The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the AidWatch Philippines have urged the people to be aware of the assistance that the Philippines is receiving from foreign donors.
“Kung ano ‘yung kailangan, ‘yun ang ibigay,” said NEDA-7 director Marlene Catalina Rodriguez during the Philippine Consultation on Civil Society Organizations and Aid Effectiveness forum held yesterday at the Richmond Plaza Hotel in Cebu City.
According to Aidwatch, the country relies on aid from external sources that can potentially contribute to national development.
Rodriguez said development assistance is effective if only corruption is suppressed and a fair and credible justice system is in place. Without these preconditions, she said large amounts of development aid are lost to corruption.
Aidwatch said that there are forms of assistance that do not benefit the people and have adverse effect to the environment.
“ODA (official development assistance) is a public trust that must serve the collective good. Aid and the overall aid system will only be developmental if it is consistent with key principles: respect for fundamental human rights; democratic ownership of the development process; equity in growth and development; transparency and access to information; accountability for decisions and actions; and primacy of the people’s well-being and welfare,” said Aidwatch representative Dr. Giovanni Tapang.
“Yung dapat mapunta sa tao, napupunta lang sa konting tao. If this is the case, aid is not really that important,” Rodriguez added. — Annie Hazel Basada and Rizzi Ann Cerera UP Tacloban CommArts interns/LPM