On May 21, 2025, leading figures from the Philippine civil society and development sector convened in Quezon City for the forum, “Between Adapting and Transforming: NGOs Navigating the Polycrises.” Featuring insights from Oxfam International’s Executive Director, Amitabh Behar, and prominent local voices, the dialogue tackled the escalating global “polycrisis” — a convergence of violent conflict, climate breakdown, extreme inequality, debt stress, and democratic backsliding. The two-hour exchange explored how civil society is responding to, and being reshaped by these disruptions, from the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to growing authoritarianism and widening economic divides. More than just addressing symptoms, the forum critically examined the structural roots of these crises, urging civil society to not only adapt but to boldly transform the existing landscape amid diminishing civic space.

Key Discussion Areas

What is the context of the polycrises and why must civil society engage now?
Today’s global landscape is defined by “polycrises,” where destabilizing and negative changes are not isolated events, but actually converge, and represent symptoms of deeper, systemic failures stemming from an oligarchic world order, neoliberal policies, and eroded institutional trust.

The Gaza humanitarian crisis, with its tragic loss of life, starkly illustrates this breakdown, reflecting as well a decline in international moral leadership and selective action. Simultaneously, economic inequality is escalating dramatically: since the COVID-19 pandemic, the world’s five wealthiest billionaires have doubled their fortunes, while five billion people have fallen deeper into poverty. This extreme wealth concentration also exacerbates climate degradation, with the richest 1% contributing double the emissions of the poorest 50% globally.

As Oxfam International’s Executive Director, Amitabh Behar, emphasizes, the polycrises can actually be regarded as a singular, multifaceted crisis. What is being witnessed is the institutionalization of oligarchy, where political and economic elites consolidate power through authoritarian and nationalist politics, frequently targeting marginalized communities. In this critical context, civil society’s role is not just relevant but imperative. It must decisively reassert itself as a driving force for democratic accountability, inclusive development, and profound social transformation.

How is civil society responding to and shaped by the polycrises?

Civil society remains essential to democracy, not merely as a service provider but as transformative actor. Behar emphasized four critical roles CSOs perform:

He also discussed four emerging trends that risk diluting these roles:

1. Bureaucratization and Corporatization: Many CSOs are becoming risk-averse
   and hierarchical, which hampers their innovation and responsiveness to urgent
   needs of partner communities and disadvantaged groups.
2. Overemphasis on Service Delivery: When CSOs assume state responsibilities
   through their interventions, which can sometimes foster dependency rather than
   drive governance reforms and more transformative and systemic change.
3. Colonial Financial Models: Current funding structures often favor Global North
   institutions, marginalizing grassroots and Global South-led initiatives.
4. Market Conformity: The adoption of corporate efficiency models and technocratic
   language could erode civil society’s transformative potential.
   

What insights did the reactors offer?
Bong Masagca (Executive Director, People’s Disaster Risk Reduction Network) acknowledged the growing practical challenges, including funding cuts and program disruptions–leaving many beneficiaries and communities in a state of uncertainty. Despite these setbacks, CSOs have a continuing obligation to respond to disasters, emergencies, and humanitarian crises. To fulfill this, he called for alignment with government programs while maintaining strong advocacy and making full use of participatory spaces and mechanisms at local, national, and global levels. The government holds sustainable resources and has a duty to ensure the welfare of its people–hence, it must also be held accountable. International NGOs, especially those with more localized operations, still play a vital role due to their influence and access to power. A consortium approach offers a practical solution to coordination and efficiency, allowing international and local NGOs to build on each other’s strengths and stand in solidarity to reinforce advocacy efforts at all levels. He also mentioned untapped resources–from the private sector, including corporations, faith-based organizations, and academic institutions–that can and should be mobilized to support these efforts.

Daryl Leyesa (Project Coordinator, Pambansang Koalisyon ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan) linked the polycrises–manifesting as poverty, inequality, violence, conflict, climate crisis, and the erosion of governance and democracy–to capitalism. The prevailing language of development that often masks or reinforces inequality–especially in the metrics used to define progress in poverty alleviation and equity must be challenged. She offered the language of social justice–grounded in empowerment, human dignity, and equitable distribution of politicaleconomic power–emphasizing that civil society must go beyond addressing immediate needs and concerns and start actively dismantling oppressive structures. She advocated for bold, collective action and questioned the double standards in global commitments—why not also aim to reduce inequality as we work to end poverty and hunger? While united in their aspirations for systems change, CSOs must continue work on deepening trust and strengthening relationships as a movement. The work is inherently political and involves organizing, holding institutions accountable, making democracy function, and defending and advancing human rights.

