CSOs collaborate to support urban poor in Caloocan

Wazzup Pilipinas!?


Caloocan City is one of the biggest and most densely populated cities in the Philippines. According to the 2018 official poverty statistics of the Philippine Statistics Agency (PSA), it has a total population of 1.6 million and a poverty incidence of 4.7%, the highest in the National Capital Region.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country in March 2020, the enhanced community quarantines aggravated the situation of poor households especially those living in urban centers. As observed by the United Nations, people who are most vulnerable to food and nutrition crises during the pandemic are those who were already exposed to critical food and dietary deprivations pre-pandemic. It was in this setting that an informal coalition of civil society and private sector organizations, already providing relief operations on their own, came together to strategize and collaborate to address the need for food among poor families in Metro Manila.



Ensuring food security

As an informal alliance of different CSOs and NGOs, the CSO coalition was organized to coordinate and manage relief efforts in affected communities in NCR. To address the hunger situation and revive small businesses, the group embarked on “Project Karinderya”, which brought safe and nutritious food to urban poor households while helping the karinderyas (food stalls) recover from the slack in business.

“During the first year of the pandemic, the CSO coalition focused on food security and livelihood,” CSO coalition Project Manager Kathleen Loresca said.

In Bagong Silang Caloocan, the largest barangay in the country, the coalition supported Kabuhayan sa Ganap na Kasarinlan Credit and Savings Cooperative (K-COOP) to provide hot meals to thousands of residents and establish community kitchens that has fed families for a month.

The Project Karinderya, which provided income to food stall owners while feeding families, was also replicated in around 200 barangays in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

A similar initiative, the Super Carinderia, is being implemented by PBSP in partnership with Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in East Asia and the Pacific (ANSA-EAP), and Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Pamilya ng Pantawid, which was initially done in NCR and is now currently being replicated as far as Iloilo, Negros Occidental, and Marawi City.



Project CAHEL

Aside from ensuring food security, barangay health teams were also trained on preventing further spread of the virus.

Led by the Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF), Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF), and K-COOP and the Caloocan City LGU, the Caloocan Consortium to Alleviate Health and Leadership or Project CAHEL was launched in June 2021. A six-month training included two modules of the Barangay Health Leadership and Management Program for Pandemics as well as learning sessions on contact tracing, triage and referral system, mental health awareness & psychosocial support, dengue awareness and management.



Caloocan Vaccination Partnership

To ramp up its support to the national vaccination plan in 2021, the coalition also partnered with the local government of Caloocan City to provide technical assistance, conduct information campaigns, generate demand for vaccines, and address logistical issues in the vaccination sites.

The Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), with Task Force T3 (Test, Trace and Treat), shared their technical expertise on planning, allocation and monitoring performance of their vaccination campaign through the Miñana Matrix, a tool to determine targets in vaccination efforts. The CSO coalition also created an online map of vaccination sites in Caloocan and devised a system for contact tracing and mapping locations for granular lockdowns.

To deal with vaccine hesitancy, KCOOP initiated information, education, and community campaigns by releasing COVID-19 facts and figures to their client members in their communication channels, particularly, online chat groups composed of mothers in the community.

“Most of KCOOPs client members are “nanays” (mothers). They became “infomediaries” to enlighten their communities that vaccines are safe and effective, and there is a need to get vaccinated to protect yourself and others,” Loresca said.

The Microfinance Council of the Philippines (MCPI), meanwhile, introduced to the CSO Collab through KCoop General Manager Ms. Maria Anna Ignacio, also mobilized their members to help generate demand for vaccination among their clients through the conduct of IEC campaigns.

With the increase in demand, the LGU then provided slots in dedicated vaccination sites to the Collab partners’ members As the vaccine supply stabilized in NCR towards the last quarter of last year, KCOOP brought its client-members from the nearby province of Bulacan when Caloocan City opened its vaccination sites to residents outside the city. Transportation expenses were shouldered by members of the CSO coalition like the Philippine Business for Social Progress.

Through linkages with the Jollibee Group Foundation, service crews from the Jollibee Foods Corporation were also vaccinated along with Food Panda riders.

With these efforts, over 2,000 individuals were vaccinated in Caloocan.

 

Addressing challenges in the vaccination sites

The CSO coalition also stepped up its efforts to address the lack of equipment and manpower in the vaccination sites.

To help encoders of the local government, PEF, through K-COOP, provided 27 laptop units for the vaccination project’s database management component. The CAMANAVA chapter of the Philippine College of Physicians, at the same time, helped in the enlistment of 32 medical volunteers for the vaccination centers in Caloocan.

The SEAOIL Foundation Inc. also provided e-vouchers for fuel worth P50,000 to help transport COVID-19 vaccines to vaccination centers.



Replicating the efforts

The coming together of the development organizations to help the local government, plus the impact of the effort to improve the vaccination in Caloocan have prompted replication in other areas.

