For social service organizations, high trust does not pay the bills

GRASSROOTS WORK Community discussion in Barangay Taguisan in Mabuhay, Zamboanga Sibugay —PHOTO FROM ASSOCIATION OF FOUNDATIONS

Filipinos are hardly short on malasakit (compassion). Even when there is little to spare, the instinct to help runs deep.

Such cultural trait has helped sustain a strong tradition of giving in the Philippines. But goodwill alone cannot keep the social services offered by civil society running.

The country has one of Asia’s most trusted social sectors, yet many organizations working against poverty and inequality still struggle for sustainable funding.

The Doing Good Index (DGI) 2026 found 66 percent of social delivery organizations (SDOs) in the Philippines feel trusted by society.

SDO is a broad term for organizations that address social needs, including traditional nonprofits, nonprofits with income-generating activities, social enterprises and operating foundations.

The DGI 2026 placed the Philippines in the “Doing Better” cluster alongside Japan, Korea, Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong.

The report, produced by the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society, assesses how regulations, tax policies, the social ecosystem and government procurement shape private investment in social causes across Asia.

But despite the high level of trust SDOs enjoy in the Philippines, they still receive far less government funding than their regional peers, leaving them largely dependent on private support.

Philippine SDOs rely largely on individuals and foundations, which account for 37 percent of their budgets, followed by corporate funding at 34 percent and foreign funding at 21 percent.

Government grants account for just 1 percent of SDOs’ funding, while government procurement is zero.

“Government procurement can be a direct channel for public resources to flow to SDOs. When it works well, it is a genuine win-win for both sides of the partnership,” the DGI report reads.

For the Association of Foundations (AF), the low share of government funding is partly an information problem, as some SDOs are unaware of government procurement opportunities or how to participate in them.

“Policy-wise, I think that’s where we fall short because we don’t have [a procurement policy] in place yet that says we prefer [goods and services] from CSOs (civil society organizations) and NGOs,” Milet Aquino, communications officer at AF, tells the Inquirer.

But simply opening procurement opportunities to SDOs does not mean they can actually compete for them. Government procurement still demands paperwork and, oftentimes, upfront spending that smaller organizations are ill-equipped to absorb.

These smaller SDOs may have to put up significant sums for a government project, then wait months, or even years, before they are reimbursed.

“So if they know they can’t afford to implement a project using their own money upfront, they won’t even bother going through the procurement process,” Aquino says in Filipino.

To be fair, there have been efforts to simplify government procurement, including the modernization of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System, or PhilGEPS, which moved opportunities and processes online and improved access for observer organizations.

Complementing state functions

But why should the government fund SDOs in the first place when social welfare, health and education agencies are already tasked with providing public services?

Aquino explains the role of SDOs is not to take over government functions, but to complement them where their community networks and on-the-ground experience can extend the reach of public social programs.

“They (SDOs) work directly with the local government. They can identify which families need livelihood support, which coastal communities need assistance and which areas have more families in need,” Aquino says, pointing to AF’s recent work in the town of Mabuhay in Zamboanga Sibugay.

Even the government itself acknowledges the role of SDOs in its “whole-of-nation” approach to provide social services, especially to vulnerable sectors.

The way forward

More public funding, Aquino stresses, is no guarantee of better services. But with 26 percent of Philippine SDOs reporting a drop in income, it could provide another lifeline for essential social programs.

To improve the country’s DGI standing, Aquino hopes the government will further digitalize processes, harmonize accreditation and compliance requirements, speed up reviews and feedback and create clearer communication channels with social organizations.

She also sees room for improvement in creating stronger digital fundraising infrastructure and more explicit government encouragement for Filipinos to support SDOs.

Still, Aquino believes the sector already has a strong foundation to build on.

“One strength of ours is that there is a high level of trust for our NGOs and CSOs,” she says.

“So we have to build on that and use that to our advantage. We have to protect that trust and ensure it won’t erode.”