Regional Status Report:

East Asia

Regional Coordinator: Khalid Siraj

Report last updated: 09/30/2010
Reporting Period: 04/07/2010 - 08/31/2010

Overview of Report

1. Executive Summary
2. Ongoing PTF Projects
3. Pipeline Projects
4. Completed Projects
5. Regional Initiatives, observations, and lessons learned
6. Annex 1: Project Status Updates
7. Annex 2: Completed Project Status Updates

1. Executive Summary

There are currently eight ongoing PTF projects, three Pipeline projects, and five recently
completed projects in the East Asia Region. Out of the eight ongoing projects, the East Asia
Region has two new initiatives in the Philippines and Mongolia.

2. Ongoing PTF Projects

Activities in East Asia continue to be concentrated in a limited number of countries (Philippines,

Mongolia, Indonesia). This concentration of projects in a few countries allows us to observe the relative
merits of developing a critical mass of civil society organizations in close proximity. In addition, it
enables us to field-test PTF’s major eligibility criteria such as: (1) limited project duration, usually about
12 months, (2) addressing a specific instance of corruption, rather than awareness raising or research, (3)
positive engagement with a public agency that is the object of scrutiny.

Table 1: Ongoing PTF Projects

# of
months Funds
CSO & Date Grant under remaining to
Country Project Adviser
Project title Agrt Signed impleme- be disbursed
ntation

TI Mongolia: Improvement of
1 Mongolia
Judicial Code of Ethics Khalid Siraj 3.26.2009 18 $2,480
 Table 1: Ongoing PTF Projects

# of
months Funds
CSO & Date Grant under remaining to
Country Project Adviser
Project title Agrt Signed impleme- be disbursed
ntation

Globe International -
Transparency Campaigning at Khalid Siraj/
2 Mongolia Local Government to Curb Stephanie de 7.1.2010 3 $18,000
Corruption Chassy

Ecolink: SK (Youth Council)

Philippines Watch(Monitoring SK Funds Gerry van der
3 8.21.2009 13 $2,928
and Functionality) Linden

Evelio Javier Foundation

(EBJIFI): Strengthening Local
Mechanisms for Effective Civil
Philippines Gerry van der
4 Society Organizations’ 10.15.2009 11 $10,754*
Linden
Participation in Procurement
Processes

Concerned Citizens of Abra for

Good Government (CCAGG):
Gerry van der
5 Philippines Abra Water and Irrigation 10.20.2009 10 $9,500*
Linden
Systems (AWIS) Watch

G-Watch of Ateneo School of

Gerry van der
6 Philippines Government: Localization of 06.25.2010 3 $15,000
Linden
the Protect Procurement Project
Philippine Partnership for the
Development of Human
Gerry van der
7 Philippines Resources in Rural Areas 09.04.2010
Linden
(PhilDHRRA): Bantay Agri
Tayo (Let’s Watch Agriculture)
NAMFREL: Medicine Gerry van der
8 Philippines 09.06.2010
Monitoring Project II Linden

Total Number of Ongoing Projects 8

* Pending completion
3. Pipeline Projects

Table 2: Pipeline Projects

Country CSO & Project Title

Woman for Social Progress: Resolution of Conflict of INterest

Mongolia
in Mongolia

Central Philippine University: Streamlining Business Permits

Philippines
and Licensing System in Western Visayas

Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference for Human Development

Philippines (BBC) in cooperation with Social Action Center Bacolod:
Procurement Monitoring Systems in Negros Occidental and
Negros Oriental

4. Completed Projects

Table 3: Project Completion Reports

Has a project
Date Grant Date Project Months completion
Project
Country CSO & Project Agreement Completed taken to report been
Adviser
signed complete received and
accepted?
Building a Citizen
Monitoring System Listed as Two progress
on Budget 04.15.2009 ongoing; reports
Indonesia Expenditure Khalid $2,500 completed.
1 Awaiting PCR
Accountability in the Siraj remaining
Education Sector, to be
PATTIRO disbursed

Ecolink: Anti-
Corruption and PCR pending.
Philippines Transparency Project Gerry van PCA awaiting
2 02.04.2008 5.20.2009 15
II: LGU Vehicle der Linden completion of
Monitoring PCR.

INCITEGov:
Participatory listed as
Monitoring for ongoing,
PCA completed
Philippines Barangay Gerry van $2,469
3 6.25.2008 and posted on
Infrastructure and der Linden remaining
PTF website.
Health Projects in the to be
Province of Isabela disbursed
 Table 3: Project Completion Reports
Has a project
Date Grant Date Project Months completion
Project
Country CSO & Project Agreement Completed taken to report been
Adviser
signed complete received and
accepted?
Project
Completion
Assessment has
listed as been prepared
ongoing; and posted on
NAMFREL: PTF website.
Philippines Gerry van 6.12.2008 $2,330
4 Medicine Monitoring Remaining
der Linden remaining
Project $2,330 funds
to be
disbursed pending receipt
of financial
statements.

