Report - Social Watch Philippines

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agreements that the country has entered into yet, it can be clearly observed that within the WTO negotiations and the JPEPA processes, no singular entity can be held accountable for the outcomes of these negotiations. The country enters into a hodge-podge of agreements, likened to a bowl of spaghetti, where no overriding framework for entering into negotiations guides the negotiators. Worse, people’s organizations and even Congress are kept in the dark during the whole process. People who will be negatively affected by such agreements are seldom consulted and on ratifi - cation or accession, are just asked to grin and bear it. On the other hand, Congress, which is similarly left in the dark are told that upon the Executive’s signing, it is already fait accompli and the institution will just have to enact new laws or repeal old ones to align our statutes to the new agreements. As early as the 12th Congress, a proposal to address such disjoint in trade negotiations was already being pushed. It is hoped that under the new administration, civil society will see the realization of such a proposal. A review of all bilateral and regional trade and investment agreements. It is appalling that so many new agreements have entered into force immediately after the WTO talks, called the ‘Doha Round’, stalled. While most of us got doused with the JPEPA debates, seven other agreements were being quietly negotiated with their implications not yet fully appreciated by the public. As such, calls for a review of all these agreements are but proper. Let us put a unifi ed rhyme and reason behind all of these agreements. Putting up our defenses by having high product standards akin to the EU’s. As our tariffs have substantially gone down, there must be conscious effort to fortify our borders with strict product standards as perhaps a last line of defense for the infl ux of cheap, poor quality imports. 142 SOCIAL WATCH PHILIPPINES Again, an MDG-sensitive debt policy The common yet unheeded calls of civil society with regard to debt remain, as achieving the MDGs become precarious not just for poor countries, but middle-income countries as well. Countries belonging to the so-called highly-indebted poor countries (HIPC) are considered qualifi ed for multilateral debt reduction initiative (MDRI). Yet, there are a lot of middle income countries like the Philippines and Indonesia which are off-track in their MDGs as a result of their huge debt burden. It is time to do away with the traditional debt ratios that create an illusion that a country has the capacity to sustainably service its debt and at the same time develop. The UNDP and the UN DESA (Department of Economics and Social Affairs) have been undertaking activities with regard to addressing the MDG needs of a country while providing debt relief. One of those that found resonance among civil society organizations is the UN institution’s position to give debt relief to countries where government revenues cannot meet MDG fi nancing needs. 15 Ways forward on ODA Civil society can openly support recommendations coming from the Executive which are essentially the following: Strengthen the selection process of loan-funded programs and projects to minimize corruption and increase transparency; and Strengthen adherence to the Paris Declaration. The Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness is an agreement among countries to continue to increase efforts in harmonization, alignment and managing aid for results with a set of actions and indicators that can be effectively monitored. These include: Ownership - Developing countries set their own strategies for poverty reduction, improve their institutions and tackle corruption. Alignment - Donor countries align behind these objectives and use local systems. Harmonization - Donor countries coordinate, simplify procedures and share information to avoid duplication. 15 “Possibilities of Debt Reduction for MDG Financing: Philippines and Indonesia,” by Joseph Anthony Y. Lim, Financing for Development: Finance or Penance for the Poor, Mobilizing Resources for the MDGs: The Five-Year Review of Financing for Development, Social Watch Philippines, 2008.
