Manila SOHS 2018 panel discussion: Better on connectedness and complementarity, still slow on change

Localisation has not only been a heavily used buzzword in the wider humanitarian system, but also here on the ground in the Philippines. The State of the Humanitarian System 2018 (SOHS 2018) launch in Manila acted as an amplifier of renewed discussion on this front, as 55 attendees from national government, UN agencies, CSOs and donors came together to exchange on how local and national actors should be at the forefront. People in the room highlighted how continuous collaboration between country-based actors and innovative initiatives in the Philippines speaks to the capacity of national and local actors’ to lead responses, and enhances their potential to mobilise and manage funds independently. 

Rosario Felizco from Oxfam opened the event with a warm welcome to the participants and stated that, although the SOHS 2018 report did show changes in the system, these were very slow and incremental revealing critical gaps in coverage, collective action and adaptiveness to context. 

Following my presentation of the report, UNOCHA Country Director Mark Bidder, noted the significant, rapid and unexpected changes in the context where development and humanitarian agencies work for which the system did not seem to be prepared. He agreed on challenges flagged by the SOHS 2018: the new geo-political landscape, the more difficult operational environment and the new types of crisis that confronted humanitarian actors. The critical concerns around accountability, localisation and its links to development was something that he expected to hear. Bidder stressed that these remained to be a challenge and hoped for having more evidence in significant shifts and improvements in the next reporting period.  

Good government CSO relationship needs to be sustained

Looking at the report in the Philippine context, government representative Allan Tabell highlighted the complementarity of humanitarian agencies and the government. He believes there has been good government and CSO relationships based on his experiences as a government official.  He stressed, though, that this good relationship needs to be sustained and synchronised to further serve people in need, regardless of humanitarian funding changes. 

The CSO representative Corazon Jasminez shared her dream of a genuine decrease in humanitarian need which, to her, would mean more communities having achieved adequate capacities and preparedness for a decreasing number of vulnerable groups. She underscored a series of questions addressing the root causes, by posing another question back: ‘If resources have been sufficient to meet needs, why is there a feeling that the opposite is happening and why do communities remain vulnerable?’  

The private sector representative, Ms. Veron Gabaldon, pointed out the significance of strong private-public partnership in this new landscape, which should be driving disaster risk reduction, humanitarian action and resilience both at the national and local levels. The private sector expertise needs to be shared with the government and the greater public, including with civil society organisations and affected people. 

Dr. Jun Bernardino who represents disability people’s organization, highlighted that information in itself is a form of aid and potentially acts as a lifesaving measure to people with disabilities, particularly to the deaf and blind and people with functional limitations in processing information.  He stressed that humanitarian actors should consider all necessary channels for delivering information so that it could be understood by all recipients and in a manner in which they could appropriately react and take action with the information received. 

In closing, the Co-Lead of DRRNetPhils, Ms. Amor Singco, flagged the need for improving proper documentation as the key to data management and data consolidation. With proper documentation, learning and lessons may be shared between and among networks of CSOs, among humanitarian actors and with government agencies.

As both humanitarian and development practitioners, our reality is not just recognising the important roles and capacities to efficiently deliver aid, but also the contextual constraints. Supporting humanitarian actors to overcome such constraints contributes to improving the quality of humanitarian action and will, in the long run, also contribute to the resilience of communities and nations.

This event summary was written by Loreine B. Dela Cruz, Executive Director, Center for Disaster Preparedness.

Event details

This event tool place on 12 March 2019 and it was hosted by the Center for Disaster Preparedness (CDP), Disaster Risk Reduction Network Philippines (DRRNetPhils) and ALNAP. The event featured a presentation of the SOHS 2018 key findings and a panel discussion.

Opening Remarks

Ms. Maria Rosario “Lot” Felizco – Country Director, Oxfam Philippines

Presentation of SOHS 2018 Report Key Findings

Ms. Loreine B. Dela Cruz –  Executive Director, Center for Disaster Preparedness

Reflections from Partners

Dir. Edgar Allan B. Tabell – Director, Central Office Disaster Information Coordinating Center (CODIX), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)

Ms. Ma. Elna Corazon J. Jazmines – Head, Local Partnership Department, Citizens' Disaster Response Center Foundation, Inc.

Ms. Veronica Gabaldon – Executive Director, Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF)

Dr. Benjamin “Jun” Bernardino – Executive Director, Life Haven Center for Independent Living