G-Watch of Ateneo
School of
Government. Project
PCR submitted.
Procurement Project
PCA under
Philippines (PRO): Gerry van
5 5.12.2008 5.20.2009 12 preparation
Institutionalizing the der Linden
Capacity Building of
CSO Procurement
Observers

PCR = Project Completion Report

PCA = Project Completion Assessment

5. Regional Initiatives, Observations, and Lessons Learned

As reported previously, activities in East Asia continue to be concentrated in a limited number of

countries (Philippines, Mongolia, Indonesia). This concentration of projects in a few countries allows us
to observe the relative merits of developing a critical mass of civil society organizations in close
proximity. In addition, it enables us to field-test PTF’s major eligibility criteria such as: (1) limited project
duration, usually about 12 months, (2) addressing a specific instance of corruption, rather than awareness
raising or research, (3) positive engagement with a public agency that is the object of scrutiny.

Activities in the Philippines allowed us to observe two advantages of a longer-term relationship with a
local partner who acts as an intermediary. First, it allowed for scaling up PTF’s activities. Second, it
helped to institutionalize local capacity and strengthen the potential for sustainability of PTF-type
activities. However, projects in the Philippines have generally been slow to submit their Project
Completion Report. This observation would argue for making some changes in the tranche disbursement
schedule. For instance, the final tranche could be set at 20% to create an incentive for the implementing
CSO to speed up preparation of the PCR.

In Mongolia we learned an important lesson as well from a series of projects prior to the reporting period
that built on each other, intended to prevent and curb corruption in the Mongolian judicial systems. The
most outstanding feature of the Mongolia projects was the dogged pursuit of excellent relationships with
the public agencies that were the focus of projects. Careful consensus building, rather than confrontation
led to positive and sustained results with the Judiciary branch of the Mongolian government. For the
project with PATTIRO in Indonesia we propose to enhance South-South cross-fertilization with the
Philippines, which started with a process of decentralization well ahead of its neighboring countries and
has some valuable experiences to share with others. A PTF Adviser from the Philippines has strengthened
the Philippines team, and is facilitating the dialogue between the two countries.

Projects in both the Philippines and Mongolia have allowed PTF at large to gain important information on
the robustness of the PTF model of fighting corruption. Experiences from both countries merit wider
dissemination via the PTF website and possibly other communications and outreach tools. Our
engagement in Indonesia remains limited to only one CSO, but we are making cautious efforts to broaden
it.

PTF-funded initiatives in the Philippines continue to be implemented in collaboration with the Coalition
Against Corruption of the Makati Business Club (CAC/MBC). The submission of the Siemens Fund for
projects to be implemented by G-Watch of Ateneo University was not successful. As a result of the
dialogue started in earlier this year, PTF has approved a new project in Mongolia (Globe International -
Transparency Campaigning at Local Government) and has also accepted a Concept Note received from
Women for Social Progress. Both these projects are follow-up to our previous initiatives.
 Annex 1: Status Updates on Ongoing Projects

1. Mongolia: TI Mongolia, Improvement of Judicial Code of Ethics

Project Adviser Khalid Siraj

Budget and Timeline: PTF signed a grant agreement with Transparency International, Mongolia (TI-M)
for $22,380 on March 2, 2009. The first tranche of $8,900 was disbursed immediately after the signing of
the agreement. A second tranche of $11,000 was disbursed in September 2009.

Background and Objectives: The code of ethics (CoE) for judges in Mongolia, which was first adopted in
1997 and later revised in 2003, suffers from many weaknesses. Mongolia’s General Council of Courts
(GCC) has recognized the need for upgrading the current CoE. With this background, the objectives of the
TI-M project, supported by PTF, are to:

· Improve the Anti-Corruption and ethics related programs at local law schools
· Train justices and staff of the Supreme Court and GCC for preventing corruption in the judicial
system
· Upgrade the CoE in Mongolia to international standards contributing to improved conduct of
judges
· Make disciplinary actions more transparent and practical
· Raise public awareness of judicial conduct and thereby public trust in the judiciary
· Reduce corruption in the judiciary and thus protect human rights through better court decisions
· Make the Association of Judges fully operational to safeguard judicial independence, protect the
rights of judges and enhance their accountability.

Activities and Current Project Status (September 2010): To achieve the objectives just mentioned, the
following activities have been planned under the project:

· Training of 18 law school teachers (distribution of “Corruption in Judicial Systems Handbooks”,

training of 54 teachers in these schools and inclusion of judicial corruption as a subject in the
courses of law schools)
· Anti-corruption training for Justices of the Supreme Court and staff of Supreme Court and GCC
· Refining of existing COE to comply with the “Bangalore Principles” (adopted by United Nations
Centre for International Crime Prevention, in 2000).

