An academic experience

By Adelle Chua

Political science teacher Anthony Badilla of Palawan  State University was in the process of organizing a half-day activity among his students. While surfing the Web, he had read about a new program called Citizen Participatory Audit, spearheaded by the Commission on Audit through partnership with a civil society organization. He thought it was a great, novel way of involving citizens in running the government.

He had wanted to create an opportunity for his students to translate what they were learning to more tangible action beyond the walls of the university.

In early December, however, Mr. Badilla received an invitation to attend a geotagging workshop organized by, of all agencies, the CoA. Imagine thus his surprise when he discovered that the workshop was an activity of the same CPA that he had been reading about and wanted to share to his students.

And so the half-day activity no longer had to be organized -- for now.

Technology for transparency

By Adelle Chua

Engr. Noel Sta. Ines

Noel Sta. Ines has been around. A civil engineer by training, he has worked with government, specifically with the Ministry of Local Governments and Community Development, in the 1980's.  He then moved over to the Department of Public Works and Highway. It was in 1997 when he transferred to the development sector, as a procurement specialist with the World Bank.

His job at the WB is tough, but his advocacy is even bigger.

At the capacity building session at the Puerto Princesa City Hall in Palawan, Sta. Ines shared his geotagging expertise to an audience of Region IV-B auditors and civil society representatives who would comprise the audit teams who would look into the farm-to-market roads for phase 2 of the Citizen Participatory Audit.

Why geotaging? “It is an innovative tool to enhance transparency and supervision of development projects,” he said.

And if “geotagging” sounds just a bit too hi-tech at first blush, Sta. Ines advises, do not despair. “If you have an interest in learning something, you will learn it even if it is not your expertise.”

An engineer’s opinion

By Adelle Chua

Engr. Erlinda Go

Seventy-seven year old Erlinda Go only heard about Citizen Participatory Audit on the morning of the workshop in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, when the president of the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers - Palawan chapter asked her to attend it on his behalf.

Before the morning ended, she was completely sold. “Napakaganda ng programa (the program is very worthy),” she said. “I have very high expectations.”

Because of this, Mrs. Go will do more than report back to her president what went on in that initial meeting on November 20. Instead, she will try to be part of one of the audit teams, composed of auditors from the Commission on Audit and of representatives of civil society, which would look into whether farm-to-market roads in Palawan towns had been constructed according to specification.