Caucus of Development NGO Networks

June 2001

The Ateneo School of Government Philippine Governance Forum, the Caucus of Development NGO Networks, the Makati Business Club and 16 other civil society organizations has initiated the formation of a network that would fight against graft and corruption and promote transparency and accountability in governance. Tagged as the Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN), regional civil society organizations were mobilized during the first two weeks of June for the conduct of consultations in their respective areas. Regional Workshop-Consultations on Developing an Anti-Corruption Agenda were held with the theme " Towards Partnerships and Collaboration in Transparency and Accountability."

In Visayas, almost thirty organizations actively participated in the regional consultations organized by the Evelio Javier Foundation, Inc. held in Cebu on 1-2 June 2001. Civil society organization in Mindanao likewise enthusiastically joined the consultations held on 5-6 June 2001 Davao. Luzon based civil society organizations likewise had a successful consultation in Manila on 8-9 June 2001. Consultations in Luzon and Mindanao were both managed by two member CODE-NGO networks. The Mindanao Coalition of Development NGOs handled the consultations in Mindanao while the Association of Foundations handled the consultations in Luzon.

These regional consultations will be followed by a National Consultation to validate and integrate the regional agenda into the National Civil Society Anti-Corruption Agenda. A series of policy workshops will be conducted with selected government agencies, leading to an Anti-corruption Summit Agenda which will formally submit the Civil Society Anti-Corruption Agenda to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Specifically, the Anti-Corruption Agenda will aim to address graft and corruption in three strategic approaches: prevention of graft and corruption, prosecution of graft and corruption and promotion of a corruption-intolerant culture.