The Department of Budget and Management launched a web portal called Foreign Aid Transparency Hub (FAiTH) that will allow the public to monitor the status of foreign aid – both in cash and in kind - received by the Government for the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan.

The initiative is a pioneering response to a growing demand for greater transparency and accountability in the management of humanitarian donations. According to Richard Moya, Undersecretary and Chief Information Officer at the DBM, citizens want to make sure that foreign aid funds are going exactly where they’re supposed to go.

“Counter to what most people think, foreign aid isn’t given to the Philippine government in hard cash. Instead, these arrive in the form of pledges, which are released to aid groups or their corresponding organisations in the Philippines, such as USAID and Red Cross. In cases like this, FAiTH doesn’t monitor these funds; instead, it tracks foreign aid that is coursed through Philippine government agencies,” Moya said.

The portal will show comprehensive information on humanitarian aid donated to the Philippine government. If the donations are coursed through government agencies—specifically the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Office of Civil Defense of the Department of National Defense (DND)—the portal will likewise show users how the funds were spent.