Initially, project implementation proceeded as scheduled. An update of the CoE was prepared to make it
compliant with the “Bangalore Principles”, and discussed in a series of Round Tables. These CoE have
been approved and a resolution by the Chief Justice to adopt and implement the code issued in February
2010. However, the project completion is delayed because of: (a) Political struggle between the new
President of the country and the Parliament. Earlier this year, the President launched a new program
aimed at further deepening of the judiciary reforms and asked for the resignation of the Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court (being resisted), the General Prosecutor and the head of Anti-Corruption Agency.
These developments have implications for the effective application of new CoE; (b) The Association of
Court Workers approached TI-M for financial support for organizing a conference on CoE to be attended
by its members as well as Mongolian Association of Judges and the Association of Women Judges. The
objective of this Conference is to issue a declaration on the ethical norms for and vision of workers in the
judiciary. This conference is planned in October 2010; and (c) TI-M is waiting for information from the
Ministry of Education whether the law schools have incorporated into their curriculums information given
in TI-M’s handbooks and the extent to which lecturers are making use of the handbooks.

2. Mongolia: Globe International, Transparency Campaigning at

Local Government to Curb Corruption
Project Advisers: Khalid Siraj/Stephanie de Chassy
Budget and Timeline: PTF signed, on July 1, 2010, a grant agreement with for Globe International,
Mongolia (GI-M) for a grant of $30,000. The first tranche of $12,000 was disbursed at the time the
agreement was signed. The project implementation commenced on August 15, 2010 as scheduled.

Project Background and Summary:The mission of GI-M, a non-profit NGO founded in 1999, is to work
for sustaining democracy and civil society in Mongolia through spreading the power of information and
knowledge. GI-M has been actively working to promote the Mongolian National Anti-Corruption
Program (over 80 projects implemented). It is managed by an independent Board (5 members) and
employs a core staff of eight. This is second GI-M intiative supported by PTF; the first, Empowering the
Public Council for Promoting Transparency to Curb Government Corruption, approved in December 2008
has since been successfully completed.
In Mongolia, citizens’ right to information is guaranteed by the Constitution and the Government is
committed to “provide the citizens with rights to access any information”. Yet, in effect, the civil society’s
access to critical information remains highly constrained because of the absence of a law on freedom of
information and the arcane secrecy laws that enable the government officials to restrict release of
information.
In 2007, GI-M drafted and submitted to the Parliament a draft bill on Freedom of Information. But there
has not been much progress on this front. However, more recently there are positive signs of promising
developments and opportunities. The Government is planning to work on legislations concerning state
secrecy, access to information, and media freedom. The Parliament has set up a Working Group for the
preparation of a new Secrecy legislation. In 2009, GI-M managed to push the law makers to revise the
2007 FOI law draft. For this purpose the Parliament has established a Working Group with GI-M’s leader
as its consultant.
While these positive developments are unfolding, GI-M is keen to continue its efforts to make the
government more open within the current legal framework. Towards this end, GI-M has conducted
several trainings on freedom of information issues for the government officials, journalists and civil
society groups. But more activities are needed, particularly for rural areas and local authorities to better
prepare them in handling public requests for information through awareness raising, knowledge of
international standards and capacity building.
Project Objectives:
Within its overall goal of improving the transparency of the local public organizations to curb corruption,
the projects objectives are:
• To raise the awareness of the local communities and the public officials on public’s
right to access information.
• To expose issues of transparency and corruption at local level through the monitoring
so that the local citizens will be able to obtain required information.
• To identify and expose local corruption so that local communities are capable of
preventing and controlling it.

Activities and Current Project Status: The project activities will be carried out in two selected Baghs (the
lowest administrative level) of Ovorkhangai and Khentii aimag (about 550 and 353 km from Ulaanbaatar,
respectively). Broadly, the project activities will comprise raising awareness of the local communities
(audio and video handbooks), community workshops, training and preparation of manual for the local
leaders, transparency actions, and monitoring to evaluate the transparency and training. The project
implementation commenced as scheduled on August 15, 2010.
 3. Philippines: Ecolink SK Watch, Monitoring SK Funds and Functionality
Project Adviser: Gerry van der Linden

Budget and Timeline: PTF signed an agreement on August 21, 2009 for an amount of $29,228 with SK
Watch in the Philippines. A first tranche of $15,000 has been disbursed, and project implementation has
started.

Project Background and Summary:The SK Watch is a citizen-based approach in effectively curbing

corruption in the long term. This corruption involves billions of pesos of public funds annually in the
Sangguniang Kabataan, or SK (Youth Council). The Youth Council is a government body composed of
young citizens elected through regular elections. The initiative highlights the need for direct and active
involvement of every young citizen at the community level in monitoring the fiscal administration and
functionality of every SK Council all over the country. Direct and active involvement means organizing at
least 4,000 young Filipinos in 4 pilot cities all over the country into organized groups of volunteer
monitors equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills in monitoring all aspects of SK governance,
especially in the area of documenting and reporting corruption issues. This also means that direct and
prioritized access for monitors towards all national agencies mandated to resolve corruption cases needs
to be established.

Project Objectives:

The goal of this project is to effectively and sustainably curb corruption related to SK funds and
properties in 4 pilot cities by establishing accountability and transparency mechanisms within the SK
system. There are three interventions that ECOLINK Philippines proposes to carry out to address the root
causes of massive corruption of SK funds.

