1. PROGRESS (Three Quarters) NARRATIVE REPORT
(As of November 5, 2006)
Formation of Advocacy Campaign and Convergence
Project Reference No. 32910142
The ISCUD partnership project with CORDAID of Netherlands and with the urban poor organizations
in Caloocan City, Philippines, on the “Formation of Advocacy Campaign and Convergence” under
project reference no. 32910142 has been implemented technically even before the beginning period of
project approval (March 2006) and has been eliciting very positive and more than expected progress
outputsi
as of November 1, 2006.
By October 30, 2006, the Adhoc Officers of the urban poor Campaign Working Group (CWG) already
advanced the initial dialogue with Secretary to the Mayor Russel Ramirez who gestured warm
responses and promised to assist in explaining to City Mayor Enrico R. Echiverri the proposed
Executive Order for implementing the City Ordinance 0264 s. 1998 as amended by 0342 s. 2001. In
the said dialogue, the CWG presented the project partnership concepts and framework as well as the
proposed Executive Orderii
for CHUDB operationalization and the Sectoral Guidelinesiii
for urban poor
representation in CHUDB. The dialogue is supposed to be conducted on the last quarter after the
campaign convention of the project’s phase 1/year 1, but the CWG Adhoc Officers had seen it as
proper tactical activity to engage the city government earlier than the target schedules and to possibly
convert the conduct of campaign convention into a city sectoral assembly that will select/elect the set
of urban poor nominees for representation to the CHUDB. Secretary Russel Ramirez tentatively set
the schedule of CWG dialogue with Mayor Echiverri for November 9th
or within the 3rd
week of
November 2006. The outcome of dialogue with the city mayor will determine if whether the conduct
of December 2nd
convention will be an urban poor campaign formation or a city urban poor sectoral
assembly (CUPSA).
On the actual implementation of the quarterly activities, the 1st
quarter scheduled activity – ISCUD
Strategic Planning held on May 4-6, 2006 – produced results of setting-up the ISCUD organizational
system and management policies relative to projecting the effective implementation of the project
phase 1/year 1. ISCUD had also identified in the SAP activity the three-year Strategic Options in line
with the three-year thrusts and target outputs submitted to CORDAID.
The supposed 1st quarter activity on strategic planning workshop of the urban poor organizations was
implemented in the 2nd
quarter on July 28-30, 2006 at the Novadeci Training Center dubbed as
“Capability Building and Strategizing” of the Campaign Working Group (CWG). ISCUD had to
conduct short orientations of selected representatives of the urban poor organizations prior to the 3-day
planning workshop. The rescheduling of the activity ensured enough preparation, proper selection and
orientation of the participants and the appropriate authorization of the organizations they represented
as well as the formalization of the Campaign Working Group prior to the PO planning workshop. The
CWG strategizing adopted the ten (10) Strategic Issues as Basis of Unity for the advocacy campaign
formation and convergence and identified the three-year indicators and one year strategy/plans
including committee plans under the framework of PHASE-OD (Participation in governance, Human
Development, Asset Reform, Employment and Livelihood and Organizational Development).

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The supposed 2nd
quarter activity on paralegal training of the urban poor leaders was initially
conducted within 3rd
quarter of the project on October 7, 2006 with the assistance of SALIGAN
lawyers, Atty. Michael Vincent Gaddi and Atty. Hazel Lavitoria. The training activity has been
named BHoLCO (Basic Housing Literacy and Campaign Orientations). The rescheduling was mainly
due to reformulation of activity objectives as recommended by the CWG Adhoc Officers; and partly
due the late availability of the SALIGAN lawyers. The reformulated activity objectives targeted to
reach-out far more than the original target of 100 leaders and included not only the basic literacy
training on housing rights but also the information campaign on the 10 strategic issues as well as
organizing a well informed participants that will represent the widest possible citywide geographical
communities in the December 2nd
Campaign Convention (or CUPSA at the maximum). Hence, the
supposed two batches of training activity were reformulated into a series of batches of half-day
BHoLCO sessions targetting a total of around ten to fifteen (10-15) clusters to cover the widest
geographical spread of the campaign invitation for the Convention (minimum) or CUPSA (maximum
target). The 1st
batch – facilitated through SALIGAN module on basic human rights/housing rights
and the ISCUD campaign module on ten strategic issues – was however a one whole day session
composed of CWG organization-leaders who thereafter became the team of speakers and organizers of
the BHoLCO batches that followed and all that will follow in the month of November.
