On November 30, 2016, CSOs in Cebu gathered to initiate a convergence for good and participatory natural resource governance. From this gathering a collective realization was made: that with the many significant steps taken and key findings discovered pertaining to natural resource governance through the PH-EITI, perhaps the most relevant for Cebu is the recommendation from broader sectors about implementing the transparency and accountability framework subnationally. This led to the creation of the Sectoral Transparency Alliance on Natural Resource Governance in Cebu, Inc. (STANCe).

In a nutshell, this responds to the longstanding clamor of citizens for a multilateral, cross-sectoral framework that provides ample civic space across the entire value chain of the extractives sector. This requires, on the one hand, a responsive body able to scrutinize data, push for policy reforms, understand key vulnerabilities, safeguard the rights of local communities, monitor revenue spending, and influence social funds for the maximum benefit of citizens. On the other hand, this organic body must be able to network with key stakeholders, dialogue with concerned industries and government agencies, and even demand that mandated bureaucracies implement laws and monitor the most acceptable standards of implementation.

The organization conducted grassroots consultations and FGDs, especially in the mining communities of Naga City, Toledo City, and San Fernando, to better understand the in situ context of communities hosting extractive industries.

STANCe is also a member of Publish What You Pay and Bantay Kita, respectively, the global and national coalitions of civil society organizations advocating for transparency and accountability in the extractive industries.

STANCe implemented projects and research work to support its advocacy:

Open Mining Governance – a Hivos-funded project that cascaded data and information from the Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (PH-EITI) annual country report to mining-affected communities in Toledo, Cebu, through infographics that made the data and information more comprehensible and useful to the communities. Through this project, mining-affected communities were able to verify and validate the report data, giving them more space to participate in the governance of our mineral resources.

1. Institutionalizing Community Participation in Natural Resource Governance at the Sub-national Level – a project of the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) in the Province of Cebu

intended to institutionalize the subnationalization of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) model of governance through processes and methods leading to the creation of a multi-stakeholder group composed of the oversight government agencies on the extractive industry, the representatives of the mining industries, and the civil society organizations in mining-affected communities that will ensure not only the implementation of the EITI standards on transparency and accountability in the province but also the collaborative and participatory mineral and natural resource governance.

3. The Cebu Extractive Industry Transparency and Accountability Initiative – a USAID-funded project through Project DATA supporting the scaling up of multilateral engagement for an integral local multistakeholder group for extractive industries transparency and accountability and good natural resource governance.

4. Cebu HR Cities - a collaborative project implemented through PAHRA members, leveraging human rights as a tool for transparency, accountability, participation in governance, and improving the quality of life of communities, especially those around extractives.

At present, STANCe is a local implementing partner for Project SHIELD HR, an initiative supported by the European Union and facilitated by PAHRA, to create pathways for quick response and access to remedies for human rights and environmental advocates facing risks.

STANCe was a commitment holder and the Visayas non-government Steering Committee representative of PH-OGP in implementing the EITI standards and advocacies in the Province of Cebu. It also represents the PH-EITI MSG of the Republic of the Philippines.

It also represented civil society on the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board before the 2019 elections. During the RDC 7 term 2022-2025, STANCe is a non-government member of the Development Administration Sector.