· First, low-cost and popular awareness raising campaigns shall be conducted to raise the awareness
of as many Filipino youths and citizens as possible on the extent of corruption in the SK, and the
reasons and urgent need to curb it.

· Second, at least 4,000 youths all over the country will be organized and mobilized into SK Watch
networks that will monitor their respective SK councils. They will be taught the practical skills
and knowledge on SK governance and on handling corruption cases that they may encounter. SK
Monitoring kits will be developed and distributed.

· Third, a formal linkage shall be established between the Office of the Ombudsman, the
Commission on Audit, National Youth Commission, Presidential Anti-Graft Commission, the
Department of the Interior and Local Government, and Department of Education, and the SK
Watch networks to provide community-level youths direct access to technical support and action
from these agencies.

Activities and Current Project Status: In March 2010 the first progress report was received and the first
tranche released. MBC/CAC met with Ecolink in Mindanao to discuss project progress. Ecolink is now
strengthening the established networks of volunteer monitors for the SK. A regional workshop on Youth
in Philippine Governance will be organized in October 2010 to gather youth volunteers and SK officials
to present the SK Watch findings and come up with proposed policy recommendations concerning the
SK, the Junior Graft Watch, and other laws concerning youth participation in governance. A similar
activity will be organized in Iloilo and Manila by the end of the year. Ecolink is also preparing to launch
the SK Watch internet portal which could provide an online venue to discuss youth issues especially
concerning the SK.
 4. Philippines: Strengthening Local Mechanisms for Effective Civil Society Organizations’
Participation in Procurement Processes
Project Adviser: Gerry van der Linden
Budget and Timeline: PTF signed an agreement on October 15, 2009 with the Evelio B. Javier
Foundation, Inc. (EBJFI) to provide a grant of $21,508 for a project intended to strengthen local
mechanisms for effective civil society participation in procurement processes. A first tranche of $10,754
was disbursed on October 20, 2009. The project is supposed to be completed in October 2010.
Background and project objective: The Government of the Philippines (GOP) spends an average of PhP
121 Billion annually on procurement. This is fifteen percent (15%) of the nation’s annual budget.
Approximately thirty percent (30%) or PhP 30 Billion of the said amount is lost annually due to leakages.
Repeatedly mentioned reasons for the leakages were corruption, inefficiency, disorganization, and
ignorance of the law.

There was a lack of trust and confidence in the public procurement system amongst civil society
organizations (CSOs), non-government organizations (NGOs), people’s organizations (POs), and the
private sector.

The need to reform public procurement was therefore a must in order to combat graft and corruption and
also as an essential part of good governance and a cost-effective public expenditure program which in the
case of the Philippines have always been constrained by a limited national budget.

The most obvious and immediate reform measure was to unify the numerous and often conflicting
procurement rules and regulations existing in the country and ensure that the end product will be
authoritative. As such, Republic Act No. 9184 entitled “An Act providing for the Modernization,
Standardization and Regulation of the Procurement Activities of the Government and for other Purposes”
more commonly known as the Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA) was passed in January 26,
2003.

In this Act, the GOP laid down the foundation of its procurement processes based on the following
principles: transparency, competitiveness, streamlined process and utilization of information technology,
accountability, and public monitoring.

Positively, GPRA has been hailed locally and internationally. For instance, World Bank Country Director
Joachim von Amsberg has been quoted as saying that R.A. 9184 is “one of the best procurement laws in
the world.” Also, Dr. Benjamin E. Diokno, former Secretary of Budget and Management in the
Philippines, said: “Unknown to many Filipinos, the Philippine Procurement Law is world class. It is seen
by international experts as a very good model for other developing countries.”

The goal of the EBJFI is to assist both Steering Committees in Davao del Sur and Cebu to enable them to
sustain their activities as a unified force actively participating in public procurement activities and making
reforms happen.

In addition, EBJFI, banking on the active participation of several Local Government Units (LGUs) and
Local Government Agencies (LGAs) in the Interface, also aspire to:

· Bring about a change in the way Local Government Units (LGUs) and Local Government
Agencies (LGAs) view BACOs and their participation in procurement processes,

· Stimulate start-up activities geared towards creating inter-BAC mechanisms aimed at upgrading
their capabilities to implement procurement activities so as to assist them in their efforts to fully
abide by the provisions of the law.
Activities and Current Project Status: The first project workshop was held in November 2009. MBC/CAC
met with the project staff in March 2010 to discuss the progress of the project.

EBJFI organized strategic planning sessions with local partners in Davao and Cebu in January 2010.
Training for new observers and retooling for active observers were held in February 2010. The observers
met in March 2010 to share their experiences on procurement monitoring.

