This piece puts forward propositions on "doing accountability differently" through strategies that tackle power and systemic issues in order to address root causes (instead of just the symptoms) of corruption and bad governance through balanced and synergistic, multi-level and multi-actor actions on transparency, participation and accountability.
It includes a case study on a pioneering work on social accountability known to many, Textbook Count of Government Watch (G-Watch). Textbook Count is perhaps the most well-studied social accountability initiative with about 8-10 published works written about it. What the narrative in this publication attempts to uniquely contribute in restudying Textbook Count is the use of a new lens, Vertical Integration, which uncovered the complexity of how and why the program worked and the limits of what it has achieved in light of the changing context in politics and governance in the Philippines over time.