In November 2021, another vaccination partnership was initiated in Padre Burgos, Quezon, a PEF focus area. Together with MCPI and the CSO coalition, PEF coordinated with the municipal Rural Health Unit, local MFIs, and partner cooperative Yakap at Halik Multipurpose Cooperative Quezon 2 to vaccinate residents.

According to Loresca, the CSO coalition will be working with other LGUs to replicate the efforts.

“For Caloocan and Padre Burgos, we have seen the potential of microfinance institutions in increasing vaccine coverage. The Department of Health, World Health Organization, and Task Force T3 are looking forward to engaging these MFIs in areas with low vaccination rates,” she said.

The Caloocan LGU was also invited by the Association of Foundations in a forum to discuss their model and share experiences to inspire creation of similar efforts.

With the learnings from the collaboration, more cities and municipalities are expected to produce partnerships that can have multiplier effects to their own efforts

The Peace and Equity Foundation aspires to drive positive change in poor Filipino household communities by investing in social enterprises that will provide them with viable livelihood and better access to basic services. We work with partners who share this vision by developing models and best practices that will steer social enterprises to scale up. Founded in October 2001, our Foundation is the steward of an endowment fund and registered as a non-stock, non-profit organization based in Quezon City, Philippines.

Law Group Welcomes Effectivity of FDA Ban on Trans Fat, Urges Industry Compliance

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

 

“The Filipino people, for the sake of their heart health, deserve a trans fat-free Philippines by 2023. We laud the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its commitment to this vision and urge the food industry to observe the strictest compliance.” 

 

This was the statement of law group ImagineLaw as the FDA Circular No. 2021-028 or the “Guidelines for Prepackaged Processed Food Products Containing Trans Fatty Acids (TFA)” takes effect today, March 10, 2022. The Circular implements the Department of Health (DOH) Administrative Order No. 2021-0039, a national policy that bans industrial TFA from processed food items.

 

“We recognize FDA’s firm stance in promoting consumers’ health and diet through the issuance of the guidelines. We also expect no less from the food industry than to join the collective effort among state actors and civil society in complying with this measure. After all, health is everyone’s business,” Atty. Mary Grace Anne Rosales-Sto. Domingo, ImagineLaw’s Project Manager for Healthy Diet remarked.

 

The Circular prohibits the manufacture, use, importation, distribution, and sale of food sources, ingredients, and pre-packaged processed food products containing partially hydrogenated oil (PHO) and high TFA content. These include margarine, vegetable shortening, fried foods and doughnuts, crackers, biscuits, packaged pies, pancakes, and hot chocolate mixes.

 

To ensure strict compliance with the policy, the FDA requires businesses to submit an accredited Certificate of Analysis indicating the food item’s TFA content, which shall not exceed 2g per 100 ml of total fat.

 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), industrial TFA is a toxic fat that increases bad cholesterol levels and leads to a higher risk of heart disease, including stroke and heart attacks. Data from a WHO 2017 study also revealed that high TFA intake results in around 3,000 annual premature deaths in the country.

 

Full implementation of the policy regulations is expected to reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCD) in the Philippines, and in turn, help Filipinos build resilience against diseases like COVID-19.

 

Food manufacturers will have until June 18, 2023, to reformulate their products, as mandated by the policy.

 

“We urge the food industry to partake in solutions that address this health challenge, especially amid the ongoing pandemic, by removing TFA from their food production. With full compliance to the guidelines, even micro and small business owners will be assured that oils and fat they buy from the markets are safe and TFA-free,” Sto. Domingo added.

 

“To prolong every moment we have with our loved ones, we must acknowledge the importance of looking after our health, especially our hearts. The FDA gives importance to keeping your hearts healthy through the regulation of TFA in pre-packaged processed food that you eat,” said Dir. Pilar Marilyn Pagayunan, Director of the FDA Center for Food Regulation and Research (FDA-CFRR).

Citizen Monitoring Group Calls on Voters to Turn the 2022 Polls Into an Accountability Platform

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Accountability frontliners from various parts of the country have recently urged voters to turn the upcoming May elections into an “accountability process, where candidates have to be made answerable for their performance or lack thereof.” 

 

The call was made by Government Watch (G-Watch) in a statement that was released exactly two months before the 2022 polls. An independent action research and citizen monitoring organization that is present in 12 local sites, G-Watch emphasized the need to elect officials who will “restore checks and balances in government, strengthen accountability institutions, uphold merit-based public management, and support independent civil society monitoring and advocacy.” During the COVID-19 crisis, G-Watch monitored the social amelioration program, citizen health entitlements and vaccination, noting many lapses and gaps in the response of the national government.

 

The G-Watch statement on the May polls was adopted after their five-day national meeting and learning exchange that was held in Pasig and Baguio City from March 4-8, 2022. Mayor Vico Sotto, a member of the G-Watch Executive Board, also attended the second day of the meeting and shared the experience of the Pasig City local government in fighting corruption.

