Message from Mr. Motoo Konishi
WB Country Director for the Philippines, and
Representative of the WBG as co-chair of the PDF
February 16, 2012

Please see the attached letter from AusAID, convener of the Philippines ODA-GAD Network. The WBG as an institution supports the principles of integrating gender sensitivity and responsiveness in ODA programs and policies. As co-convener of the PDF, the WBG encourages all PDF working and sub-working groups to ensure that the crafting and monitoring of policies are gender sensitive and responsive. In that regard, we recommend the (sub) working groups to invite members of the ODA-GAD Network to your various meetings. Please contact Mr. Andrew Egan of AusAID for queries on the ODA-GAD Network members. Thank you.

Letter from AusAid/ ODA-GAD Network

On August 2010, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) issued the Full Disclosure Policy (Memorandum Circular 2010-83), which mandates LGUs to publicly disclose 12 key reports on local government budgeting, planning, procurement, and gender and development.  The Full Disclosure Policy has strengthened the environment for LGU transparency and is a direct response to the increasing civil society demand for improved local governance.  However, civil society organizations (CSOs) have expressed the need to strengthen their capacity to understand and utilize the disclosed reports.  This need has also been recognized by the DILG, which has actively engaged CSOs in its efforts to strengthen local governance.

In response, the World Bank has mobilized a technical assistance and capacity building program entitled Building on the Full Disclosure Policy: Strengthening Citizen Demand for Local Governance to support the DILG and CSOs.  This program includes the piloting of capacity building workshops for CSOs on the utilization of the disclosed LGU reports.  In preparation for the training design of the workshops, the World Bank is organizing a conference to surface existing tools and learning materials, especially those that are less known or are not publicly available, for the analysis of the disclosed reports. 

On January 25, 2012, the World Bank conducted a Conference on Tools for Utilizing LGU Reports under the Full Disclosure Policy, at the SEAMEO-INNOTECH in Quezon City.  The said conference brought together CSOs that have developed and applied tools and materials for LGU fiscal monitoring and management, with other CSOs that need these tools for their work in strengthening demand for accountability. 

The activity was supported by the Philippine Decentralization and Local Government (DIALOG) Trust Fund, which was established in January 2010 to serve as a catalyst for furthering reform action under the agenda of the PDF Working Group on Decentralization and Local Government.  The DIALOG Trust Fund is managed by the World Bank with contributions from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).  (See conference materials)