The Davao Procurement Transparency Core Group (DPTCG) interfaced with business and academe in
April 2010 before the training of trainers. In June 2010, the Cebu Observers’ Core Group conducted its
own trainers’ training then met with business and academe in July 2010. EBJFI and DPTCG will conduct
on-the-job -training of its trainers in September 2010. MBC/CAC will visit Davao during the workshop
and conduct a preliminary assessment of DPTCG’s plans after the project ends in October.

5. Philippines: Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Government (CCAGG) Abra Water and
Irrigation System (AWIS) Watch
Project Adviser: Gerry van der Linden
Budget and Timeline: PTF signed an agreement on October 20, 2009 with the NGO Concerned Citizens
of Abra for Good Government, Inc. (CCAGG) to provide a grant of $19,000 for a project intended to
address corruption in water and irrigation projects. A first tranche of $9,500 was disbursed in late October
2009. The project is supposed to be completed in October 2010.

Background, rationale and objective: The Abra Water and Irrigation Systems (AWIS) Watch is a
community-led anti-corruption initiative that aims to address massive corruption of public funds in water
and irrigation projects covering the five (5) Abra municipalities of Luba, Tubo, San Quintin, Sallapadan,
and Villaviciosa through responsive capacity-building and participatory advocacies and the establishment
of a participatory mechanism to prevent corruption in the water and irrigation systems sector.

The major problem that this project wishes to address is the rampant corruption of public funds in the
implementation of water and irrigation systems projects in the Province of Abra. Based of CCAGG
studies, an estimated 30% (10.5 million) of the 36.5 million total worth of projects in the province went to
corruption. This further results into four problems currently affecting the sector: defective project plans,
anomalies in the disbursement of project funds and implementation of contracts, low and sub-standard
quality of completed projects and sluggish implementation of projects.

Rampant corruption in the conduct of water and irrigation systems projects in the province of Abra is a
result of three interrelated issues that have been rooted within the existing social and institutional
structures concerned. These are: 1) minimal knowledge of the general public on the extent of corruption
in the implementation of water & irrigation systems projects and the ways to prevent it; 2) weak
transparency and ethical standards within the National Irrigation Authority in Abra; and, 3) weak capacity
of community beneficiaries as well as CSO’s in monitoring water & irrigation systems projects. Should
these three underlying issues be addressed, then corruption of public funds in water and irrigation systems
projects will be prevented and eradicated.

Because of the lengthy project preparation process CCAGG has changed the list of specific projects to be
monitored.

Activities and Current Project Status: CCAGG conducted training for irrigators, water system officers,
and other stakeholders in cooperation with the Metro Bangued Water District and the National Irrigation
Administration of Abra on July 23-24, 2010. The participants from different Irrigators Association (IAs),
Water Districts Officers and CCAGG Monitoring Team joined Engr. Roberto Eustaquio, Project Site
Engineer of NIA Sub–Office in Bangued, the visit to Cautit and Ballasiang Communal Irrigation Systems
of Pidigan, Abra as part of the on-site monitoring training activity. These activities were documented on
video.

After meeting officials of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), the municipal engineers, and
the municipal planning and development officers, CCAGG found that of the seven water system projects
of LWUA, the biggest funded is in Bucay costing P32 million while the rest are P26 million to P20
million. CCAGG is concerned because not one of the seven municipalities has a program of work and no
procurements were held in these towns. One of the project team members will visit LWUA office in
Manila to photocopy pertinent documents.

CCAGG is now suggesting a realignment of project funds to monitor the LWUA projects and to conduct a
procurement seminar for 27 municipal engineers and development officers to safeguard resources in
collaboration with citizens.

6. Philippines: G-Watch Ateneo School of Government,

Localization of the Protect Procurement Project
Gerry van der Linden
Budget and Timeline: On June 25, 2010, PTF signed a grant agreement for $30,475 with G-Watch for the
Citizen Action for Accountability in Education Procurement project.
Background, rationale and objective: The project builds on earlier projects supported by PTF at the
national level, by extending the involvement of CSOs in education procurement by regional and local
offices of the Department of Education. G-Watch will partner with local CSOs, including parent-teacher
associations to build a local capacity for monitoring the work of the education department and thus
enhance transparency and accountability. The grant agreement was signed by Dr. Tony La Vina, Dean of
the School of Government of Ateneo University, and Mr. Geert van der Linden, PTF Board member.

Activities and Current Project Status: The first tranche disbursement was made on July 9, 2010 for
$15,475. $15,000 remains to be disbursed.

7. Philippines: Partnership for the Development of Human Resources

in Rural Areas (PHILDHRRA), Bantay Agri Tayo
Project Adviser: Gerry Van der Linden
Budget and Timeline: On September 4, 2010 PTF signed a grant agreement with the Philippine
Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas or PhilDHRRA in support of the
Bantay Agri Tayo project (‘All of us monitor agriculture’).
Background, rationale and objective: The project aims to reduce corruption by establishing transparency
and accountability in the operations of the Department of Agriculture in the Central Visayas Region of the
country. Under the project a volunteer monitor group will be created, public forums organized and audit
findings widely published. The grant agreement was signed by Ms. Annie Cynthia C. Corpin,
Chairperson, Regional Board of Trustees, PhilDHRRA, and Mr. Geert van der Linden, PTF Board
member.

