired into - Open Government partnerships, Bottom-Up Budgeting, and civil society participation in procurement processes - evidently afford a measure of the all-important solutions for achieving the inclusiveness, effectiveness, and accountability of institutions at all levels referred to in that sustainable development goal. He related these goals to Ateneo’s mission, and recalled the commitment to social action of a little-known Jesuit, San Alberto Hurtado, for whom a hall in the Ateneo was named after. Hurtado said: “The primary mission of the university is to unsettle the world, and the primary virtue of the university is to feel that concern – that unwillingness to conform to a captive world. “ He added that the conference affected aspects of the reform agenda of the second Aquino administration in the same manner the two previous conferences did. He stated this is to reform old ways which become settled. If unsettlement of unacceptable ways through reform is called for, so be it, Atty. Hofileña said. He added that a society held captive by bad or undemocratic governance among other manmade structures and systems, should indeed not be conformed to. The University is reminded that its virtue lies in feeling that concern: a healthy non-conformity to a world – or at least a Philippine society - which settles for captivity. 4 BACKGROUNDER ON THE CONFERENCE-WORKSHOP Ms. Joy Aceron Program Director, PODER & G-Watch Ateneo School of Government Ms. Aceron set the tone by outlining expectations for the first two panel discussions. She explained the reasons that led to the organization of the conference, and inquired what has become of the demands of the people from the present Aquino administration. Highlights She began by putting civil society groups not as mere spectators but actors in exercising good governance. Next, she said that we, as citizens, have to reflect on themselves, how well this country is, and where we are going in the government in its political context. Today’s society has not done enough in pursuing the platform of “Daang Matuwid,” which revolves on transparency, participation, and accountability. She recommended that we backtrack a bit in remembering and reminding ourselves on the real meaning of state- society relationship. This platform can be sustained if practices are common. Change can be felt if officials dig deeper on the Anti-Dynasty Law and the Freedom of Information Act. She enumerated the roles of civil society organizations, social movements, and other actors chipping in to achieve change in a State that is ridden with corruption. First, they are (1) implementors contributing to efficiency, (2) intermediaries to its citizens, (3) articulators of people’s needs and issues, and (4) watchdogs of procurement corruption. On this ground, she believes that civil societies have attained its reputation of highly-serving the people. Civil society is the forest of innovation, clamor, efficiency and true dedication to public service, she said. In truth, civil societies can be thought of as leaders of action because of their independent and progressive nature. On the other hand, it’s not only civil societies that have to play a part in society. How should our society react to this? People must take part in demanding what must be demanded in the administration. Civil societies have paved way for constructive engagement to be made possible. These civil societies have been institutions that keep the poor coming back to accountability. 5 OPENING KEYNOTE CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT: GIVING ‘DAANG MATUWID’ A VOICE Sec. Florencio “Butch” Abad Secretary Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Sec. Butch Abad's presentation centered on the achievements of the Aquino administration in empowering the citizens by making government transparent, accountable and participatory. He emphasized the importance of sustaining the gains of reforms, which he said should be the direction of citizen participation today. He underscored that in the past, now and in the future, citizen participation will be key to making transformation of society a reality in the Philippines. As he reiterated: "citizens give voice to Daang Matuwid.” Highlights Jumping off the theme “Quo Vadis,” Sec. Abad began with the question: what is the future of citizen participation in building or rebuilding our nation? He said that the active engagement of citizen participation will always have a meaningful place in our political narrative. He went back to the 2010 elections, relating that under the Arroyo administration the government was corrupt. Forthwith, he praised the late president Cory Aquino for being an “icon of democracy.” He recalled the faces in the funeral march. He saw growing hope and faith in everything these people fought hard for. Cory has made the impossible possible, relaying that, indeed, social transformation is possible. According to Sec. Abad, this is manifested through the election of Cory’s son, President Noynoy Aquino, who has put good governance back in Malacañang. The battle cry “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” was not just a catchy slogan; it described a strong culture of genuine public service. He identified three key elements needed to be restored to form that culture: transparency, accountability, and citizen’s engagement. This campaign was not run by kickbacks or traditional politics. For Sec. Abad, President Aquino made it possible to forge a special relationship of the present government especially towards his “bosses,” which are the masses. President Aquino has recognized this significant partnership and has nurtured this by finding every opportunity for the public to participate in governance he said. It is important to know that we have been able to do all of these without burdening you with your taxes, the only exception during the sin tax reform law, he added. Eventually, Sec. Abad reported that the administration’s program in social protection and economic services particularly the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program benefited more than 800,000 households. In 2015, he declared an investment of 62 billion for 4.3 billion households across the country. He prided that increasing the budget for CCT in such a drastic manner has brought more economic opportunities to the people. In 2010, the budget for education was 225 billion.