Cash Working Group (CWG) Meeting
AGENDA
Wednesday, 22 January 2014, 10:00 a.m.-12 noon
ILO Auditorium, RCBC, Makati City
Time
Agenda Items
10-10:10 a.m.
Introductions and general updates
10:10-10:45
1. Presentation on the readiness of Financial Service Providers (FSPs) in
the typhoon-affected areas; discussions.
10:45-11:15
2. UNOCHA Cash Coordinator updates. Consultations/discussions on
spot-check form and indicators for inter-agency monitoring report;
discussions.
11:15-11:55
3. Presentation by the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC):
Concept Note for Citizen-led Monitoring for Cash-Related
Interventions for Typhoon Yolanda Survivors; discussions.
11:55-12
noon
AOB
MINUTES
Cash Working Group (CWG)
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
Attendance
UNOCHA, USAID-Scaling Innovations in Mobile Money (SIMM), CARE Philippines, GSMA, Philippine
Red Cross (PRC), GOAL, ChildFund, Food for the Hungry, National Anti-Poverty Commission
(NAPC), Food Security and Agriculture Cluster-WFP, Shelter Cluster Philippines, BPI-Globe BanKO
1.
Readiness of Financial Services Providers (FSPs) and guidance to humanitarian agencies
on how to approach FSPs
The Scaling Innovations in Mobile Money (SIMM) project of USAID, the current chair of the Cash
Working Group (CWG), has been exploring the possibility of creating a system by which humanitarian
agencies can easily tap the myriad of FSPs capable of delivering cash at scale in the typhoon
affected areas.
It’s been recognized that the Philippines overall has a wide array of FSPs with established
infrastructures nationwide and that have long been the conduits for remittances from in-country and
from abroad. But they too were not spared by the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. Thus,
there is a need for a system of tracking the real-time readiness of FSPs in the affected areas, and a
streamlined process for humanitarian agencies to engage them.
The CWG Chair shared the following:

Cash Pay-Out Outlets. The matrix listing cash pay-out outlets for BanKO, LBC and Cebuana
Lhuillier in the Haiyan affected areas, including the priority areas in Eastern Samar, plus a
map locating where these outlets are, along with functioning ATMs. Outlet locations and
coverage of other FSPs will be incorporated in the list as soon as information is submitted to
CWG.
https://philippines.humanitarianresponse.info/document/financial-service-providerslist-outlets
https://mapsengine.google.com/map/viewer?mid=zs_H893eRKo0.kTHWddX3Sr50

FSPs Overview. An overview featuring some of the major FSPs of the country and the
percentage of municipalities (out of the 171 affected by Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda) where
they’ve re-established their presence. The overview also includes the number of Points-ofPresence per 10,000 affected households for each FSP. This brief overview is designed to
capture some of the key points that humanitarian/aid agencies need to determine when
planning their CTP and determining the most appropriate cash transfer methods; and in
selecting FSPs to partner with.
https://philippines.humanitarianresponse.info/document/fsps-points-presence-overview
The CWG Chair stressed that the collection of these listings is a work in progress and that this initial
document does not represent a complete picture. FSPs are strongly encouraged to report their
readiness in the affected regions to the Chair: mamerto_tangonan@dai.com so updated versions of
the matrices and map can be shared with the CWG members on a rolling basis.
FSPs reporting their capacities are also encouraged to fill in the template with the maximum capacity
of their outlets to accommodate bigger payout values. This is key information that, if incorporated in
the template, helps inform the decisions humanitarian agencies need to make for their CTP,
especially those considering medium- to large-scale cash programmes.
The Chair also shared the following:
 FSP Inquiry Form that humanitarian agencies can use as the initial point of contact with an
FSP.
https://philippines.humanitarianresponse.info/document/template-fsp-inquiry-ctp