Plenary Highlights and Synthesis

This forum brought together Oxfam Pilipinas and its partners and other local civil society groups to reflect on critical questions about moral leadership, systemic transformation, trustbuilding, collaboration, and innovation. The dialogue underscored the complexity of the current socio-political climate and the urgency of imagining new ways of working—grounded on justice, solidarity, and movement-building.

1. Systemic transformation rooted in justice and collective memory
   Participants emphasized that the imperative is not merely to adapt to broken
   systems but to transform them. Returning to the basic values of justice, solidarity,
   and collective struggle is essential. This involves learning from past organizing
   efforts while recognizing the current political maturity of key groups, particularly the
   youth and women. Transformation must also occur at the personal level, not just
   in policies and institutions.
2. Moral leadership and rebuilding trust
   Oxfam’s moral leadership – not that it claims to have any, but this is in response
   to a question – lies in its capacity to challenge systems of inequality, particularly
   capitalism, and to act in solidarity with partners rather than as extractive funders.
   Trust must be rebuilt through transparency, recognition of partners’ intellectual
   contributions, and honest conversations about perceived power imbalances. Moral
   imagination and relational intimacy must replace the transactional nature of many
   institutional structures.
3. Redefining organizational roles
   There is a growing call to shift from a credit-claiming culture to one rooted in
   collective responsibility. Collaboration, not competition, must define the sector’s
   next phase. This includes clarifying roles within a diverse civil society ecosystem
   and finding authentic allies who listen, understand, and co-create solutions.
4. Innovation for justice and strategic engagement with government
   Innovation must be framed not as a buzzword, but as a tool for achieving justice.
   The narrative around working with the government must evolve: that is, advocates
   can and should strategically engage while not compromising principles. Although
   significant barriers to engagement remain, openness on the part of some
   government agencies presents civil society groups with opportunities for
   collaborative programming.
5. Movement-building vs. deliverables
   Participants cautioned against reducing activism to project outputs and timelines.
   In the Global South context, there is a need to re-center movement-building and
   unlearn project-based thinking that sidelines deeper organizing. While branding
   (logos, visibility) has its place in donor accountability, it must be balanced with
   modest, movement-oriented work that truly serves the public good and builds a
   base for broader and more transformative systems change.
6. Uncertainty and external shocks
   Forum participants acknowledged that disruptions caused by recent US funding
   closures are already affecting operations of some groups. It is a reminder of the
   sector’s vulnerability to geopolitical shifts and the need for resilient, diversified
   strategies.

It was emphasized that current challenges reflect an attack on democracy. The role of NGOs was questioned: that is, whether they are meant to supplement or replace government functions and noted that NGOs seldom close because they have achieved their mission, but rather due to external pressures. In her synthesis, Lan Mercado, Oxfam Pilipinas Trustee, called for a rethinking of partnerships and urged a shift in perspective: from being solutiondriven under donor systems back to being problem- and outcome-focused. Related to this, another challenge is facing the big donors and philanthropists to support desired change. Aside from scaling up (through reforms) and scaling out (geographically and in numbers), there is a need to scale deep, that is to urge a change in mindsets.

Future Directions

The forum underscored the urgent need for civil society to reclaim its political mandate by mobilizing people power, fostering community trust, and operating in solidarity rather than hierarchy. Genuine transformation, it concluded, demands moving beyond comfort zones, rethinking narratives, and actively resisting systems that prioritize compliance over courage. As civil society navigates the turbulent terrain of the polycrises, the call is not merely to adapt, but to profoundly transform. To counteract the four emerging trends that threaten to undermine its critical roles, Behar proposed five strategic shifts for civil society groups:

1. From Competition to Collaboration
NGOs must shift from competing for limited resources to building movements rooted in trust and shared purpose. This means fostering alliances, centering marginalized voices, and co-creating solutions.

2. From Programs to Power Analysis
Moving beyond isolated projects, towards deeper understanding of root causes of injustice. Programs must be anchored in political education, structural critique, and
strategies to dismantle oppressive systems.

3. From Corridors to Streets
Rather than confining advocacy to elite spaces and policy rooms, civil society must engage directly with grassroots movements. Real legitimacy is earned in the streets by aligning with communities and amplifying lived experiences.

4. From Service Providers to Political Actors
NGOs must reclaim their political identities; not partisan, but power-aware and justice-driven. This requires courage to speak truth to power and advocate for systemic change, not just service provision.

5. From Silence to Solidarity
Silence in the face of injustice is complicity. Civil society must embrace intersectional and transnational solidarities to challenge authoritarianism and reclaim civic space.

For more information, please contact Randee Cabaces, MELSA Manager, Oxfam Pilipinas, at Randee.Cabaces@oxfam.org.ph.