The Resilience, Innovation, Sustainability and Empowerment (RISE) – Benguet Project holds an Information Session on Registration and Accreditation Processes for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from Baguio City, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay on March 19-20, 2024 at Health 100 Eco Lodge, Magsaysay Avenue, Baguio City.
The Information Session is designed to equip organizations in navigating the registration and accreditation processes among government agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and the Department of Agriculture (DA). The CSO representatives were also oriented on the LGU Accreditation Processes in the Sangguniang Bayan and Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
This initiative of the RISE Benguet Project is one of the series of activities which aims to provide technical guidance and support for the completion of registration and accreditation of community-based organizations in BLISTT. This will hopefully enable them to establish the legal personality of their respective groups and associations to transact with the local government units and represent their sectors in the local development council or in the various local special bodies. Furthermore, establishing their legitimacy is pivotal in allowing CSOs to mobilize and access resources not only from the government but also from other legitimate private funding/donor agencies to address community resiliency needs as they face the impacts of disasters and climate change.
A total of 24 unregistered and unaccredited CSOs in BLISTT, representing the sectors of women, farmers, indigenous peoples, youth and persons with disabilities will be assisted to complete their accreditation and registration.
Representatives from the abovementioned registering and accrediting agencies were present during the first day: Atty. Regina May Cajucom-De Guzman, Director I of SEC Baguio Extension Office, Ms. Priscilla Bejar, CDS II of CDA-CAR Extension Office, Mr. Teddy Sy, Senior Labor and Employment Officer of DOLE Baguio-Benguet Field Office, and Mr. James Ticbayan, Board Secretary II of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Benguet.
The RISE-Benguet project is a 3-year disaster and climate governance project that is funded by the European Union. The project aims to improve the resilience of at-risk communities to manage the disaster risks, adapt and mitigate the adverse impacts climate change by strengthening civil society organizations’ engagement in public-decision making processes, social accountability, disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) and climate change adaptation and mitigation (CCAM). It aims to facilitate the formation of a Grassroots Multistakeholder Network who will champion a Disaster and Climate Resilience Agenda in the different policymaking bodies at the local, provincial, regional and national level.
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RISE Benguet is a consortium project of ADRA Philippines, Jaime V. Ongpin Foundation, Inc., and Center for Development Programs in the Cordillera – CDPC. This project is funded by the European Union, and co-financed by ADRA Deutschland e.V.
