When Citizen Action for Accountability Boosts Legislative Oversight: The Multiply-Ed Experience in the Philippines

In this accountability note published by the Accountability Research Center, Joy Aceron and Abrehet Gebremedhin present an empirical pathway in which an independent, citizen-led civil society organization, Multiply-Ed, and a congressional oversight committee, the Education Commission II (EDCOM II), have come together for a shared agenda of systemic education reform in the Philippines. This work provides key takeaways for both social constituencies and government workers seeking to identify and address shared agendas through accountability.

Joy Aceron is Convenor-Director of NYSEAN Partner Government Watch, a citizen action movement for accountability in the Philippines that aims to improve governance of public services and deepen democracy. She has more than two decades of experience with civil society–government engagement for public accountability and has worked on education governance since 2004.

Abrehet Gebremedhin is a researcher at ARC and a PhD candidate at the School of International Service at American University Washington D.C. Her academic research centers on monitoring and evaluation, civil society engagement in education and health, transnational aid for education, and youth mobilization.