Results - Developing countries and donors shift focus to development results and results get measured. Mutual Accountability - Donors and partners are accountable for development results. 16 Further recommendations include: Where to put development assistance? Considering the uncertainty and limits of ODA fl ows in this period of global economic crisis, we propose that in the next 5 or 6 years (until 2015) its use be prioritized: a) For social protection and for covering MDG gaps (from the current 30% level to at least 50%): this is meant not only as an additional support for the attainment of the MDGs, but principally to prevent the further expansion of poverty during these diffi cult times; b) For food and agri-development (from the current 3% to at least 10%), in the function of food security; and c) In infrastructure investment, to prioritize basic infrastructure in the rural areas where the majority of the Asian poor still live. It should be emphasized, as has been consistently done in all climate negotiations, that assistance to address the effects of climate change must be separate from and additional to the current ODA commitments for fi nancing the MDGs. Strengthening and institutionalizing the role of civil society. We welcome the advance made in Accra on ‘democratic ownership’ and ‘inclusive partnership’ – particularly the recognition of the necessary role of civil society groups. There is a need to institutionalize this role in the processes and offi cial structures of development and aid, both in the donor and the recipient countries. Such institutionalization will not only enhance ‘ownership’ of the development projects and processes, but also ensures greater transparency and accountability in the use and management of aid. An ASEAN/ASEM ‘localized’ Aid Effectiveness Regime. At the Asian People’s Forum in Bangkok, we proposed to the 7th ASEAN Summit that the ASEAN forge a collective system of rules on how ODA will be availed of, used, and managed in the region. This will References 16 http://www.oecd.org/document/18/0,3343,en_2649_3236398_35401554_1_1_1_1,00.html in effect “localize” the Paris Declaration principles to the situation and needs of the ASEAN countries. More importantly, it will add teeth to the enforcement of country commitments in the Paris Declaration and Accra, and ‘offi cialize’ a ‘regional peer-to-peer approach’ to aid effectiveness. Action for Economic Reforms. January 2002. “A case of impermissible rent-seeking.” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. http://www.bsp.gov.ph/statistics/ keystat/ofw.htm Boras, E. Business World. 20 Oct 2003. “Government Loses P120 billion in Tariff Cuts,” as cited in “Reaching the Philippines’ MDG Targets: Why Policy Paradigms Matter” by Walden Bello, Presentation at the PLCP Conference, Crowne Plaza Galleria, 17 Aug 2010. Bureau of Treasury as cited in http://www.nscb.gov.ph/sdds/nsdp.asp BusinessWorld. 4 July 2010. “Trade deal biased in favor of Japan?” http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content. php?id=13675 Consultative Workshop on the Philippines Fourth Progress Report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 16 July 2010. Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila, Ortigas Center http://www.oecd.org/document/18/0,3343,en_2649_3236398_ 35401554_1_1_1_1,00.html Ibon. Dec 2005. “Liberalization and the Demise of the Local Shoe Industry,” Vol 5, No 44, 11-17. Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC). July 2010. “Climate Finance Chaos: A Finance Agenda for Urgent Climate Action in the Philippines” Climate Action Policy Brief. The full report can be downloaded from http://ejeepney.org and http:// oxfamphilippines.wordpress.com Kwok, A. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 6th January 2010. “Oxfam warns of climate debt with WB climate aid,” by Abigail Kwok, INQUIRER.net. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/ nation/view/20100601-273267/Oxfam-warns-of-climate-debtwith-WB-climate-aid Lim, J. A. Y. 2008. “Possibilities of Debt Reduction for MDG Financing: Philippines and Indonesia,” cited in Financing for Development: Finance or Penance for the Poor, Mobilizing Resources for the MDGs: The Five-Year Review of Financing for Development, Social Watch Philippines, 2008. National Statistical Coordination Board http://www.nscb.gov. ph/secstat/d_trade.asp Ordinario, C. U. 2 July 2009. “ODA cost overruns hit P14B”. Business Mirror. http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/topnews/12607-oda-cost-overruns-hit-p14b.html Oxfam Briefi ng Note. 15 November 2005. “Scaling up aid for trade: How to support poor countries to trade their way out of poverty.” Tadem, E. C. “Development down the drain: The Crisis of Offi cial Development Assistance to the Philippines” cited in Social Watch Philippines. 2008. Financing for Development: Finance or Penance for the Poor, Mobilizing Resources for the MDGs: The Five-Year Review of Financing for Development. Winning the Numbers, Losing the War: The Other MDG Report 2010 143
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Winning the Numbers, Losing the War
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Many deserve our th
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CLEEP Comprehensive Livelihood and
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MOA-AD Memorandum of Agreement on A
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS/CONTRIBUTORS Leon
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FOREWORD By ISAGANI R. SERRANO This
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An urgent MDG message: Inadequate f
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The use of the budget instrument fo
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MDG chances: stability and vulnerab
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may mean a short honeymoon period.
