Targeted Assessment of the Philippines

The report and the consultations with civil society stakeholders indicate that there has been limited progress in addressing the corrective actions from the previous Validation. [...] The objective of ensuring an enabling environment for civil society engagement in the EITI was therefore not fully met. [...] PH-EITI and civil society undertook considerable efforts to ensure that stakeholders at the subnational levels have opportunities to engage in EITI implementation. [...] The Secretariat considers that the objective of full, active and effective civil society engagement in all aspects of the EITI process, including public debate on extractive industry governance, is mostly met. [...] The assessment did not come across any incidences of restrictions to civil society organising EITI related activities and the need for security clearances. 3 An ordinance, in this case, is a local government level legislation and is referred to in some jurisdictions as a by-law. [...] Corrective Action/Recommendation: The government, in collaboration with the MSG, is encouraged to consider practical solutions for ensuring that civil society can engage in the EITI freely in all regions of the country. [...] The Stakeholder Engagement template states that there has been no potential breach to the EITI Protocol: Participation of civil society provision on expression. [...] The Secretariat does not consider that there have been breaches to the EITI protocol: Participation of civil society related to freedom of association. [...] The Stakeholder Engagement template submitted by PH-EITI as part of the documentation for this Validation states that there has been no potential breach to the EITI Protocol: Participation of civil society provision on engagement. [...] The Stakeholder Engagement template submitted by PH-EITI as part of the documentation for this Validation states that there has been no potential breach to the EITI Protocol: Participation of civil society provision on Public decision making.