The Evolution of NGO Accountability Practices and their Implications on
Philippine NGOs
A literature review and
options paper for the
By: Danilo A.
Songco
Philippine
NGOs have been at the cutting edge of NGO self-regulation. The Caucus of Development NGO
Networks (CODE-NGO), the biggest coalition of NGOs in the
Today,
however, after 8 years of existence, PCNC has certified only 1,000
NGOs---nowhere near its potential market of 6,000 NGOs when it was
established.[1]
While there are a number of factors
that could have contributed to this less than expected performance, the
challenge to PCNC (as well as the entire NGO community in the
The global
discourse on NGO accountability is creating a wealth of literature. Many of them shed light on the issues at
hand. Others simply add more fuel
to heat up the debate. This review
does not intend to cover the entire scope of such literature because the sheer
volume makes it nearly impossible to do so. Instead, this review attempts to build
upon more current papers and summative documents that already synthesize
learning from a large collection of writings. This paper is prepared primarily for the
members and leadership of PCNC in its effort to make NGO self-regulation more
effective NGO in the
[1] There were 6,000 NGOs with donee institution status in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in 1998. Part of PCNC’s Memorandum of Agreement with the Philippine government when it was established is that henceforth all NGOs will be required to obtain certification from PCNC before they are granted donee institution status. All those with such status were given 3 years to obtain such certification or their status will be considered expired.
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DANILO A. SONGCO National Coordinator Caucus of Development NGO Network - Manila, Philippines