'Pork' scam gives NGO a bad name

MANILA, Philippines - “NGO ka? Manlibre ka naman! (You’re from an NGO? Treat us!)”

Sixto Macasaet, executive director of the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE NGO) giggled as he shared the joke, an obvious jab at groups that benefited from the multi-billion peso pork scam.

“It’s a usual story among NGO (non-government organization) circles. Your friends, family, although jokingly, they would say, ‘It seems you have lots of funds. Give us some!’” he said in a recent interview.

The joke, however, is no laughing matter, not for NGOs whose image has been tainted by the latest political scandal that rocked the government and shook the public’s faith on their leaders.

“We are also worried about that because it’s a credibility issue,” Macasaet, whose group represents about 2,000 development NGOs in the country.

From idealistic groups that reach out to underserved sectors, public perception on NGOs have deteriorated into clearing houses of politicians who stashed funds from state coffers. As a result, even legitimate NGOs have to deal with the backlash that spawned anxiety and even skepticism among donors.

“Before the Napoles [issue], the public looked at NGOs positively,” Macasaet said. “Now, when you say NGO, they will ask ‘hey, do you have money?’”

Indeed, NGOs have reasons to be concerned. For groups heavily dependent on donor funding, credibility is everything.

‘Are you linked to Napoles?’

Hazel Heraldo, a social worker at the Tahanan Sta. Luisa, a rehabilitation center for abused girls, said the pork barrel fiasco has made it more difficult to get funding.

“Starting that year (when the pork issue erupted), it has become difficult for all NGOs to convince people to donate funds,” Heraldo said.

“They (donors) will ask: ‘Are you linked to Napoles’ or ‘Maybe you are controlled by Napoles,” she added, referring to businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged owner of fake NGOs that received pork funds from lawmakers.

Heraldo said she and her fellow social workers had to explain to skeptical donors that their group does not receive any funds from the government.

She believes the controversy has eroded the integrity of the NGOs because of hasty generalizations

“But we are still hoping that people will believe us,” Heraldo said.

Fortunately for some NGOs, funding did not become a problem.

“I don't think the ongoing pork barrel anomaly has really had a negative impact on raising funds per se,” said Alexandra Eduque, chairperson of the youth council of the Habitat for Humanity Philippines (HFHP), a group that builds shelters for the poor.

“Because HFHP has always been a bona fide and reputable organization known to really perpetuate its mission, the concerns of the donors haven't changed very much,” she added.

Eduque noted though that donors have become more inquisitive.

“It has made donors more cautious and more likely to look into the organization that they are donating to before allocating the funds…But that's not necessarily a bad thing - in fact, it's a good thing,” the young philanthropist said.

“We have to make our donors feel that we are accountable and reliable with the funds that they are trusting us with.”

Good housekeeping

The amount of donations coursed through NGOs varies. Donations coursed through established NGOs including the foundations of business conglomerates usually exceed P50-million per year.

In 2012, CODE NGO received almost P17.2-million worth of grants from foreign and local sources, higher than the P16-million recorded in the previous year. Smaller NGOs receive less as they have yet to establish extensive donor networks.

The huge sums given to NGOs and the recent expose about bogus groups make it necessary to ensure that donations are really going to worthwhile projects.

Unknown to many, there is a non-stock, non-profit corporation that screens NGOs applying to become recipients of donations or donee institutions.

The Philippine Council for NGO Certification or PCNC certifies organizations that meet established criteria for financial management and accountability. A PCNC certification functions like a seal of good housekeeping that can assure a donor that the donee institution is legitimate, efficient and effective.

The PCNC is governed by an 11-member Board of Trustees elected from among the certified organizations and a representative from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). The board meets once a month, to decide on the certification of applicant NGOs.

It NGOs based on their vision, mission, and goals, governance or administration, program operations, financial management and networking.

To be evaluated, NGOs pay the PCNC evaluation fees ranging from P10,000 to P30,000 depending on the size of the organization. Last year, the council evaluated a total of 141 NGOs or foundations and endorsed 131 to BIR for donee institution Status.

Distorted image

Luis Morales, executive director of PCNC, lamented that the public image of NGOs had been distorted because of news reports about the pork scam.

“If you will notice in the media, in the beginning, the labels used were NGOs and foundations. It was only later when they added bogus or fake NGOs. At first, the impression was all NGOs are involved in irregularities,” Morales said.

Legitimate NGOs, Morales said, were spared from funding woes because of their track record.

“I had opportunity to go around the country at that time because I was asked to talk about PCNC to a group of NGOs and I ask them about the effect of the Napoles (issue) on them. In general, they were mocked by the general public who don’t really know what they are doing,” he said. 

“But as far as their (donors) are concerned, they know them…I know you because I monitor you. I look into your books so I have no worries about you. I trust you.”

Stricter rules

Government agencies have implemented stricter rules on donations coursed through NGOs in the wake of the pork barrel fiasco.

Morales said additional documents are now required to ensure that donations are accounted for and spent for the intended purposes. Documents submitted are now subjected to closer scrutiny.

The Agriculture department has also started implementing a stricter accreditation process for NGOs seeking funds for agriculture-related projects.

CODE NGO’s Macasaet is puzzled as to how Napoles’ bogus NGOs were able to slide past authorities, saying the rules on the disbursement of funds are almost unbending.

“They have been strict from the start. You have to comply with a lot of requirements before you can get funds from them. That’s why the government is not a popular source of funding since they are very strict,” he said.

“Then there are stories surfacing that there is some sort of backing, that there is a connivance between these (bogus NGOs) and people working in the government,” he added.

Macasaet said people behind the scam, especially those who had validated the fake NGOs, should be held accountable.

“No matter how strict the rules are, if the ones who should be implementing the rules connive with those who perpetrate the crime, nothing will happen,” he said.

Recovering from an image problem

Macasaet believes that a third party validation could prevent anomalous transactions between the government and the private sector.

“It’s like, this is NGO 1 and this is Agency 1. There should be someone else who will serve as the third party, maybe another government agency but we prefer someone outside the government, just to make sure that there is no connivance,” he said.

Macasaet said agencies funding a project should conduct an actual field validation and background check before declaring an NGO as legitimate.

“I think visiting the office won’t be a hassle. It’s like you have to visit the office first before you release millions of pesos to a certain NGO,” he said.

Habitat for Humanity’s Eduque believes NGOs should be transparent and should provide donors enough information about their projects.

“We must be willing to go the extra-mile and take the donors to the sites even to see the progress of the project they are affiliated with, just so that they know exactly where it's going,” she said. 

“We have to be patient and keep in mind the ongoing anomaly in order to understand what might sway some donors from giving to.”

Macasaet said relaying stories about successful projects could also help NGOs recover their credibility,

“Usually, NGOs do their work quietly. We need to be more open in communicating what NGOs really do,” he said.