At Large
Is this any way to treat a partner?
By Rina Jimenez-David
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:42:00 02/13/2008
It’s certainly ironic that at a time the nation’s attention is riveted to Senate hearings on billion-peso kickbacks and the “immoderate” greed of officials, the national government is going after the tax breaks enjoyed by private corporations who donate to charitable causes and development projects.
These causes and projects are carried out by the NGO community -- countless foundations, agencies, organizations and groups—which supplement or sometimes even take the place of efforts by the government to deliver basic services and alleviate hunger and poverty.
In this sense the NGO community is indeed a partner of government, stepping in where government falters, or where it ignores or overlooks certain segments of the population, be it indigenous communities, the disabled, street children or orphans. Often, successful projects or approaches tried out by NGOs on a “pilot” basis become the inspiration for government policies and projects of a wider scope and greater application.
One would think government officials would want to help these NGOs as much as possible, instead of viewing them as undeserving recipients of the generosity of others. But that’s one message getting across after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Executive Order 671, in effect removing private sector involvement in the accrediting or vetting of NGOs that would enjoy “donee institution” status.
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By way of background, the accreditation process has begun, for nine years now, with the Philippine Council for NGO Certification (PCNC). Headed and managed by stalwarts of the NGO community, the PCNC conducts screenings on the principles, policies, operations and accounts of NGOs seeking certification, after which it would recommend to the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Internal Revenue those NGOs that pass scrutiny. A representative of the BIR also sits on the board of the PCNC.
The idea was to assist the BIR and other government bodies in evaluating applicant NGOs, while ensuring accountability and good governance within the community. I would surmise that perhaps part of the motivation for the creation of the PCNC was also to ensure an independent accreditation process, as well to shield the NGO community from politics or influence peddling.
But late last year, EO 671 was drafted and eventually signed, apparently on the basis that the function carried out by the PCNC amounted to “undue delegation of power.”
The first time the PCNC, which had come to view itself as a “partner” of government, heard about EO 671 was when guidelines had already been issued. In a statement, the council denied that it was usurping undue power, clarifying that it “merely assists the BIR in evaluating applicant NGOs through a screening process.”
The statement adds that “PCNC has operated for nine years, without any financial cost to the government. It is a sterling example of the partnership that is possible between the government and the private sector as well as the development community. Together with the Department of Finance/BIR, PCNC has shown that the NGO community can regulate their ranks and ensure that only legitimate organizations which are transparent and accountable to their donors are certified as donee institutions.
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Another thing worrying the NGO community is that, under EO 671, responsibility for accrediting “donee institutions” falls on different agencies, depending on the nature of the applicant NGOs: the Department of Social Welfare and Development for charitable, religious or social amelioration groups, the Department of Science and Technology for research institutions, the Philippine Sports Commission for sports promotion, the National Commission on Culture and the Arts for arts and culture, and the Commission on Higher Education for educational institutions. This promises a bureaucratic nightmare, an arrangement that demands complicated networking and a keen understanding of the NGO community, culture and spirit, especially with regard to NGOs that address multiple, cross-cutting issues.
In a letter to the President, the PCNC asked for the repeal of EO 671, or barring that, its revision or amendment. Government interests, it said, are amply protected by the presence of a BIR representative on the PCNC board, who is designated to “guarantee that all provisions of the MoA [memorandum of agreement] between DoF [Department of Finance] and PCNC, and those of Revenue Regulations 13-98 are followed.” It also argued that they have developed an effective examination, evaluation and monitoring system that donors trust, and that in fact “PCNC protects the revenues of government without additional costs to government.”
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In its nine years of operation, the PCNC has received over 1,500 applications for certification and certified 858 applicants. The certified NGOs now constitute PCNC’s membership, which elects the members of the board and decides on the strategic direction of the council. In its letter to the President, the council pointed out that it has “a large constituency which is self-governing and composed of different types of non-stock, non-profit organizations, covering activities such as religious, charitable, scientific, athletic, cultural, rehabilitation of veterans, social welfare, education and health.”
It added that “the examination and evaluation process of the qualifications of applicant NGOs requires skills and manpower. PCNC has dedicated and committed evaluators, who are all volunteers performing rigorous interviews, documentation, field visits and follow-ups to ensure that the four major criteria provided in the Regulation are properly met.”
“For the government to solely take charge of the examination/evaluation process would mean hiring of evaluators by various concerned government agencies just for this purpose,” it pointed out. “We believe that this will be an added burden to the government with the additional costs/expenditures on salaries, allowances, miscellaneous, etc. in the national budget.”
More Inquirer columns
Previous columns:
Such kind people! – 2/12/08
For the birds – 2/10/08
An ant and the elephants – 2/07/08
The ‘trapo’s trapo’ – 2/06/08
Back to hell? – 2/02/08
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