CANA aims to help ordinary citizens improve the quality and effectiveness of services provided by local government units (LGUs) across the Philippines.
Born out of our previous work with the Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project (PPTRP), CANA aims to help ordinary citizens improve the quality and effectiveness of services provided by local government units (LGUs) across the Philippines. This project is built on the belief that government should always work for and serve the people – and that the poorest among us should not suffer the m
ost because nobody listens to them and they don’t have a voice. CANA believes that regardless of education and opportunity, every citizen has the right and the responsibility to help make sure their LGU is working in the best interests of all – and not simply the fortunate few. People Power was born in the Philippines – and yet as we always see the world over things never change for the better simply as a result of huge marches or demonstrations. Real people power – like real democracy – only happens when people know what they want and they know how to get it. This takes information, education, organization, and action. CANA was set up to put People Power into action. Only when people understand and come together to make government work for the benefit of all will we see real accountability and real progress in public life. For the next three years, CANA will build citizen and local community action around LGUs nationwide by combining public education, information, reporting, capacity building, organization, action and engagement. We will do all while exploiting the power of traditional and new media and by linking groups and communities together into a national network of informed and engaged citizenry. CANA will particularly focus on the poorest parts of the country, including the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). We will train and mentor citizens in 28 pre-selected areas to better understand and engage LGUs on key issues surrounding public finances, for instance LGU taxes, incomes and expenses, and procurement, and eventually become local Citizen Action Groups for Accountability. The work of the Citizen Action Groups will not be isolated communities -- but will become part of CANA, and in time they will be the owners of this project and its website. They will have a national platform as well as a local one. Increased citizen involvement in LGU affairs helps strengthen public transparency and accountability, and eventually cut corruption and wastage. It is also a strong pillar to help ensure LGUs from Mindanao to Luzon always work for the best interests of all, particularly the poorest among us. But a network and action depends on the people – and it needs commitment. The challenges are huge – but so too the potential gains and impact. CANA is ready to face them hand in hand with you and all those people who believe that the best government is really and truly of the people, for the people and by the people. President Benigno Aquino III said in his inaugural speech that the people are his boss (Kayo ang boss ko). So let’s turn those fine but rhetorical words into a living and daily reality in communities across our nation. Magmulat. Magsama-sama. Makialam. Citizen Action Network for LGU Accountability and Performance (CANA)
Partners: IWPR, CCJD, MindaNews and NUJP
May 2013
