Archive for March 27th, 2008
FDC In The News: People’s Development Forum and ODA
On March 17, FDC and ODA Watch held a press briefing at Muang Thai Restaurant in Quezon City to explain the plans of civil society groups vis-à-vis the upcoming Philippine Development Forum which is jointly organized by the Philippine government and the World Bank. On the very same day, GMANEws.TV published our story.
On March 25, ABC5, ABS-CBN, BusinessMirror, Inquirer.Net, and GMANews.TV covered our event—the People’s Development Forum, our alternative to the official PDF, where we presented the Citizens’ Report on the Official Development Assistance (ODA) in the Philippines.
The next day, around 100 members of FDC, ODA Watch, BISIG and KPD staged a rally in front of the Clark Freeport in Angeles City, Pampanga where the official PDF was being held. Regional beat reporters covered said event. The story came out in the Philippine Daily Inquirer and BusinessMirror.
GMANews.TV
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/85511/Civil-society-to-hold-own-forum-on-ODA-projects#
Civil society to hold own forum on ODA projects
Article posted March 19, 2008 – 06:22 PM
MANILA, Philippines – Various civil society organizations are set to conduct a separate discussion alongside government-initiated forum on projects funded by Official Development Assistance (ODA).
Government economic managers will hold the Philippines Development Forum (PDF) next week to discuss the country’s development agenda.
Civil society’s “People’s Development Forum” was organized amid scandals clouding foreign-assisted projects like the infamous national broadband network (NBN).
INQUIRER.net
Posted date: March 25, 2008
Breaking News / Nation
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080325-126341/3792B-ODA-over-20-years-failed-to-promote-welfare–UP-prof
$37.92B ODA over 20 years failed to promote welfare–UP prof
By Veronica Uy
MANILA, Philippines — The $37.92-billion in foreign aid to the Philippines over the last 20 years has “largely failed in its mission” to promote the welfare of Filipinos, a University of the Philippines (UP) professor said Tuesday.
In his “Citizens’ Report on Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) in the Philippines,” Dr. Eduardo Climaco Tadem of UP’s Asian Center said that from 1986 to 2000, ODA on projects related to human development comprised only 11 percent of the total assistance to the country. He said this has further gone down to 7 percent from 2001 to 2006.
Tadem, who will present his report at Wednesday’s tomorrow’s Philippine Development Forum between the government and donor agencies, said infrastructure projects took in 50 percent of the ODA from 1986 to 2000 and 67 percent from 2001 to 2006.
GMANews.TV
Article posted March 25, 2008 – 11:45 AM
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/86087/NGOs-RP-foreign-aid-system-in-crisis-due-to-NBN-ODA-projects#
NGOs: RP foreign aid system in crisis due to NBN, ODA projects
MANILA, Philippines – The foreign aid system in the Philippines is suffering from a crisis caused by a number of scandals and anomalies that involved development aid projects such as the Arroyo administration’s $329.48-million National Broadband Network project with China’s Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment Corp.
This was the result of the “Citizens’ Report on ODA” or the study on the state of the official development assitance (ODA) in the Philippines by about 100 nongovernment and civil society organizations under the Official Development Assistance Watch, which was presented on Tuesday during the “People’s Alternative to the Philippine Development Forum,” at the University of the Philippines’ Bahay ng Alumni in Diliman, Quezon City.
The groups were led by the Freedom from Debt Coalition, the Transparency and Accountability Network, Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment Through Alternative legal Services or IDEALS and the Philippine Human Rights Advocates.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
27 March 2008, Page A6
Inquirer Headlines / Regions
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20080327-126670/Some-120-protesters-picket-Clark
Some 120 protesters picket Clark
By Tonette Orejas
Central Luzon Desk
CLARK, PAMPANGA—Around 120 protesters picketed the main gate of the Clark Freeport minutes before President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo delivered the keynote speech at the Philippine Development Forum Wednesday.
Members of the Freedom from Debt Coalition and Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD) hoisted placards and streamers bearing the messages “No aid for illegitimate GMA government,” “Cancel illegitimate debts of illegitimate government,” “No aid for trade,” and “No tied aid.”
The two groups called their protest action an “alternative forum” to the gathering at the Fontana Leisure Park that was attended by representatives of foreign funding institutions like the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
BusinessMirror
27 March 2008, Page A5
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/03272008/economy01.html
Donors urged to stop giving Arroyo government financial aid
By Cai U. Ordinario
Reporter
DEBT activists have urged donor countries and agencies to stop providing the Arroyo administration with loans and aid to prevent government corruption through a rally at the ongoing Philippine Development Forum (PDF) in Clark, Pampanga.
In a joint statement, activists led by the Freedom from Debt Coalition said the recent spate of anomalous projects funded through official development assistance (ODA) has already tainted foreign aid.
“The scale of new exposés on ODA misuse brings to mind the dark days of Marcos’ authoritarian rule when foreign assistance had acquired the vile reputation for corruption, bribery, human-rights violations and environmental degradation, among other social evils,” the groups said. “Plug the funneling of funds from loans and aid which is the source of kickbacks that are being used by this corrupt and illegitimate administration for political survival.”
Add comment March 27, 2008
