“Essentially, this project is about involving citizens in critical decisions that will shape their lives and communities” — ANSA-EAP
8
tropical storms make landfall in the Philippines in an average year
2nd
most vulnerable country in the world to natural disasters
May 2015 End date
March 2017
Issue
Natural disasters are a fact of life in the Philippines. They are frequent, devastating and all too often, bring loss of lives and livelihoods that could have been prevented with more effective investment in building the country’s capacity for resilience and response.
In 2010, the Filipino government approved the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act (PDRRM), which aims to strengthen the government’s capacity to support communities in reducing their vulnerability to disasters.
Improving the capacity of local governments to respond and cope with the impact of disasters is key to ensuring that disaster reduction plans are effective, are community-owned and, in the long term, save lives.
Project
With this project, ANSA-EAP is engaging people and governments in disaster prone areas, to conduct citizen participatory audits. These audits help citizens be more involved in the decisions that shape their lives, and help the local governments to be more responsive to the needs and concerns of the communities they serve.
ANSA-EAP has had great success in conducting citizen participatory auditing; where state auditors and accredited citizens are given the same access to government documents and create a joint dialogue and problem solving process.
Building on this experience, the project will make use of existing joint audits and online platforms, as well as including geotagging as an audit technique to encourage greater public participation and transparency to build resilience on humanity for natural/man-made disaster.
The aim is to make sure that ordinary people have a say in some of the most critical decisions that government makes on their behalf.
Partner
ANSA–EAP connects citizens and governments to improve governance. It is anchored in the organization's identity as a "networking and learning facility" in South East Asia, and it reaches out to citizen groups (non-government organizations, civic associations, academic institutions, business sector, and community-based groups), government institutions, media, international development partners, and various other stakeholders.
ANSA–EAP promotes constructive engagement with and citizens’ monitoring of the performance of government, specifically, the quality of public service delivery and the transparency of public transactions.