Annex A5 – Short Articles about emerging programme impact
GTF – 222
“Institutionalising Local and National Partnerships to Address Urban Poverty and Homelessness in the Philippines”
Partnership of Philippine Support Service Agencies
Article 2:
“Budget Partnership between Government and Civil Society is Possible”
Evidence from the Governance and Transparency Fund
Jose Morales is a community leader with a long history of struggle for housing rights for the poor: “I have often faced government officials as adversaries in land cases, forced evictions, and housing rights fora. I never thought that positive engagement and partnership is possible with them, especially in such an important concern as budget for social housing.”
Government and civil society organisations, especially urban poor groups,have long been at odds on many issues, especially in evictions ofinformal settlements.
PHILSSA and its partner groups believe that housing is a right and that government should provide opportunities for access to decent housing for the poor.
In the past years, less one half of one percent of the National Government Budget is allotted to housing.So the budget has always been the convenient scapegoat for government failure to provide decent housing for the poor.
As part of the Governance and Transparency Fund programme in the Philippines that aims to improve access to housing and community services for urban poor communities, the Partnership of Philippine Support Service Agencies (PHILSSA) facilitated capacity-building activities for civil society and urban poor leaders on understanding the government budget process and the spaces available for civil society participation.
With this new knowledge and understanding, civil society groups have started maximising these spaces and opportunities in budget monitoring and advocacy work towards in the view of improving the delivery of housing and community services for poor communities.
With the election of President Aquino with a strong anti-corruption campaign, more spaces for civil society participation became open. In January 2011, the Department of Budget and Management issued a Memorandum Circular to all government departments and agencies to involve civil society groups in the preparation of agency budgets for 2012. PHILSSA worked wih the National Housing Authority in providing inputs and facilitating regional consultations in their 2012 budget preparation.
It is hoped that the budget partnership will be expanded and sustained to institutionalise civil society participation in the entire budget process in the years to come.
Participation in budget preparation and monitoring, as well as coopertaionj in budget advocacy for a bigger share for social housing will ensure that government policies and programmes in social housing will be accessible to the poor and responsive to their needs.
PHILSSA is implementing the Governance and Transparency Fund programme to promote national partnerships, aswell as local partnerships in four pilot cities, in order to address urban poverty and homelessness in the Philippines.
PHILSSA is one of about 40 civil society groups working globally with theDFID Governance and Transparency Fund.
Jose Morales, urban poor leader in the Philippines and National Convenor of the Urban Poor Alliance
Photo by Jayson Miranda
Urban poor community in the Philippines
Photo by Amaris Cabason, PHILSSA
Civil Society leaders talking with government officials
Photo by PHILSSA