The Philippines and Vietnam have recently informed the Board of CoST of their withdrawal from the initiative. Vietnam ran a successful pilot project from 2008 – 2011, but since then has experienced difficulty in rolling out the approach across government. The challenges faced include satisfying the need for multi-stakeholder participation and aligning CoST disclosure requirements with existing laws and regulations. The Philippines was also one of the original CoST pilot countries, but it has subsequently proved difficult for its Multi-Stakeholder Group to maintain momentum, and it is believed that the current political climate may have discouraged some partners from continuing their involvement.

Commenting on these developments, CoST Executive Director and Board Member, Petter Matthews said: “The CoST Board regrets that we will no longer have the opportunity to support reforms in the Philippines and Vietnam. We express our gratitude to the individuals and institutions that have supported CoST and wish them well with future efforts.”