DRAWING SYNERGIES to ADDRESS POVERTY and OTHER DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES “Walking on Two Legs:Local and National” Oscar D. Francisco

Vice Chair for the Basic Sectors National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) 13 October 2005 Hotel Dominique Tagaytay City

My presentation can be summarized by the acronym PATLEPAM:

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aradigm of Inter-Active Approach to State-CS Relations

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djustments in Our Understanding of Poverty

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he 5 Core Strategies to Fight Poverty

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essons in Drawing Synergies to Address Poverty

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ffective Partnerships or Democratic Interdependence at the Barangay-Bayan Level ushing for Accountability and Bureaucratic Momentum Behind KALAHI at the National Level dopting a Single Framework into the Politics of Dignity and the Politics of Poverty ore Synergies/Partnerships Need to be Embedded in State-CS Institutional Frameworks

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ARADIGM of INTER-ACTIVE APPROACH to STATE-CS RELATIONS

• The “inter-active approach” to state-civil society relations in implementing social reform (SR) usually results into positive outcomes.

• The different outcomes of social reform implementation are caused by political dynamics in general and the political strategies of key actors in particular.

• Central to the social reform process is the symbiotic interaction between reformist initiatives by pro-reform state actors “from above” and social mobilization by pro-reform civil society actors “from below”.

• The need for strategy to achieve gains based on cooperation and synergy between reformers in government at different levels (central and local) and reformers outside at different levels, especially autonomous civil society organizations (CSOs). We intersect in areas where there are common agreements and create arenas to resolve differences and conflicts.

• While we continue to accumulate power “from the bottom –up”, our basic principle is to support NGO development practitioners who have “penetrated” the state apparatus (central and local) and are now state social reform implementors.

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DJUSTMENTS IN OUR UNDERSTANDING of POVERTY

• There is a need to (re)define and understand poverty within the context of human development to determine the steps towards it resolution.

“Poverty has many faces. It isolates people from

meaningful social interaction and stifles full human development. Poverty is redefined as not simply lack of income and material resources, but also the absence of capabilities, opportunities and power that will allow an individual to fully assume his/her role as a member of a community.”

Human development is the process of enlarging people’s choices, the most essential of which are the 3Ks: Kalusugan, Karunungan and Kabuhayan. HDI is the measure which incorporates the 3 components.

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HE 5 CORE STRATEGIES TO FIGHT POVERTY

Five strategies aim to address the multi-dimensional aspects of poverty and constitute the National Anti-Poverty Agenda (NAA), popularly known as KALAHI or “Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan” (Linking Arms to Fight Poverty) Program. It is the manifesto for a genuine pro-poor response to poverty and for the identification and provision of basic services to the critical and poorest communities. This serves as the social contract which organizes and makes coherent the interests of the state and the basic sectors. This social contract shapes the partnership between the government and civil society.

The KALAHI has the merit of receiving inputs from and is accessible to a broad range of POs and NGOs. It aims to create aspirations.

an enabling and empowering environment to improve the capabilities of the poor, exercise their rights and pursue their needs and

Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI)

Participation of the poor in governance and inclusion of CSOs and Basic Sectors in policy making at the national and local levels.

Human developments service to strengthen the human capital base of the poor.

Asset Reform and redistribution of physical and resource assets to the poor , especially land and credit Social Protection and security of the vulnerable for them to exercise their economic, social and political rights Employment and livelihood opportunities for the poor and strengthening the capacities of the marginalized groups to engage in productive activities.

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ESSONS IN DRAWING SYNERGIES TO ADDRESS POVERTY AND OTHER DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES: Local and National Levels

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“democratic interdependence” at the local, especially level between POs and NGOs and their local governments and using the KEEP BASES strategies to bring about poverty reduction partnerships or Barangay-Bayan

I am the Managing Trustee of the Tacloban City-based Institute for Democratic Participation in Governance (IDPG) doing Participatory Local Governance (PLG) work in 17 municipalities and 4 provinces in Eastern Visayas. We develop “democratic interdependence between citizens and local governments (LG). The institutional expression of this is the formation of a working Local Development Council (LDC) and other related processes. We combine capacity building (CB) on POs in governance and CB of LG officials and institutions towards PLG.” “IDPG helps build the capacities of LDCs through participatory situation analysis, planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation (SAPBIME) to develop the LDP and use it to allocate internal and external resources. IDPG is pushing for a shift in local-national relations. Instead of talking about local implementation of national initiatives and mobilizing local counterparts, IDPG talks about national counterpart resources for local priorities and initiatives.”

KEEP BASES STRATEGIES

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now by interacting with various groups of poor people (1) to learn and give value to their strategies for achieving well being (2) and listen to their recommendations on how civil society, government and private sectors can strengthen their efforts.

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stablish a working data base on poor and vulnerable groups at the barangay, municipal and city levels that is integrated into community planning, monitoring and evaluation.

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nable poor people to participate in local governance, build up social capital and strengthen local institutions that prevent social exclusion

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lot the changes taking place among poor groups as various anti-poverty programs are carried out at the barangay, municipal and city levels and determine who are reached and who are not.

