The CCAGG (Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Government) was formed in 1986 to monitor elections and government projects in Abra, Philippines. CCAGG grew from mobilizing communities at the municipal level to conducting third-party monitoring of infrastructure projects funded by the Community Employment Development Program. This involved training members, monitoring project implementation, and filing administrative charges for falsified completion reports. CCAGG's efforts helped mainstream transparency and accountability in Abra and expanded their monitoring to other sectors. Over time, CCAGG also broadened their reach to influence policies and programs at the regional, national, and international levels.

1. Movement Approach to
Accountability,
the CCAGG Story
o Presentation to the G-Watch National Meeting
and Learning Exchange
o May 23-26, 2018
o Best Western Plus Lex Cebu I Cebu City

2. The Beginnings
• 1986 Presidential Snap Election I NAMFREL Abra
• Birth of the Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good
Government (CCAGG)
• CCAGG Movement Mobilization – community
meetings to form municipal chapters (parish as
base) – have reached almost all 27 municipalities

3. Call for NGOs’ Participation
at the government’s CEDP
• The Community Employment Development
Program (use of local human resources)
• NGOs to monitor the program
• CCAGG as ‘watchdogs’

4. Capacity-building as ‘WATCHDOGS’
• The Tripartite Memorandum of
Agreement between CCAGG, NEDA and
DBM
• CCAGG Trainings for monitoring
government infrastructure projects by
NEDA
• Monitoring of CEDP projects by the
CCAGG (roads, irrigation systems,
domestic water systems, bridges, public
buildings, etc.)

5. Process of Monitoring
• Community Meeting – what projects to monitor in the area,
how to monitor, who will monitor, what materials and tools
needed
• Courtesy Visit – mayor, barangay captain (present letter and
MOA)
• Projects monitoring with local CCAGG members– activities
accomplished and not accomplished as per Program of Work
(interview with contractor, implementing agency, with people
in the area), design, project timeframe, labor (interview with
workers)
• Meeting (post-monitoring) – status of project and findings,
what to write in the monitoring report, to whom to give the
report, who sign it, who will make follow-up, etc.

6. Public Dissemination of CEDP
projects implementation
• Meetings / Dialogues with implementing
agencies covered by media (radio and
print)
• ‘Allangugan’ radio program
• Abra Today weekly newspaper – The
“Monitor”
BUILDING UP PUBLIC CONSCIOUSNESS TO TALK
AND PARTICIPATE IN GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
BREAKING THE CULTURE OF SILENCE

7. The ‘Fake News’
•DPWH publishing in a regional
newspaper that all CEDP
projects have been
implemented.
•CCAGG challenging this ‘fake
news’

8. The Administrative Charge
• CCAGG Letter Complaint to DWPH
Secretary
• DPWH Central Office sent a composite
inspection team with ‘proven integrity’
• Results of inspection as bases for filing
administrative charge with CCAGG as
witnesses and Abra-COA

9. The Decision
• 11 engineers of DPWH-Abra, mostly unit
heads, were punished for falsifying
certificates of project completion -
suspended from office for 4 to 9 months
without pay
•Breaking the CULTURE OF SILENCE
(threats)
§The support from the ground upwards

10. MAINSTREAMING People’s
Participation, Transparency and
Accountability in Government Affairs
• DPWH’s recognition of CCAGG’s Third
Party Monitoring as vital for good quality
implemented projects fastracking Abra
development – no release of payment to
contractors without monitoring report
from the CCAGG

11. Mainstreaming . . .
From CCAGG
Monitoring
Team
Community
Volunteer
Monitors
Providing technical
assistance
Local people taking on
the responsibility of
exacting transparency
and accountability

12. Expanding the Third Party Monitoring Infrastructure
Engagement to other SectoralConcerns
EITI Subnational
Environmental
Governance
(ICCA)
Infrastructure
CCTP
Watch
(Provincial,
Regional)SLG –
SGLG
(DILG)
ARTA-RCS
(CSC)
Paracetamol
Watch
FDP
Compliance
(DILG)
ADM Projects
Monitoring
(DILG)
Regional DILG
Personnel
Performance
Evaluation (DILG
CAR)
Monitoring
KC-NCDDP
(Municipal
Talakaan)
Organizational
Devt. & Mgt.
(ODM) - KC-
NCDDP Staff &
POs
Citizens Participating
in Governance (CPAG)
TPM at the
Closure
Agreement
bet. CPLA/CBA
& government
Citizens
Participatory
Audit
Budget
Consultations

13. Upward Mobilization…
Grassroots
(barangays,
POs)
Municipalities
(parish-based,
POs)
Provincial
(CCAGG
Monitoring
Team)
Regional –
RPMC,
NLCGG
National –
Bantay
Lansangan, TAN,
Office of the
Ombudsman-
ACC, UNDP,
ANSA-EAP, G-
Watch, OGP, PH-
EITI / Bantay Kita

14. National to International …
BTAP (Budget
Transparency,
Accountability
and
Participation) -
IBP
OGP (Open
Government
Partnership)
WB/GPSA
(World Bank /
Global
Partnership for
Social
Accountability

15. Towards a Resource Center …
Transmitting to
the young the
CCAGG spirit
Good Governance
Resource Center
Citizens Engineering,
Consultancy & Construction
Services

16. Empowering the Poor …
(Guarding the Integrity of the Conditional Cash
Transfer Program)
o Constructive engagement – among DSWD (in
different levels), LGUs (municipal, barangay), Local
CSOs, service providers (DepEd, RHU, BHS), Parent
Leaders & 4Ps Members in different phases of 4Ps
implementation
o Enhanced FDS Modules (eFDS) – where the concept
of social accountability (SAcc) and use of SAcc tools
are integrated into the FDS system
o Empowering LCSOs – to conduct third party
monitoring (thru CSC and interface meeting with
Service Providers) and monitor beneficiaries to
engage is self-monitoring with use of the Beneficiary
Monitoring (BM) tool

17. Empowering the Poor …
o Transformation of Parent Leaders to
Community Facilitators and Monitors;
o Social Contract – establishing strong support link
between LGU and 4Ps members , through Parent
Leaders and LCSO, to pursue enhancement of
4Ps implementation and achievement of the
members’ community development vision;
o Enhanced GRS – that maximizes the resolution
of grievances and issues at the community level
with strengthened resolution mechanisms at
the MAC level

18. Parent Leaders on the run …
•Barangay Elections – Many Parent
Leaders ran for positions as Barangay
Captain and Kagawad