FOLLOWING the study report on the “over-reported” climate financing to the Philippines, the chairman of the House Committee on Climate Change on Wednesday said he will activate the congressional oversight function to track the funds and craft specific measures to govern the climate finance accountability.
During a roundtable discussion on climate adaption finance tracking, Bohol Rep. Edgar Chatto said his committee will closely coordinate with the Department of Finance (DOF), Climate Change Commission (CCC) and Department of Budget and Management on this matter.
“The most obvious answer by the legislative is the [activation of] congressional oversight, which serves as check and balance for the Executive branch of the government by reviewing and evaluating its projects and operations including its management of climate finance,” he said.
According to Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) Deputy Executive Director Angelo Kairos dela Cruz, the Philippines received $4.3 billion worth of climate financing between 2013 and 2017. However, $2.1 billion of the amount was allocated for adaptation; but some $770 million, or 37 percent, could be considered as “over-reported” funds.
“In total, the team calculates that 37 percent of the $2.10 billion of adaptation finance reported by donors across the 18 assessed projects can be considered as over-reported. Primarily arising in projects committed by Japan ($425 million), the World Bank ($156 million), France ($98 million), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank ($54 million), and Korea ($32 million). Highlighting the high potential for inflated adaptation finance figures and a significant level of inaccuracy in current donor reporting methods,” he said during the forum.
Dela Cruz said developed countries usually account for their climate-related spending as part of their commitments to international agreements such as in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
“Over-reporting inflates actual contributions to our climate action. It is possible that it is simply a report wrongly made with no bad intentions, but without anyone looking, it is almost as if we are accepting the reports as they are,” Dela Cruz said.
Moreover, Chatto agreed that the government should track the climate change funds.
“We have to track the climate change fund and make sure it goes to projects that are much needed, whether for adaptation or mitigation, and make sure that there will be no fund duplication as sources come from local and international [donors],” the lawmaker said.
“The committee will work closely with CCC for our oversight functions. We would like even more to know about international sources because we have heard that utilization of these funds for local governments is very, very difficult. We would like to reach out to LGUs and make these funds available to them,” he said.
Also, he said the committee will make sure these funds will be scrutinized to make sure that the integrity of the projects being implemented is well within the framework of Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement.
Chatto said the committee will also study the passage of a measure governing climate finance accountability “that can result in climate adaptation or mitigation measures that are responsive to the need of every Filipino and can be felt by every Filipino.”
“As a developing country with low carbon emissions but with high vulnerability to climate change, we are in need of support from developed countries in terms of climate finance as part of climate justice. They must deliver their commitments to finance innovative solutions in the developing world,” he added.
Meanwhile, Chatto said his committee is also awaiting the report from the DOF regarding the Peoples’ Survival Fund (PSF).
The PSF was created under Republic Act (RA) 10174, which was signed into law in 2012 amending the Climate Change Act of 2009. The P1-billion replenishable annual allocation intends to provide support on top of the yearly appropriations to LGUs for climate change-related programs and projects.
DOF oversight role
In the same forum, Finance Assistance Secretary Paola Alvarez said the DOF is also now exercising its oversight function and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, as the chairman of CCC, already gave instruction to make it more accessible for local governments.
“We’re also looking into the rules implemented by CCC to set the criteria for the People’s Survival Fund” because, she said, Congress has been asking them why the PSF is “not utilized by the local governments so we are looking into that.” Dominguez, she added, “actually instructed them to do one on one with local governments and to act as sort of sales people. They should sell the benefits of the People’s Survival Fund so that more local government units can participate. I think these are the policies that we are looking into.”
According to the DOF, among the activities eligible for funding by the PSF are projects on water resources management, land management, agriculture and fisheries, and health, along with other activities that serve as guarantee for the risk insurance needs of farmers, agricultural workers and other stakeholders.
However, it said most of the proposals submitted to the PSF have failed to pass the initial screening due to incomplete documents or because the project activities are not eligible. PSF projects should clearly address the community’s climate vulnerabilities based on scientific and historical data.