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uild capacities of poor and disadvantaged groups to: 1. Pursue their interests and sustain their gains 2. Clarify priorities and governance procedures to assist the poor 3. Add to surveillance on corruption

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ssist the poor in developing strong, autonomous POs that effectively advocate their interests

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trengthen LGUs capacities to apply a poverty lens to their programs and serve the poor better through reformed institutional arrangements

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xact accountabilities on barangay, municipal and city councils to their constituents.

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eek partnership with the private sector for programs for the poor.

P USHING FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND BUREAUCRATIC MOMENTUM BEHIND KALAHI AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

The National Anti-Poverty Commission was organized to spearhead the people’s war against poverty. A strategic aspect in this contract is to leverage the accountability of the state as agents of their principal – the ordinary citizens who are generally poor and vulnerable. The NAPC mandate also accords it with the role of generating bureaucratic momentum across departments and the different levels of government to achieve poverty eradication.

NAPC FUNCTIONS:

(1) Coordinate with different NGAs to assure full implementation of all social reform (SR) and poverty alleviation (PA) programs; (2) Coordinate with LGUs in the formulation of SR and PA programs for their respective areas (3) Recommend policy measures to ensure the implementation of the SRA; (4) Ensure meaningful representation and active participation of the basic sectors; (5) Oversee, monitor and recommend measures to ensure the effective formulation, implementation and evaluation of policies, programs and resource allocation and management of social reform and poverty alleviation programs; (6) Advocate for the mobilization of funds by the national and local governments to finance SR and PA programs and capability building activities of POs; (7) Provide financial and non-financial incentives to LGUs with counterpart resources for the implementation of SR and PA programs

THE NAPC: Giving poor people choices and empowering them to make those choices The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) was created in 1998 to coordinate and monitor the national campaign against poverty in keeping with the spirit of empowerment and participation in governance, its composition embodies the synergy partnership between government and civil society: 23 heads of NGAs, 4 presidents of the Leagues of LGUs and 14 basic sector representatives

National Anti-Poverty Commission

President of the Philippines is Chairperson and assisted by 2 Vice Chairpersons Government Sector • heads of 23 national government agencies • presidents of 4 major local government leagues Basic Sector • 14 sectoral representatives from 14 basic sectors/CSOs

NAPC Sectoral Representatives (SRs) focus on the task of monitoring the design, implementation, and use of resource in anti-poverty programs. The SRs exercise vigilance in the effort to open up the local economy and in certain political projects such as changing the constitution. NAPC SRs are into participation and advocacy on the strategic economic and social issues of agrarian reform, education, health care, housing, and the social reform agenda.

Priority Tasks of NAPC SRs • Participate as unofficial oversight committee in government’s plans to further open up the economy. Crucial issues such as the WTO review process and beyond; retail trade and government procurement liberalization, are informed by NAPC as to its direct and indirect effects on poverty.

• Co-audit government’s Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) Programs. As partner of the government in this undertaking, NAPC SRs focus their attention on preventing subsidies from being captured by local elites, and in ensuring that the spill-over effects of the subsidies directly benefit other non-beneficiaries.

• Take the lead in ensuring that KALAHI is carried, implemented, and monitored across government agencies, and from national to local government. NAPC has an inventory of all government programs towards establishing COHERENCE and CONSISTENCY in the pursuit of poverty eradication objectives.

• Strengthening advocacy and claim making for the local institutions at the provincial and municipal/city level engaged in social insurance and protection; labor market policies, environmental standards and zoning rules, infrastructure development, and food security. NAPC SRs are involved in promoting, community stockpiling of food and other goods, the identification and management of common property resources, and the protection and development of watersheds along ecological zones.

• Spearhead the rededication of local bureaucracies and government line agencies towards fulfilling their social contract with the poor. In the context of economic crisis, NAPC SRs join the poor in calling for guarantees that universal access to health and education be protected from fiscal restraints.

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DOPTING A SINGLE FRAMEWORK INTO THE POLITICS OF DIGNITY AND POLITICS OF POVERTY

“The challenge today, as many scholars have noted, is how

to bring the politics of dignity and the politics of poverty

into a single framework” and enable the poor to retain “the capacity to aspire”.

• We reiterate the importance of adopting a human rights approach to pro-poor, participatory programming.

• A major transformation in authoritarian attitudes of superiority is essential on the part of many government officials, elites and technical groups working with the poor.

• As Bituin, a 12-year old resident of Payatas, the 13 hectare Quezon City dumpsite, commented when she was asked about children’s rights: “The rights that I think are more important are to have dreams and ambitions”.

(Racelis, Aguirre, et al 2005)

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ORE SYNERGIES AND PARTNERSHIPS NEED TO BE EMBEDDED IN STATE-CIVIL SOCIETY INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS

But it is important to underscore the role of key actors/actresses or “partnership cadres” in pushing changes and development within the bureaucracy and within the community of CSOs and the academe. The going will be rough! That is why state-civil society partnership cadres should adopt as their theme song “Quit Playing Games With My Heart” -there is a line there which says

“only the impossible is difficult”