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what we got from Annex I countries
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(Php58.6 Billion) of GDP at current
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Fourth Assessment Report provide a
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Losing the war on poverty The Other
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Table 1. Philippines’ MDG progres
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(NER) and medium on both cohort sur
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incidence of 97.46 percent. The las
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special needs; (c) 228,928 women in
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cultural structures urgently needin
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capacity to confront the dreaded cl
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MDG Goal 1 Targets 1 and 3: On erad
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Table 1. Prevalence of undernutriti
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2007, women’s national unemployme
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in the service and production secto
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een generally positive—increased
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Table 9: Partial Listing of Big Lan
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and promote gender equality in all
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While many see this as an education
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seen in both public and private pre
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and therefore, limited coverage. Th
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Table 7. Education Expenditure as a
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Box 2. Education budget tracking (2
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This paper looks at highly vulnerab
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to education. 5 In practice, debt p
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Table 5. Distribution of Government
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Table 7. Average Daily Basic Pay by
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in the 80’s, according to Sibal,
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eports of female OFW deaths, sexual
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Table 13. Trafficked Migrants Assis
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plicating overpopulation and poor w
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CAN$318.8 billion. While they found
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. Women’s economic empowerment i.
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statistics-fs-violence-against-fi l
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New policies and programs meant to
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Table 2: Immunization Status 1998 2
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Table 4. List of Nutritionally Vuln
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percent), who gave birth at home (9
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protocol is another comprehensive s
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5. Revamping the health insurance s
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Universalizing health care As we po
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Progress of work in improving mater
Page 108 and 109: Figure 2. Use of Skilled Birth Atte
Page 110 and 111: In terms of postnatal care, 77 perc
Page 112 and 113: Abortion Worldwide abortion rates h
Page 114 and 115: went down from 9.8 percent in 2005
Page 116 and 117: longer to health care centers in co
Page 118 and 119: However, USAID, with the concurrenc
Page 120 and 121: Box 1. Safe Motherhood: a brief his
Page 123 and 124: The rising challenge of HIV/AIDS an
Page 125 and 126: Sexual transmission remains to be t
Page 127 and 128: national response. Since health was
Page 129 and 130: Figure 7. Frequency distribution of
Page 131 and 132: Table 5. Annual estimated cost for
Page 133 and 134: tion of Public-Private Mix Departme
Page 135 and 136: Not much time, but not without opti
Page 137 and 138: Questions and more questions on the
Page 139 and 140: Figure 1: Biodiversity Hotspots Bio
Page 141 and 142: MDG’s, but more importantly, on b
Page 143 and 144: 8. Organic Agriculture Act of 2010;
Page 145 and 146: science Bureau (MGB) but funded by
Page 147 and 148: Problems and gaps Incoherent and cl
Page 149 and 150: must be able to provide for non-pro
Page 151 and 152: Trade, debt and aid: MDG retardants
Page 153 and 154: Table 1. Recent Trade and Investmen
Page 155 and 156: elated social spending; Three, ille
Page 157: eing proposed in Congress. But more
Page 162 and 163: Mindanao situation Mindanao is the
Page 164 and 165: Table 1.Cohort Survival Rate by Reg
Page 166 and 167: MTPDP has not gained momentum to ef
Page 168 and 169: Seven provinces in Mindanao, almost
Page 170 and 171: a. Lobby for the crafting of laws a
Page 172 and 173: Moro situation after the Treaty of
Page 174 and 175: and Palawan movement and Mindanao I
Page 176 and 177: Appendix B Are the Moros Filipinos?
Page 178 and 179: Government with respect to the Moro
Page 180 and 181: legal and political shields behind
Page 182 and 183: Goals and Targets (from the Millenn
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