 

Noting the importance of the upcoming polls, Amelia Mancera of G-Watch-Southern Leyte emphasized the need “to be more vigilant since society’s issues and concerns become amplified during election time.”

 

One of these pressing problems is the spread of fake news. According to G-Watch accountability frontliner Gemar Barola, “since this is becoming an era of disinformation, accountability should be taken very seriously.” He appealed to the public to “demand for transparency and accountability from those who seek for power by investing in education and fact-checking for truth and authentic news.”

 

Gabriel Peralta of G-Watch-Quezon City underscores that a key lesson from the country’s experience with the pandemic is that, “we need leaders who are transparent and accountable.” His colleague Maribel Sumagay shares this sentiment, stating that, “Our nation deserves a president who is accountable and transparent to its people.” 

 

For his part, Mickel Ollave of G-Watch-Puerto Princesa sees elections as a mechanism for choosing the best leaders. “Ang eleksyon ay isang epektibong pamamaraan para pagpanagutin, palitan ang mga tiwaling lider at panatilihin ang mga lider na matitino,” he said. (Elections are effective mechanisms to hold account and change corrupt officials and keep those who deliver.)

 

G-Watch volunteer Jun Tingson offered a similar thought, saying that, “Election is the best time for citizens to engage in accountability, so that they can vote for the best candidates for the country.”

 

Noting their experience in Dumaguete, G-Watch volunteer Cindy Uy affirmed the importance of accountability in elections: “Accountability in elections creates an enabling environment where citizens freely choose leaders, ensure that development agenda are implemented, periodically monitored and corrective actions done efficiently and effectively,” she said.

 

Khalid Camar of G-Watch Lanao del Sur also reminded voters that, “in the coming elections, not only politicians should be made to account, citizens too, as they decide for the future of the country.”

 

Joy Aceron, G-Watch convener-director, says “G-Watch work is above and beyond the elections, but the electoral exercise remains a crucial accountability mechanism that can enable and advance good governance, so it has to be engaged.”

 

G-Watch, in its statement, offered six-point agenda for the next administration, which includes: 

 

• Ensure access to relevant, useful and clear information.
• Pass the Freedom of Information Law.
• Bolster transparency mechanisms and efforts.
• Ensure that feedback, complaint and grievance redress mechanisms properly work so that the concerns of citizens can be adequately addressed.
• Enhance the capacity of accountability institutions, mechanisms and programs inside government.
• Ensure that the country’s legal framework remains supportive, facilitative and enabling of progressive civil society, including independent citizen accountability efforts.

Make the 2022 Elections an Accountability Platform!  

A Statement of Government Watch (G-Watch) on the Upcoming May Polls

 

In exactly two months from now, Filipinos will once again go to the polls to elect the country’s next President, along with the Vice President, 12 senators, 316 members of the Lower House, as well as 16,055 local officials. While every election is important, the upcoming poll is both unique and extremely crucial due to the ongoing pandemic, and the continuing threats to democracy and to our people’s very survival.

 

The dismal performance of the national government in handling the COVID-19 crisis is going to be the backdrop of the 2022 elections. It has to be. The 2022 elections will also be critical in reaffirming many democratic values that has been under threat for the past years, such as inviolability of human rights, the rule of law, and the principle that a public office is public trust since all power emanates from the people.

The 2022 polls, in other words, has to be turned into an accountability process, where candidates have to be made answerable for their performance or lack thereof.

 

We call on voters to elect candidates that will restore checks and balances in government, strengthen accountability institutions, uphold merit-based public management, and support independent civil society monitoring and advocacy.  

 

At the same time, G-Watch offers the following agenda for the next administration:

 

· Ensure access to relevant, useful and clear information.

· Pass the Freedom of Information Law.

· Bolster transparency mechanisms and efforts.

· Ensure that feedback, complaint and grievance redress mechanisms properly work so that the concerns of citizens can be adequately addressed.

· Enhance the capacity of accountability institutions, mechanisms and programs inside government.

· Ensure that the country’s legal framework remains supportive, facilitative and enabling of progressive civil society, including independent citizen accountability efforts.

 

We also call on the Philippine development community to start rebooting, retooling and re-energizing civil society-government engagement to one that synergizes interdependent power which checks abuses at the top and uplifts the most marginalized.

 

If all these are done, then we can turn elections to what it should be—as a way to allow even the most ordinary of citizens to speak truth to power and change the course of the country’s history.

 

 

* Passed during the 2022 G-Watch National Meeting & Learning Exchange on March 4-8 in Pasig and Baguio Cities. G-Watch is an independent action research organization embedded in constituencies of civic and advocacy-oriented organizations all over the Philippines that aims to contribute in democratic deepening through the scaling of accountability and citizen empowerment. G-Watch has local sites and partner civil society organizations and government allies in Pasig City, Quezon City, Naga, Puerto Princesa, Cebu, Bohol, Tacloban, Dumaguete, Bacolod, Southern Leyte, Lanao del Sur, Samal Island, and Agusan del Sur.