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CoST Philippines launch

February 12th 2010

Building

CoST Philippines was officially launched on 27 January 2010 with great success. The new CoST Champion, Budget and Management Undersecretary Laura Pascua showed excellent commitment, coming early to welcome guests as they arrived, and giving a speech that called on all stakeholders to join and actively participate in CoST to ensure its success. A welcome address from Chrik Poortman, IAG Chair was given in absentia by Manolito Madrasto, a founding member of the MSG. There was excellent attendance across the stakeholder groups including:

  • A number of consulting, constructors and supplier associations, together with representatives of the labour unions;
  • Civil society organisations (CSOs);
  • Most government infrastructure agencies, together with representatives of the Commission on Audit (COA), the Office of the Ombudsman, and the Presidential Anti-Graft and Corruption Commission;
  • The World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), USAID, AusAid and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
  • Major newspapers and business dailies. Interviews were held with the CoST Champion, the MSG and a number of the visitors. The television networks sent a joint team for a pooled report to be aired that night.

The launch comes after a year of CoST operation in the Philippines and reflects the commitment of the MSG during this time to tailor the CoST approach to the Philippines context before engaging with a broader range of stakeholders.

Further information: CoST Launch Report