The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), in partnership with the DBM Regional Office VIII, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), brought the OGPinas! nationwide advocacy campaign on open government to Tacloban City on October 3, 2024.
The event underscored the importance of fostering transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in governance and highlighted the progress in the implementation of the 6th Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP) National Action Plan (NAP), the country’s first medium-term action plan on open governance.
DBM Undersecretary Rolando U. Toledo discussed the commitments under the 6th PH-OGP NAP and encouraged the participants to actively work with the government to make this vision a reality.
Meanwhile, Director Atty. Marinel M. Ramos of DBM-Information and Communications Technology Service and Ms. Marinella R. Ricafranca of the Presidential Communications Office shared the progress on several PH-OGP NAP commitments, specifically the localization of the Freedom of Information (FOI) and the revival of the Digital Information for Monitoring and Evaluation or Project DIME.
The FOI Program allows citizens to request any information about government transactions and operations, while Project DIME will utilize existing technologies to compare fund utilization with actual project completion status for monitoring government projects while encouraging citizen dialogue.
In her keynote message, DBM Secretary and PH-OGP Chairperson Amenah F. Pangandaman encouraged participants to work together towards a more open government.
“Let us continue to build on our gains as we pursue the sustainability of our commitments under our 6th PH-OGP National Action Plan. And let's make the most out of OGPinas! Sama-sama po tayo sa Bagong Pilipinas kung saan ang gobyerno ay mapagkakatiwalaan at ang mga mamamayan ay pinakikinggan,” Secretary Pangandaman said.
An open-chair discussion also allowed the participants from Civil Society Organizations (CSO) to dialogue with DBM officials and resource speakers to share their ways of implementing open government values.
“The opportunity to make an impact is there; we just need to grab it,” Leyte People’s Council President CJ Ignacio said.
The event concluded with the signing of the pledge to open governance, reinforcing the need to continue championing the advocacy for open government.
DBM Undersecretaries Margaux V. Salcedo and Wilford Will L. Wong, Local Government and Regional Coordination Bureau Director Ryan S. Lita, Regional Office VIII Director Imelda C. Laceras and Assistant Director Aleli N. Hernandez; PH-OGP Co-Chairperson Ms. Aurora Chavez De Guzman; Central Visayas Network of NGOs Executive Director Mr. Lenbi Laborte; Caucus of Development NGO Networks Executive Director Mr. Sandino Soliman; and Tacloban City Councilor Maria Elvira G. Casal were also in attendance.
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