The Department of the Interior and Local Government Region XII, in partnership with Holistic Undertaking Bridging Solutions to Governance (GHubs) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), have successfully organized the Citizen Monitors in the Region after a series of orientation on DevLIVE, an application that helps promote transparency in government services.

DevLIVE, or Development through Local Indicators and Vulnerability Exposure Database, is a mobile application that helps monitor the implementation of government projects through citizen feedbacks to promote transparency and accountability in government processes and address public service delivery issues through increased citizen participation.

Since the beginning of the first quarter, a total of 40 Civil Society Organization (CSO) representatives from 10 different sectors in the Provinces of Sarangani, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Cotabato were organized as Citizen Monitors of their respective provinces and were brought to various provincial road projects funded by the national government’s Conditional Matching Grant to Provinces (CMGP) Program, to experience project monitoring through DevLIVE.

“There have been different citizen monitors organized by the different private institutions but what makes the citizen monitors organized by DILG XII exceptional is the use of the technology, DevLIVE,” GHubs Board Member Arch. Carlito Y. Uy said.

GHubs Board Member Dr. Alicia L. Manondog, who described the mobile application as the “fastest and powerful way of monitoring”, applauded the technology that provided easy and convenient means for citizens monitors to keep-track of government projects and processes in communities.

Other CSO participants have also vowed to share the technology and lessons they have learned during the activity with their peers.

Section 20, Article 2 of the 1987 Constitution, and Section 35 of the Local Government Code are the legal basis for the creation of citizen monitors.