#NotOnMyWatch caravan goes to Cebu

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines loses billions of dollars every year due to corruption.

This has a huge impact on the economy. The money could have been used to finance vital social services. Corruption makes it difficult for businesses to thrive.

The Philippine government has implemented a number of initiatives to fight corruption.

One of these is the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA) which prevents corruption by requiring each agency of government to publish service standards or a Citizen’s Charter.

Since the law was implemented, the Civil Service Commission (CSC), which monitors compliance of this law, has received and acted on thousands of complaints.

Of the top 5 local government units that received the most number of ARTA-related complaints during the period, Cebu City ranked 4th.  

From August 1 to September 18, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) received at least 12 reports from Cebu City that are related to the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA). The complaints involved slow processing of documents and problems in waste management.

This initiative has produced many success stories. But clearly, more remains to be done. 

How can ordinary citizens help stop corruption? This is one of the questions that Rappler, through the #NotOnMyWatch initiative seeks to answer.

#NotOnMyWatch

From October 14 to 15, Rappler will hold the #NotOnMyWatch anti-corruption caravan at the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) in Cebu City.

#NotOnMyWatch is a campaign and a platform that promotes accountability and transparency by organizing reports and visualizing them real-time to show the public where corruption occurs most frequently and in what forms they usually take.

It makes real-time reporting on corruption easier by allowing netizens to report for free via Facebook messenger.

Reports submitted to #NotOnMyWatch are published on the platform and submitted to the CSC, the Commission on Audit (COA), the Office of the Ombudsman and other concerned agencies for action.  

The Cebu leg of the #NotOnMyWatch caravan is the first of a series of activities that will also be held in other parts of the country.

On the first day of the caravan, October 14, a public forum will held to tackle the theme “#NotOnMyWatch: Using technology, social media to fight corruption in Cebu.”

The forum aims to explore the different faces of corruption in Cebu. 

The impact of local efforts to promote good public service will also be discussed.

For instance, the province of Cebu is the first in the country to pass an order implementing the Freedom of Information (FOI) at the local level.

In August, Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III issued Executive Order 15 which recognized the people’s constitutional right to information and provided a mechanism for the public to obtain documents.

Below is the event’s program of activities:

Time	Activity
12:00 – 1:00 PM	Registration
	Plenary Video: The hidden cost of corruption Hosts: Ryan Macasero Happy Ferraren
1:00 – 1:10	Welcome remarks Engr. Antonio Lapingcao, Jr. Vice President for Administration, USPF
1:10 – 1:40	Keynote Address Maria Ressa Rappler CEO
2:00 – 2:40	Local Panel: What types of corruption affect us?   Analyn Lumactod GWatch – Bohol   Margot Osmena Deputy Mayor for Finance/ Cebu City Councilor   Maricel Cogtas RRU Cebu   Allan Tapia President, CTWF
2:40 – 3:30	National Panel: How national government can address local corruption?     Jonji Gonzales Chief of Staff, Office of the President Visayas – Presidential Assistant  Dir. Alicia M. Malquisto Regional Director, Commission on Audit                                 Region 7, Cebu Prolaine D. Daclan Chief of Public Assistance and Liaison Division, Civil Service Commission   Q&A
3:30 – 4:00	#NotOnMyWatch presentation Gemma Bagayaua-Mendoza
4:00- 4:30	#NotOnMyWatch live demo Rupert Ambil
4:30 – 4:45	Closing Remarks

How to join the caravan 

Those interested to attend the public forum may register below.

Meanwhile, the whole day workshop on the second day, October 15, aims to identify and explain the causes of corruption in the communities, train integrity champions on how to safely and accurately report cases of corruption, and consequently plan how to integrate the #NotOnMyWatch campaign in local anti-corruption and good governance initiatives.

For those who are interested to become integrity champions and participate in the whole-day training happening on Saturday, October 15, email MovePH community manager Raisa Serafica at raisa.serafica@rappler.com.

#NotOnMyWatch works with civil society groups, government agencies, the academe and ordinary citizens. Those interested to partner may email notonmywatch@rappler.com for more details. – Rappler.com