Ten programs of the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP) are successfully being implemented as of Q4 2017. These programs are under eight commitments of the PH-OGP, which are all in line with the goal to achieve better governance through accountability, transparency, and citizen participation. This favorable news was one of the main highlights of the PH-OGP Steering Committee Meeting held on December 6, 2017 at the DBM Executive Lounge.
Headed by the PH-OGP Chair, Budget Sec. Diokno, the steering committee meeting was attended by representatives from various agencies and organizations, including the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Office of the Cabinet Secretary (OCS), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Mindanao Coalition of Development NGOs (MinCODE), Coalition for Bicol Development (CBD), Kaabag sa Sugbo, Unang Hakbang Foundation, Financial Executives of the Philippines (FINEX), Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK), University of the Philippines – National College of Public Administration (UP-NCPAG) and the De La Salle University – Jesse Robredo Institute of Governance (DLSU-JRIG).
The list of the successfully ongoing programs under the nine commitments are: (1) Assistance to Disadvantaged Municipalities (ADM), (2) Citizen Participatory Audit (CPA), (3) Passage of Freedom of Information Bil, (4) Project Repeal, (5) e-Participation thru National Government Portal (NGP), (6) Open Budget Index (7) Budget Reform Bill, (8) Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (PH-ETI), (9) Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC) Virtual Opcen, and (10) Shelter Development for Informal Settler Families through Community Organizing and Community Development (CO-CD) Approach.
The PH-OGP Secretariat tracks the progress of each project in terms of two criteria: (1) the achievement of key performance indicators (KPIs) and milestones, and (2) the timeliness in the conduct of planned activities and achievement of milestones.
Assistance to Disadvantaged Municipalities (ADM)
For the ADM, the target of 687 (50%) functional Municipal Development Councils (MDCs) (excluding ARMM) by December 2017 was completed through the LDC functionality assessment workshops where 852 MDCs are with high compliance.
Citizen Participatory Audit (CPA)
The Commission on Audit (COA) Commission Proper has already approved the proposed COA Resolution adopting and institutionalizing the CPA. Further, the drafting of the CPA bill is already on-going, and it is expected to be on its third and final reading in the Senate by July 2019.
Project Repeal
Project Repeal’s Standard Cost Model concept is now under study and to be piloted to selected policies. Capacity building for 50 partners agencies and institutions have also been rolled out in November 2017. The aim of Project Repeal is to identify and respond to eliminate red tapes in the bureaucracy.
Passage of Freedom of Information Bill
The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) and the Senate are also on track in terms of achieving their targets in terms of FOI implementation. The PCOO has been very active in their communications and outreach efforts within and outside the country, and 96% of target agencies have also been onboarded to the eFOI portal.
In the Senate, the FOI bill is awaiting interpellation in the plenary with the Committee Report already issued by the Committee on Public Information chaired by Senator Grace Poe.
e-Participation thru National Government Portal (NGP)
For the commitment to provide e-Participation tools available to more citizens, www.gov.ph has recently been relaunched by the DICT now with 102 linked online public services such (i.e. PhilHealth, SSS, GSIS, PAG-IBIG, NSO, Passport Application, etc). A draft EO institutionalizing e-Participation tools has also been submitted to the Office of the President for signing of President Duterte.
Open Budget Index
For the commitment to improve the Open Budget Index, the Open Budget Survey 2017 is expected to be released by Q1 2018. Favorable results are expected by the PH-OGP committee about the outcome of the country assessment.
Budget Reform Bill
Meanwhile for the Budget Reform Bill, the Budget Reform Program Task Teams have been meeting regularly since January 2017 to discuss the necessary procedures towards the transition to annual cash appropriation
Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (PH-ETI)
The PH-EITI implementation is also on-track. Last October 5, 2017, the Philippines was recognized as the first country to meet all the requirements of the EITI Standard. This is a feat that all other 52 countries engaged in the same initiative have yet to achieve to date.
Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC) Virtual Opcen
The commitment to improve institutional mechanisms for immediate and effective disaster response is also on track with the e-Reklamo platform now fully integrated in the Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC) portal, and with the Guidelines on the National Disaster Response Surge Corps now being drafted.
Shelter Development for Informal Settler Families through Community Organizing and Community Development (CO-CD) Approach
The Shelter Assistance for Informal Settler Families through Community Organizing and Community Development is also now reporting success with a number of issues resolved through tri-sectoral dialogues and troubleshooting of issues in the People’s Plan that is being closely monitored by PCUP.
In summary, the PH-OGP has listed eight commitments that are successfully on-track as of Q4 of 2017. Although two other commitments are with average performance and another one was assessed to be of poor performance, the PH-OGP team is keen on working with the concerned agencies to identify possible bottlenecks and assistance that can be provided to help improve overall performance.
Trust that the PH-OGP team will continue to work for the outstanding realization of all commitments, with the vision of upholding transparency, accountability, and citizen participation towards better governance.
***
For more information, visit www.dbm.gov.ph, or follow @DBMgovph and @opengovPH on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates.
