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Dr. Ravinder Singh Duggal (left. top photo) of the International Budget Project; United Nations Development Programme Resident Coordinator Nileema Noble (middle, top photo) ; former Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno (right, top photo); and Congressional Budget Planning Division Executive Director Emmanuel Miral (left photo) share insights during the Capability Building Workshop for Greater Participation, Transparency and Accountability in the Budget Process last May 21-23 at Eagle Point Resort, Mabini, Batangas. Civil society organizations and legislative staff participated in the workshop. |
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CONTACT US:
Social Watch Philippines #40 Matulungin St. Central Village, Quezon City
Contact nos. Telefax: +63 02 4265626 Tel No.: +63 02 4265632
Email: sowatphils@gmail.com
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POVERTY AND ECONOMIC DATA POINT TO SEVERE GOVERNANCE PROBLEM Social Watch Philippines (SWP), a civil society network that led citizens groups’ engagement in the national budget process and campaign for financing for development, called on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to stop blaming the global crisis for the severe hunger felt by millions of Filipinos and face the truth that poverty in the Philippines is caused by a grave governance problem. "If all countries are affected by the global crises, how come other countries are not as hungry as Filipinos are? How come Vietnam has 7.4% growth rate, Malaysia 7.1%, Indonesia 6.3%, Thailand 6.0% and the Philippines an embarrassing 5.2%? The crucial factor is governance," SWP lead convenor Leonor Magtolis Briones said.
Briones, who is also a former national treasurer of the country, said that the slowing down of the economy is a manifestation of the inherent weakness in how GMA has managed the economy. She stressed that GMA has wrong development priorities, as manifested by the lack of funding for social development, particularly the MDGs. These wrong economic priorities rendered more Filipinos vulnerable to rising cost of living and threaten to push more people into poverty.
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Effective management of public finances, not subsidies, will solve hunger Reacting to a Social Weather Station survey that there was a significant increase in the number of times that 2.9 million Filipino families go hungry in a span of three months, SWP lead convenor and former national treasurer Leonor Briones reiterated SWP’s dismay over PGMA’s cash transfer program, saying it is only a one-shot strategy that only ensures political gains.
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Orientation Seminar on Budget Advocacies for Media • July 18,, 2008 • Ponciana’s Kitchen, Timog Avenue, Quezon City • 8:30 am, - 1:00 pm |
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Meeting with the Technical Working Group on Institutionalization of People’s Participation in the National Budget Process • scheduled between August 4 –7 , 2008 |
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Meeting with Representative Junie Cua, Chair of Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, August 5, 2008 |
