Bantay Kita

Our vision:

Empowered communities that promote sustainable development and good governance of natural resources through transparency and accountability in the extractive industries.

Our goals:

(1) Institutionalize transparency and accountability in the extractive industries, in response to the people’s inherent rights to participate in policy and decision-making and ultimately contribute to the development of more responsible institutions

(2) Maximize benefits from the extractive industries, especially revenue gains for the country from the utilization and development of its non-renewable resources.

(3) Build the capabilities of communities and civil society organizations in engaging with the extractive industries at each stage of the value chain.

(4) To secure the law on right to public information.

(5) To work for the rationalization of fiscal incentives and remove redundant fiscal incentives given to resource-seeking industries.

(6) To promote and strengthen international solidarity on transparency, especially in Asia.

Tasks

• Promote transparency and accountability in the extractive industry through a combination of mandatory (legal) and voluntary mechanisms.

• Conduct research and policy studies revenue and transparency issues affecting the extractive industries. Disseminate the outcome of studies through publications, workshops or conferences.

• Build capacities of civil society organizations to monitor the value chain process in the extractive industries (especially the mining sector). Specific concerns include how to obtain and analyze contracts, financial statements, taxes, royalties, or fees paid to local and national governments. Strengthen information links between concerned CSOs throughout the country.

• Engage other stakeholders such as the business sector, academe and think-tanks, and the media, and link their initiatives to the broader campaign of peoples’ organizations.

• Advocate tax reforms that will maximize revenue gains from the extractive industries, improve efficiency of collection, and minimize evasion and corruption.

Partners Bantay Kita is a member of Publish What You Pay Coalition. It is supported by 11.11.11, Christian Aid, Foundation for the Philippine Environment and Revenue Watch Institute through the IKAT project funded by USAID Indonesia.

Bantay Kita also works closely with Indonesian Parliamentary Center, Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) and Pattiro Institute.