PPTRP gives birth to the Multi-sector Alliance for Transparency and Accountability (MATA) in Samar

By EMY C. BONIFACIO, Samar News.com
September 17, 2010

CATBALOGAN, Samar  –  A new citizen’s initiative to promote greater transparency and accountability within local government has been launched in Samar with the help and support of the Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project (PPTRP).

Following on from an initial meeting with PPTRP in May and two development and planning meetings held last month, an existing group of concerned people representing different sectors of the local community – and including local government employees in Catbalogan – have all got together and formalized themselves and their plans to promote and ensure participatory good governance in the province.

The main objective of the newly-formed Multi-sector Alliance for Transparency and Accountability in Samar (MATA-Samar) is to promote greater awareness on anti-corruption, transparency and public accountability issues at the local level. The alliance, composed of media and civil society, aims to prevent misuse of public funds in the province through timely and factual reporting of public spending.

Already, since the project idea was first discussed, the community is reporting greater awareness around public finance issues according to MATA-Samar conveners.

The formation and launch of the initiative has already been widely covered in local newspapers and on www.samarnews.com. And a weekly public service radio program on DYMS-Catbalogan is now being hosted by MATA-Samar members. Participating media outlets are already proving to be a very effective vehicle for interaction with the local community and building greater awareness of the fact that a local organization now exists which is actively monitoring local public spending.

MATA-Samar members are already attending weekly sessions and committee hearings of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan with session reports being disseminated in various media outlets. The group’s ability to access and get copies of the controversial Annual Investment Plan and the Annual Budget for 2010 of the province has made it easier for the opposition block to monitor, question, validate, stop disbursements and even petition the courts for an issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order in the implementation of specific Appropriation Ordinances.