Fourth District Board Member Kerrie Keane Shimura, chairperson of the Provincial Board’s Committee on Accreditation, addresses other PB members during one of the earlier sessions of the Cebu Provincial Board. | CDND File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu Provincial Board has asked the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to “shed light” on the guidelines to be followed in accrediting and extending help to civil society organizations (CSOs) here.
Board Member Kerrie Keane Shimura, the chairperson of the Committee on Accreditation, said her committee is coming up with an accreditation code for CSOs in the province, hence the need to consolidate all policies and guidelines concerning CSOs.
The PB has already requested DILG Provincial Director Jhoaden Lucero, Provincial Planning and Development Officer Benigno Christopher Lucero, and Provincial Accountant Marieto Ypil to attend the PB’s regular session on Monday, March 16, 2020, to brief the legislative body on the guidelines for CSO accreditation.
“There are many aspects that the Sangguniang Panlalawigan would like to know and ascertain including but not limited to pertinent guidelines on [the] accreditation of CSOs as issued by the [DILG] including queries on the [availing] of services or any kind of assistance by an accredited CSOs,” Shimura said in a resolution.
Read: PDAF takes another form in Cebu?
Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, in earlier statements, branded the Local Assistance Fund (LAF) handed to CSO as similar to PDAF which is released without accompanying accountability on where the government fund will be spent.
The concern on the accreditation or the renewal of accreditation of CSOs are among the items for discussion during the PB’s regular session on Monday.
In December 2019, the governor said that CSOs seek accreditation because they want to ask for financial assistance from the provincial government. Garcia then questioned the accountability of this practice since the CSOs and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) are not subject to a state audit. / dcb