BK takes part in EITI Support Mission in Papua New Guinea

Tess Tabada, BK-PWYP Philippines Board Member and outgoing CSO Rep to the PH_EITI MSG, was part of the EITI Support Mission that visited Papua New Guinea on May 16-19, 2016. The purpose of the visit was to assist the PNG-EITI MSG in the analysis of its 1st country report and to learn from the experiences of other countries in translating report recommendations to areas for reforms.  The members of the Mission Team included Diana Kaissy of PWYP, Andrew Schoffel of World Bank, Dyveke Rogan and Alessandra Ordenes of the EITI International Secretariat. ​

EITI Support Mission
The Mission began with the PNG-EITI MSG Report Analysis Workshop held on May 16 at the Holiday Inn Suites, Port Moresby.   Ms. Tabada shared her experiences as PH-EITI MSG member on “Institutionalizing Reforms in the Philippines Extractive Industries”.  The EITI process brought out the: (a) importance of improving the governance process; (b) giving public access to contracts to allow for greater scrutiny and informed debate; and, (c) contributing to wide public debate on issues relating to governance of the extractives sector. She mentioned that because of the positive outcomes, the Philippines received the EITI Chair’s award during the 7th Global Conference held in Lima in February 2016. 

On the morning of May 17, the EITI International Secretariat conducted the Beneficial Ownership Workshop for the PNG-EITI MSG members to craft a roadmap to achieve beneficial ownership disclosure.  Dyveke Rogan presented some of the issues to consider in the developing the roadmap: links between beneficial ownership and national reform priorities, institutional framework, definition of beneficial ownership, level of detail to be disclosed, reporting obligations for Politically Exposed Persons (PEP), data collection, assuring the accuracy of data, data timeliness, data accessibility, capacity building needs, technical and financial assistance, and deadlines and responsibilities for roadmap activities.

In the afternoon of May 17, the EITI Report Analysis Workshop for PNG Civil Society was conducted at the Lamana Hotel.  Tess Tabada talked about Bantay Kita and its areas of engagement; the role of BK in PH-EITI implementation particularly the selection process,  composition, and roles of the CSO representatives, and the value of CSO participation in the EITI implementation.  The PH-EITI is a venue for dialogue with the different stakeholders striking a balance between the interests of government, industry, and CSOs/local communities, in a fair and transparent process. 

CSO National Workshop
The CSO National Workshop was a two day event from May 18-19, 2016 at the Lamana Hotel participated by the different member organizations of the PNG Resource Governance Coalition headed by its National Coordinator, Martyn Namorong.  The PNGRGC’s primary objective is to coordinate and facilitate the participation of civil society in implementing Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in PNG.

Tess Tabada discussed the topic on “Subnational Transparency and Accountability (T&A) Framework: The Philippine Experience”.  The governance goals include:  (a) institutionalize transparency and accountability in each stage of the extractive industry value chain; (b) increase publicly available information on extractive industry; and, (c) create space for CSO participation. Areas for reform in T & A were as follows: (a) fiscal policies; (b) issuance of contracts’ (c) monitoring of mining operations; (d) Social Development Management Programs of the mining companies; (e) transparency in the planning for the rehabilitation of mining sites’ (f) transparent process in renewing contracts of mining companies.  Here she presented the initiatives undertaken by BK PWYP to improve the governance of the EI sector and likewise, to broaden participation of its constituency in the EITI process through the subnational initiatives in Compostela Valley,   South Cotabato , and Nueva Vizcaya. 

The second day focused on the review and finalization of the PNGRGC’s charter. BK contributed to this discussion as we shared the processes and policies that BK has codified with regard to membership requirements, responsibilities, selection of officers, ensuring participation in the coalition’s activities and accountability of its officers, among others.