Bon Besmanos
Government’s weak capacity to measure the social and environmental impact of the extractive industry has created a lot of problems in the Philippines’ mining communities and its extractive sector.
At the close of 2023, the Governance Action Hub connected with Bon Besmanos, the national coordinator of Bantay Kita, a coalition of civil society organizations championing transparency and accountability in the Philippine extractive sector. Bon has been a dedicated member of the coalition since 2009 when it was still a project under Action for Economic Reforms.
Bon discussed the impact of governance challenges on the work done by local organizations to promote more accountability and transparency in the extractive sector and ways to improve it.
According to her, governance interventions must consider its impact towards peacebuilding and conflict transformation in all spheres, especially in islands like Mindanao.
Understanding the history and interests of extractive communities will be important for a just energy transition in the Philippines.
Connect and learn more about BantayKita via their social networks:
Explorer Resources
Beyond the Playbook: Navigating Territorial Complexity and Finding the Others
Closing Keynote Address — Day of Innovation, Primer Encuentro Internacional en Gestión Social y Sostenibilidad (GESS 2026), Lima, Peru
Cooling as a public good: Lessons from London Climate Action Week
Tracy Jooste shares notes from London Climate Action Week on why cooling — like clean water or safe streets — needs to be treated as a public good, not just...
Trust: The Reinforcement of Good Governance
Reflections from Governance Action Hub and Action Aid Zambia Climate Governance convening
Making Democracy Irresistible: Katy Rubin on Theatre, Trust, and Real Policy Change
What would democracy look like if more people actually wanted to take part?
Cuando la transición verde nace desde la vocación agrícola: Aprendizajes del territorio
Este texto hace parte de la serie de blogs del proyecto FortaleceTEJ, un conjunto de publicaciones sobre cómo comunidades rurales del Cesar están construyendo su propia...
Join the Governance Explorers
We are bringing together a global network of people eager to rethink governance and influence local, national and global debates.
"Goodwill from both government and local community leaders is essential for successful climate action"
"The question is how do you get the good idea to reach the right people to make change?"