It is also important to note that affecting the (re)adjustments of BHoLCO objectives, is the decision of
the ISCUD Board of Directors to approve the request of the CWG Adhoc Officers to be extended
assistance for their actual transportation in attending meetings and for groundworking the
geographically-clustered participants of BHoLCO – but not to exceed six hundred pesos (P600.00)
each leader per each month of the actual transportation they expended. The CWG Adhoc Officers also
hold weekly tacticizing to ensure monitoring of groundwork of participants of the BHoLCO and to
monitor the status of inviting the targeted participation of around 200-250 organizations in the
upcoming assembly (campaign convention or CUPSA) on December 2.
The extension of transportation for the actual cost expended as per approved weekly CWG
groundworking plans and reports should also be in accordance with the appreciation and recognition of
the priceless time and effort extended by the urban poor leaders to the project. It is also within the
advocacy framework of ISCUD to approve the CWG request for transportation which involved only a
small token of paradigm shift and innovation in perspective – which include the standpoint that the
urban leader-beneficiaries themselves should be considered as “consultants” to any given project with
a minimum fee to at-least understand their own resource limitations which are already not enough for
the nutrition and basic cost of living of their families. ISCUD as an institution is also a slowly shift
itself if in the case of considering the perspective that is “project beneficiaries” themselves as one of
the major “project consultants with fee” in any particular project that should be developed – and to
oppose the common belief that only those engineers, lawyers, and NGO speakers have the right to be
given consultancy allowance. The beneficiaries themselves have the right to be called consultants.
Appropriate technology in consultancy should be more importantly be internal rather than external.
The project consultancy/professional allowance/fees for the beneficiaries should also be
institutionalized in any project proposed budget, which had long been illegitimated and somewhat
culturally demonized by some NGOs (thru institutionalized abusive use of beneficiary counterpart and
udue non-recognition of the sweats of beneficiary leaders in terms of professional fees – simply
because they are not professionals or uneducated – unlike the recognition for NGO professional
technical people receiving consultancy fees). It is time to consider the efforts of the grassroots leaders
of people’s organizations which actually and continuously extending active meaning to social work
and sustainability of the social movements and ground local struggles.

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On the aspect of project team composition, ISCUD staffing has been slowly but effectively readjusted
over time while the project was ongoing from 1st
to 2nd
quarter to conform to the need to separate the
Administrative from Finance functions and to ensure that the project targets will be achieved
accordingly. Concurrently we have one Administrative Officer, one Finance Assistant, one Technical
Assistant for Finance (acting as part-time consultant, bookeper and finance head), one Advocacy
Officer and one Advocacy Staff (part-time). We also hired two persons (who shared by half the
already half part-time salary) for utility, maintenance and office security which we unfortunately did
not foresee in the phase 1 budget.
The project coordination has been under the function of the Executive Director as well as the task of
ensuring ISCUD organizational development; but the handling of two separate tasks (i.e. Project
Coordinator and Executive Director) would be best handled by two persons which ISCUD may request
for CORDAID to consider in the next phase/year 2 of the project if it is necessary to understand that
organizational stability and conceptualization of new other projects are huge crucial tasks aside the
tactical demand for an innovative coordination of particular project; these notwithstanding the low
salary allocated in the phase 1 budget for a full time Executive Director and handling Project
Coordination at the same time.
However, the corresponding (re)adjustments in salaries due to (re)adjustments in personnel should be
emphasized as a very positive note since the current staffing humbly agreed to the low salaries and
have willingly extended volunteerism due full understanding that the project is only a start-up of a very
young organization and a formative phase ISCUD; also fortunately due to the fact that the project team
staffers are all coming from the social movements and who even without salary are active volunteers
for social change and community work. But the institutional development of ISCUD is being
challenged to institutionalize professionalism in terms of wages and salaries and social benefits, at
least in accordance with the standards provided in Philippine labor laws and policies.
