Going strict on NGOs / Stinky smell in Baguio village

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

Ifugao Rep. Teddy BrawnerBaguilat has filed House Bill 3444 that will require non-government organizations that will implement projects funded by taxpayer money to meet stringent standards.

Aiza Namingit, staff of Baguilat bared this saying the congressman’s intention was to ensure only legitimate NGOs, people’s organizations, civil society organizations, with a proven track record, financial capability and deep roots in communities will receive government funding, which will be used to implement crucial projects such as social preparation, training and capacity building.

             Baguilat said in a speech delivered during the recent annual meeting of the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO), the country’s largest coalition of civil society organizations, that the accreditation process would help remove the stigma on NGOs what was left behind by the sweeping pork barrel scam involving Janet Napoles and a number of legislators and government officials.

               

             Baguilat said NGOs have unfortunately been given a bad name by the Napoles scam, which revealed that billions of pesos in taxpayer money ended up in the coffers of fake NGOs.

He said this was unfair to legitimate NGOs that labor quietly and struggle mightily to serve the sectors they work with and fill the many gaps in society left behind by lack of adequate government presence.

With the passage of the bill, Baguilat hoped that NGOs would not be used for evil ends. “This bill is meant to strengthen the efficiency of government-NGO partnership in development by ensuring that only those NGOs that have the expertise, capability and experience are allowed to be implementers of projects that use government funds,” Baguilat said.

“This is not to restrict the freedom of NGOs but rather a way to make sure that we elevate the status of NGOs as service providers and not merely as fund conduits,” said Baguilat, who also chairs the House Committee on Agrarian Reform.

“We should distinguish who among NGOs have track record, capability and experience to undertake the delivery of services funded by government. If you are not accredited, you cannot bid for a government contract,” he added.

Baguilat added that the proposed bill filed Tuesday has a provision preventing NGOs whose officials or principals are related to approving authorities from participating in government projects.

He said participation of NGOs was vital and essential to nation building. The Constitution itself says that the state should encourage non-governmental, community-based or sectoral organizations to promote the welfare of the nation, he said.

This is why local government units, non-government organizations and government owned and controlled corporations extend financial assistance to NGOs and POs ti implement their projects and assist in their development efforts.

“It is imperative that the disbursement, use and management of such funds be vigilantly safeguarded against corrupt and unscrupulous practices,” said the explanatory note to the proposed bill on NGO accreditation.

And the first step to achieving this end is the “proper and meticulous identification of recipient NGOs and POs.A centralized accrediting agency implementing a stringent selection procedure should [also] be established to ensure that government funds are channeled only to legitimate NGOs and POs working for the public good,” the note said.

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(Here is a letter sent by Maurice Malanes, correspondent of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, who along with other residents of a village in Barangay Pinsao Proper in Baguio City complained about an offensive smell in their area which made them lose their appetite.):

                

We take pride of our purok (sub-village) in Benin at Pinsao Proper Barangay because of its remaining greenery in some uninhabited areas.  But last week starting Nov. 28, we were awakened by an offensive stink of human waste.  The smell was so bad that for days we have lost our appetite to eat.

One of my village-mates last Nov. 29 went to investigate and she found out that the obnoxious smell was coming from Monol, an English enhancement school for Koreans along Tacay Road, Pinsao Proper Barangay.

Besides reporting this to our barangay officials, my fuming-mad neighbor went straight to the Monol office and was told that the school would hire an outfit to clean up its septic tank from time to time. 

My neighbor was also told that the hired outfit must have poured out the wastes into the creek that flows downstream near our homes, thus contaminating some of the springs where we get our potable water.   

Our recent experience with that foul smell was not the first.  It also happened last year and we also complained about it. Apparently, our previous complaint fell on deaf ears.

So we strongly appeal that Monol find ways to contain its human wastes and not spill these into their neighbors’ environs.  Like any other human beings, we also have the right to clean air, clean and safe water, and clean environment. We are also paging our concerned city health, sanitation and environment officials to look into this.