Activities and Current Project Status: Pending first tranche disbursement.

8. Philippines: NAMFREL: Medicine MOnitoring Project II

Project Adviser: Gerry van der Linden
Budget and Timeline: On 6 September PTF signed a grant agreement with the National Citizens’
Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) for a second project aimed at monitoring de procurement,
delivery and stocking of essential drugs and medicines.
Background, rationale and objective:The project, entitled Medicine Monitoring II, will build on the
experience gained through the first project in reducing corruption in a vital area of public service.
NAMFREL will work with the Department of Health and deploy volunteers at critical stages in the cycle
from procurement to management of stocks of drugs and medicines. In this second phase the target will
be 21 hospitals and 7 regional health offices, selected on the basis of reports from the government’s
Commission on Audit. The grant agreement was signed by Mr. Eric Jude O. Alvia, Secretary General of
NAMFREL, and Mr. Geert van der Linden, PTF Board member.

Activities and Current Project Status: Pending first tranche disbursement.

 Annex 2: Status Updates Projects Completed

1. Indonesia: Building a Citizen Monitoring System on

Budget Expenditure Accountability in the Education Sector
Project Adviser: Khalid Siraj

Timing and Budget: PTF approved a grant of $25,000 on April 5, 2009 for the Centre for Regional
Information and Studies, Indonesia (PATTIRO). The agreement was signed on April 15 2009, and two
tranches totaling $22,500 have been disbursed.

Background: PATTIRO is an Indonesian NGO established in 1999, with a mission to promote and create
good governance and develop public participation in Indonesia, particularly at local level. In its ten years
of existence, PATTIRO has carried out successfully a number of programs/projects, some in collaboration
with international organizations.
Corruption in the education sector in Indonesia is becoming a more pressing issue given the substantial
increase in public funds channeled into this sector, after the national constitution mandated an education
budget of - at least - 20 percent of the national budget, starting from 2009. However, corruption and
inefficiency in the education sector are significant and anti-corruption initiatives are few. Despite the
increasing budget allocation for the education sector, students do not achieve desirable results; drop out
rates and effective costs to students are high.
Project Objectives, Expected Outcomes and Activities: This project will focus on developing a
monitoring mechanism and empowering community groups to monitor special government funds
expenditure in West Bandung Regency. Its goal is to improve participation of civil society in monitoring
of the education budget with a view to improve budget efficiency at school level. The specific objectives
are to:
· Develop a monitoring model to identify misuse of funds and sources of corruption so that
necessary improvements can be identified and implemented
· Improve participation capacity of community organizations in education fund management
monitoring.
· Improve participation capacity of community organizations in revealing various violations of
education fund management at the school level.

The following project activities are to be undertaken:

· Conducting research on special government funds at school and district level to identify sources
of corruption and inefficiency
· Conducting research on the capacity of citizen organizations to monitor funds
· Enhancing the capacity of citizen organization in this area
· Conducting training on monitoring funds management
· Preparing guidelines on funds monitoring and disseminating these guidelines to civil society
organizations
· Providing technical assistance to CSOs
· Conducting a dialogue among stakeholders to formulate solutions with regard to prevention of
corruption and misuse of education funds
In addition PATTIRO will conduct advocacy for the establishment of a system for monitoring education
funds through a regional seminar and distribution of a newsletter.
Current Status (September 2010): The project implementation has proceeded according to schedule.
PATTIRO submitted two progress reports including financial report. The President of PATTIRO, Mr.
Ilham C. Srimaga, visited Washington in November 2009 and met with Khalid Siraj, the Project Adviser,
and with Dan and Pietronella of PTF. All project activities have been completed excep printing and
publishing of a book on the findings school budgeting system. We expect to receive the project
completion report shortly.
 2. Philippines, Ecolink: Anti-Corruption and Transparency Project II: LGU Vehicle Monitoring
(Completed. Still awaiting the PCR)
Adviser: Gerry van der Linden