FSP Engagement Process: a flowchart illustrating the basic steps/process for humanitarian
agencies to engage FSPs.
https://philippines.humanitarianresponse.info/document/fsp-engagement-process-ctp
In the discussions, BPI-Globe BanKO announced that it is partnering with well-known pawnshop
chains in the Visayas, including Tambunting, which is looking to put up roving outlets for cash
disbursements. In the context of the Philippines, it was discussed that leading pawnshop franchises
are a distribution mechanism that could be considered for large-scale cash interventions.
Action Point 1: The CWG Chair, USAID-SIMM will step up its efforts to reach out to FSPs to submit
their readiness status, and to complete the key information in the templates that would save
humanitarian agencies a few steps in the engagement process.
2. Cash Coordinator Updates
The new Cash Coordinator introduced herself and shared updates on some of the action points from
the previous meeting. Discussions followed around a few issues that needed clarification:
2.1 Targeting beneficiaries
 DAFAC Cards. On targeting beneficiaries, it was reported that LGUs seem keen nowadays
on humanitarian agencies using the Disaster Assistance Family Access Card (DAFAC)
when targeting beneficiaries. DAFAC is designed by DSWD and issued by LGUs to families
who are victims of a disaster and are therefore entitled to relief assistance from the
government. The card logs assistance received by each family from the government, and if
used widely and consistently by humanitarian agencies, could help prevent duplication.
Confusion continues to linger around the DAFAC. There is concern that if aid is given only to
those in possession of the card, some disaster-affected families may be left out. Families in
possession of the DAFAC are those who were registered in evacuation centres in the early
days, as well as those listed in their barangays. However, there is no clear guidance on how
to target/assist displaced families, who have lost their homes and have moved to other
places to live with friends and relatives.
 Name-matching. There was a question on the turnaround time of the name-matching
verification tool being offered by DSWD’s Listahanan, or the National Household Targeting
Office for Poverty Reduction (NHTO-PR). It was clarified that according to the NHTO, their
system is capable of processing daily up to 14,000 names with a turnaround time of 24
hours; larger volumes of names will take longer. The Government is encouraging
humanitarian agencies to use its simple name-matching sheet as this is another viable,
mutually beneficial tool for coordination. NHTO will be assisting agencies verify potential
beneficiaries’ profiles, track which households are already receiving assistance, etc. In
return, agencies using this name-matching facility will be assisting the central government in
digitizing barangay/municipality-level records, bringing local government units away from
hand-written record-keeping. This will also help widen the Listahanan database, which will
facilitate DSWD’s 2014 mandate to increase the 4Ps coverage by 20,000 more chronically
poor households.
DSWD-NHTO Template for Name Matching Form https://philippines.humanitarianresponse.info/document/dswd-nhto-template-name-matching
Action Point 2.1: The UNOCHA Cash Coordinator will seek clear guidance from DSWD on targeting
displaced families without DAFAC cards. The Cash Coordinator will also include discussions on
targeting beneficiaries in cluster-led meetings that will be held in the hubs in the coming weeks to
clarify any additional areas of confusion and to aim for a more coordinated position.
2.2 Monitoring
 Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) of Unconditional Cash Transfer: Spot-Check
Form.
The latest iteration of this monitoring tool was presented to the CWG. It was explained that
in past CWG meetings, members endorsed UNOCHA’s efforts to explore the development
of a standard monitoring tool that is shared by humanitarian agencies, and that incorporates
some of the questions from the Government's Spot Check. This would be an efficient way to
compare and share results for wider monitoring and lessons capture during this and future
response. If enough agencies begin to use the tool, simple indicators could be captured and
fed into the Inter-Agency Periodic Monitoring Report, the first one due for release end of
January.
The version presented to the CWG earlier borrows from IFRC’s and Oxfam’s toolkits, which
have already been used in this response for large-scale CTP. Both organizations are
expected to share the results to feed into the initial Inter-Agency Monitoring Report.
 Indicators for the first
Haiyan/Yolanda response
Inter-Agency
Monitoring
Report
on
the
Typhoon
The CWG was presented the proposed cash indicators for the draft Haiyan monitoring
framework: (i) percentage of cash-for-work activities complying with minimum wage set by
the Government; and (ii) percentage of cash for work activities complying with minimum
wage set by the Government. The overall feedback was that the indicators were more
compliance-oriented.
Action Point 2.2: The UNOCHA Cash Coordinator will collaborate with DSWD’s technical team in
refining/finalizing and piloting the PDM, ensuring that the English phrasing/wording can be easily
translated in simple, universal Tagalog. The Cash Coordinator will also advocate for the use of the
tool as an efficient way to compare and share results for wider monitoring and lessons capture during
this and future response.
3. NAPC Presentation
The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC, represented by Undersecretary Florencia Dorotan and
Technical Consultant Jay Carrizo, presented to the CWG its capability to offer Citizen-Led Monitoring
for Cash-Related Interventions in the Haiyan/Yolanda response. NAPC is the Government of the
Philippine’s chief agency for poverty reduction, created by the Executive branch of the government
with advisory and oversight powers to formulate and implement social reform and poverty reduction
programmes. It is mandated to institutionalize basic sector representation and participation in the
government’s poverty reduction programmes and as such, has direct links a cross-section of
government agencies in charge of fisherfolk, farmers, women, youth, children, indigenous peoples,
senior citizens, cooperatives, NGOs among others. Citizen-led monitoring empowers citizens to
become active partners in governance, engaging them to ensure that projects are implemented
properly and services are received by the target recipients. NAPC also talked about its technologydriven Rapid Community-Based Monitoring System (Rapid CBMS) that can be employed by
humanitarian agencies conducting spot checks to monitor how beneficiaries utilize cash grants.
CWG members welcomed the idea of third-party monitoring. The one concern was the question of
who would have ownership of the data. NAPC said that this can be specified in the Memorandum of
Agreement. NAPC was invited to present in the next FSAC meeting.
Humanitarian agencies interested in engaging with NAPC may contact:
NAPC Undersecretary Florencia Dorotan: oyendorotan@gmail.com
Technical Consultant Jay Carizo: jacarizo@gmail.com
NAPC PowerPoint Presentation: Citizen-Led Monitoring for Cash-Related Interventions in the
Haiyan/Yolanda Response
https://philippines.humanitarianresponse.info/document/napc-citizen-led-monitoring-yolanda-cashinterventions
Action Point 3: The UNOCHA Cash Coordinator will continue facilitating connections between NAPC
and relevant clusters and partner humanitarian agencies and see how NAPC can play a role in
providing independent, community-led checks-and-balances systems in both the process of targeting
beneficiaries and monitoring cash utilization and impact post distribution.