Data journalism and civic engagement for informed and inclusive elections
Philippines Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ)
“We will accumulate huge amount of data while keeping good relations with a number of public officers to get the access of hidden information.” — PCIJ
85th
most corrupt country out of 175 - the Philippines
18,069
elected and appointed public officials will be reviewed
January 2016 End date
February 2017
Issue
In Transparency Internationals’ 2014 report, the Philippines was ranked 85th most corrupt country out of 175.
Across the country, most elective officials come from political clans that dominate in all 81 provinces. Voters have limited access to data and analysis on the service record of candidates and how their lives have turned for better or worse, election after election. So, voters tend to choose leaders on mere name familiarity.
To complicate matters, journalists, media and bloggers tend to get caught up in the razzle-dazzle of campaigns, lost in the public relations and gossip frenzy.
Project
This project seeks to disseminate and popularise the interactive data stories from Money Politics Online, a database that have been collected in 26 years of PCIJ’s existence and enable Filipinos to vote in an informed way in future elections.
The project will track the performance of 18,069 elected and appointed public officials -from the president to city/town councilors.
It will also make publicly available databases on disaster aid, official development aid, and other funds of 80 provinces and over 2000 cities and towns.
These databases will enable citizens to see and participate in monitoring candidates and elected officials from national to barangay level.
Partner
The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) is an independent, nonprofit media agency that specializes in investigative reporting. It was founded in 1989 by nine Filipino journalists who realized, from their years in the beat and at the news desk, the need for newspapers and broadcast agencies to go beyond day–to–day reportage.