Budget and Timeline

PTF signed a new grant agreement for $27,168 with ECOLINK on 23 January 2008. The first tranche of
$7,467 was released on February 4, 2008 and the second tranche of $11,250 on 24 March 2008. A third
tranche of $8,451 was released upon project completion in the middle of 2009. The project is now
completed. A Project Assessment is awaiting the submission of a completion report.
Background and Approach
ECOLINK’s project builds on its successful implementation of the Vehicle Use Monitoring of the City
Government of Oroquieta, replicating the same approach in two more city governments, namely Pagadian
City and Dipolog City. These are both semi-urbanized cities in Region IX and XII, respectively.
Like Oroquieta City, Pagadian and Dipolog suffer from problems of abusive and unregulated expenditures
on gasoline and lubricants, misuse of vehicles, minimal citizen awareness on proper use of government
vehicles, weak capacities or absence of transparency networks, and weak local institutional policies. To
address the situation, ECOLINK will consult with other government and civil society stakeholders, and
sign a Memorandum of Understanding, and Covenant during the Project Launching Ceremonies.
The monitoring and evaluation scheme undertaken in Oroquieta will be repeated in the two other cities.
Citizens’ vigilance and engagement with media, such as through SMS, are considered to be crucial in the
monitoring. To address sustainability, the project plans to seek the passage of a City Ordinance setting the
rules and guidelines for vehicle use and maintenance.
Observations and Achievements so far
As of 25 March 2008, ECOLINK reported that it had won the cooperation of key stakeholders with the
signing of the Memorandum of Agreement. The transparency and accountability networks had also been
formed in the target localities while multi-stakeholder action planning sessions were in full swing.
By September 2008, ECOLINK had accomplished the following:
Reduced expenses in LGU vehicles’ use and maintenance. Oroquieta City reported a savings of
P877,999.10 for gasoline, lubricants, repairs, and maintenance costs. Dapitan City reported a reduction of
P100,203.00 for repairs and maintenance. No available data yet from Pagadian City.
Documented and prevented cases of vehicle misuse. In Oroquieta City, 11 cases of vehicle misuse by
provincial and municipal officials were reported. Dapitan City had 17 cases. The government vehicles
were often seen at beach resorts, markets, club houses, and the cockpit. Pagadian City received 21 reports
of vehicle misuse coming from the local media and the Junior Graft Watch Units.
Increased citizens’ awareness and participation on anti-corruption and transparency programs. About
1,000 young people joined the Youth Festival at Pagadian City in June 2008, which featured a live-band,
arts, and literary competitions. In Dapitan City, at least 800 people watched the cultural shows and dances
depicting the negative effects of corruption. Oroquieta City also had a youth festival that brought together
thousands of people.
Strengthened CSO capabilities. After training in corruption monitoring, the CSOs were accredited by the
Office of the Ombudsman of Mindanao and recognized in local procurement bodies and fiscal councils. A
group of 14 NGOs, church groups, and individuals formed the Pagadian Transparency and Accountability
Network (PTAN).
Improved LGU policies in procurement, use and maintenance of vehicles. Policy formulation workshops
led to the drafting of ordinances in Pagadian and Dapitan. ECOLINK and the local networks inspected the
motor pools, checked gasoline gauges, logos, and “For Official Use Only” stickers. The Oroquieta
Coalition Against Corruption, with ECOLINK as secretariat, is now observing 17 Bids and Awards
Committees. Moreover, three officials in Oroquieta City have been dismissed from office due to vehicle
misuse.
ECOLINK encountered problems in project implementation due to the war in Pagadian and the dismissal
of its project coordinator. On February 2009, the ECOLINK was presented at the CODE-NGO
Development Week in Manila.
The project completion report is still awaited and is long overdue.

3. Philippines, INCITEGov: Participatory Monitoring for Barangay Infrastructure and Health

Projects in the Province of Isabela (Completed. PCA prepared)
Adviser: Gerry van der Linden
Budget and Timeline
PTF signed an agreement on June 24 2008 for $25,069 with INCITEGov. A first tranche of $12600 was
disbursed on June 26, 2008. A second tranche of $10,000 was released subsequently. A final tranche of
$2,469 has been released.
Background and Approach
Isabela is the second largest province in the Philippines located in the northeastern part of Luzon. Grace
Padaca, its governor and one of the country’s reform minded politicians, realized that there is a need to
strengthen citizens’ participation, improve transparency in the use of public funds, and monitor local
service delivery.
INCITEGov spearheaded the project in partnership with the provincial government of Isabela and the
People’s Alliance for Justice, Democracy and Good Governance (PAJDGG), a multisectoral organization
composed of professionals, farmers, women leaders, and church workers of different faith denominations.
Project Objectives and Activities
This participatory project aims to set up systems to improve transparency in the use of public funds,
empower civil society organizations, and improve the procurement of medicines in five (5) provincial
hospitals.
As of September 2008, INCITEGov reported that it has set up procedures in determining the criteria for
project selection. To implement the system, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed
between the Provincial Government of Isabela and the PAJDGG.
Monitoring teams were also organized after convening the PAJDGG members and signing of another
MOU between INCITEGov and PAJDGG. After finalizing the list of projects, 14 monitoring teams are
ready to check infrastructure projects and two study groups will review drug procurement.
At least 65 participants joined the basic training on participatory monitoring held on September 3 – 5
2008. Barangay officials and chiefs of hospitals were invited on the last day of the workshop.
A project assessment report has been prepared and posted on PTF's website.