An External Auditor Firm, C.R. Marcelo Associate CPAs, had also been formally consulted from the
3rd
quarter and formally signed contract with ISCUD on October 2006 to audit the ISCUD financial
accounting systems, procedures and statements for year 2006 as well as the CORDAID funded
partnership project covering the period March 2006 to February 2007. The contract amount of external
audit had been negotiated for Twenty Thousand Pesos (P20,000.00) exclusive of out-of-pocket
expenses per visit. The cost of external audit was also not included in phase 1 budget – we only
itemized in phase 1 budget the audit cost internal to management staff and the Board of Directors due
the earlier (un-clarified) expectation if whether CORDAID would have the sole authority to appoint an
external auditor for the project grant fund. Further, it is also important for ISCUD to be well informed
and clarified if the ISCUD appointed external auditor (C.R. Marcelo CPAs) is in accordance with the
CORDAID policy and if whether the cost contracted (P20,0000.00) could still be requested/reimbursed
by CORDAID.
On the aspect of organizational development, ISCUD held its regular Annual Meeting on August 27,
2006 at the office as prescribed in the SEC-registered By-laws and Articles of Incorporation. The
Annual Meeting was attended by its founding trustees/members. The general members unanimously
adopted the revision of by-laws and articles of incorporation. The revisions increased the number of
Board Members from eight (8) into eleven (11) and provided improved provisions on the management
of finances, organizational structures, systems and operations. The newly revised Articles of
Incorporation and By-laws are already effective unless revoked by the Securities and Exchange
Commission after its review of the full report of the Annual Meeting outputs to be formally submitted
by ISCUD soon coinciding with the submission of audited financial report for year ended 2006.

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On other development, the ISCUD is humbly honored for assistance it extended to the NUPSC
(National Urban Poor Sectoral Council) and PCUP (Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor) in
facilitating the project proposal and management of a small grant fund extended by PEF (Peace and
Equity Foundation) for the joint NUPSC-PCUP SANDIWAAN Workshop held August 9-12, 2006 at
the Ciudad Christia Resort in Ampid, San Mateo, Rizal. The primary objective of the SANDIWAAN
workshop is to institutionalize the partnership efforts of PCUP and NUPSC especially in cascading and
harmonizing the efforts for PHASES-OD framework beginning with the upcoming UPSW (Urban
Poor Solidarity Week) declared to be celebrated from December 2nd
to 8th
every year under
Presidential Proclamation 367 issued by former Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino. The PCUP
and NUPSC activities are also major aspects affecting the localization of the urban poor agenda.
The ISCUD and the CWG are also geared to fully participate in the national sectoral initiatives on the
celebration of UPSW 2006 in solidarity with the mobilization of the urban poor sectoral organizations
nationwide as well as to encourage the essence of UPSW participation of the city government of
Caloocan by engaging its full support to the proposed CWG campaign convention or City Urban Poor
Sectoral Assembly (CUPSA) on December 2nd
, the first day of UPSW celebration.
The ongoing progress of project implementation is on track and very potentially promising the full
achievement of the target objectives with colors of innovations and promising potentials of unearthing
development concepts for future engagement with the city government of Caloocan, that which will
never become possible without the project partnership and support of CORDAID.
The ISCUD tasks and dreams of the project phase/year and its strategic thrusts supported by
CORDAID and the urban poor leaders of Caloocan will be a huge endeavor to achieve the
convergence for effective engagements with the city government, in view of a localized struggle for
the sectoral agenda of the urban poor; and the main directions of localized convergence of different
organizational forces in Caloocan has to be continuously organized and sustained in extent of the
continued partnership assistance of CORDAID and the people of Netherlands.
Prepared By:
JOSEPH MARQUEZ AQUINO
Executive Director
i See “Progress Report Matrix, Progress Outputs on Quarterly Activity Targets;”
ii Proposed Executive Order for “Repealing Executive Order No. 2002-24 And To Convene The
Transition Board Toward Continued Operationalization Of The Caloocan City Housing And Urban
Development Board (CHUDB);” (Drafted By ISCUD & CWG-ST);
iii
Sectoral Guidelines “For Representation Of The Caloocan Urban Poor Sectoral Organizations In The
City Housing And Urban Development Board (CHUDB); (Drafted By ISCUD & CWG-ST);