4. Philippines, NAMFREL: Medicine Monitoring Project (Completed. PCA prepared)

Adviser: Gerry van der Linden
Budget and Timeline
PTF signed an agreement on June 12 2008 for $23296 with the National Citizens’ Movement for Free
Elections (NAMFREL), a volunteer based organization active during elections. By November 2009 two
tranches had been released for a total of $20,966. A remaining tranche of $2330 will be released upon
receipt of the financial statements from NAMFREL.
Background and Approach
Because of NAMFREL’s large network and monitoring experience, the Department of Health (DOH)
sought its help to monitor procurement, delivery, and inventory of medicines in DOH-managed hospitals.
Over 100 volunteers were mobilized and deployed in 66 public hospitals from 2004 to 2007.
NAMFREL, however, needs to improve further its training module and strengthen citizens’ participation
as well as focus its monitoring on selected hospitals that play a crucial role in providing health services to
the public.
Identification of Issues and Needs
In July-August 2008, the project started to review its training module for medicine monitoring.
NAMFREL has consulted the chiefs of hospitals of eight (8) DOH Retained Hospitals. In addition
NAMFREL consulted regional directors of three (3) Centers for Health Development during the period 4
September to 29 October 2008. The issues raised were as follows:
· Volunteers should have basic knowledge of health management and medicines to understand the
nuances of their procurement.
· Hospitals accepted delivery of medicines that were less than the required shelf life of 18 months
because they assumed that suppliers will replenish the delivered medicines three (3) months prior
to their expiration.
· NAMFREL volunteers will join the Integrity Development Committees (IDCs), the anti-
corruption units in the hospitals.
· Observers are expected to give their comments right after the bid proceeding to determine if the
BAC complied with RA 9184.
· Carry out the delivery and inventory monitoring for drugs and medicines once a month to
optimize volunteer mobilization.
· Suggested a penalty of 1% per day of delay to deliver the goods should be imposed to suppliers
who fail to make the full delivery on time.
· Suggested to establish and implement a Code of Conduct for suppliers participating in hospital
biddings.
· NAMFREL suggested to the IDCs to create a report-handling mechanism.
Results
As of October 2008, 40 volunteers have been monitoring a total of P233.9 million-worth of medicines
and medical supplies in the project sites.
After the orientation of volunteers in November 2008, monitoring started in the first quarter of 2009. It
was done for P5.3 million worth of drugs and medicines in four hospitals in Western Visayas, Cordillera
Autonomous Region, Central Luzon, and National Capital Region. Of this amount, P2.4 million have
already been accounted for while the protect team is processing additional monitoring reports.
There was also an effort to augment the volunteer base through a meeting with Gawad Kalinga, especially
in National Capital Region. Lastly, the project team attended the Department of Health’s Integrity
Development Committee to share initial findings of the monitoring.
A project assessment report has been prepared and posted on PTF's website.
 5. Philippines G-Watch of Ateneo School of Government. Project Procurement Project (PRO):
Institutionalizing the Capacity Building of CSO Procurement Observers (Completed. PCA prepared)

Adviser: Gerry van der Linden

Budget and Timeline

PTF signed an agreement for $27,500 with the Ateneo School of Government through its G-Watch
program on 15 April 2008. In the meantime the entire grant has been disbursed and a Project Completion
Report has been submitted to PTF. A Project Completion Assessment is in preparation.
Background and Approach
The objective of the G-Watch’s PRO project was to sustain and expand the gains of civil society
participation in the Department of Education (DepEd), specifically arising from the Textbook Count
Project, which enabled transparency in the bidding and delivery of textbooks.
PRO sought to reinforce the gains of CSOs and DepEd, thus ensuring the procurement of books at
reasonable prices and the timely delivery of high quality textbooks to students. The CSO-government
collaboration has helped institutionalize the Government Procurement Reform Act’s (RA 9184)
requirement for third-party observers.
G-Watch met with the DepEd-Procurement Service to fine-tune the project and sealed the partnership
through a memorandum signed by DepEd Undersecretary Teodosio Sangil Jr. on 14 July 2008. Education
officials were receptive to a project that would enhance the capacity and influence of CSO observers.
Project Outcomes
After 12 months of implementation, the project successfully set up and piloted a system of mobilization,
capacity building and recognition of civil society observers in the procurement process. These
accomplishments are detailed as follows:
· Commitments to pilot test PRO were solicited from 12 CSOs on 9 May and 5 June 2008. The
project produced 31 “graduates” from seven organizations, who underwent intensive and on-the-
job training on procurement monitoring.
· An orientation-workshop was conducted in August 2008 to instruct the volunteers about the
government procurement process, role of civil society in monitoring of processes in the Education
sector, raising red flags, and reporting and documentation responsibilities. It made use of a variety
of learning tools, including lecture-discussion, case analysis, small group work, organization
planning, and diagnostic tests.
· Proceedings were observed in 10 procurement items, the contracts for which amount to P1.3
billion.
· The proceedings observed were found systematic and according to prescribed process, which
could partly be attributed to the presence of observers.
· The project’s culminating activity was the public forum entitled, “The Institutionalization
Question: Forum on Ways and Means to Institutionalize the Mobilization and Capacity-Building
of CSO Procurement Observers”. It reaffirmed the value of sustained government-civil society
partnership and vital recommendations to enhance participation, such as strategic targeting of
items to monitor.
A project assessment report has been prepared and posted on PTF's website.