GOVPH

Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines April 13, 2018 | 9:45 am – 10:05 am | Unicredit, Singapore   Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno Department of Budget and Management To the members of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, investors, and esteemed guests: Good morning. As I speak here today, my job is to convince you of two things: First, that the Philippines is on its way to becoming Asia's next economic tiger; and second, that the various technological innovations that we have introduced shall improve immensely the ease of doing business in our country. The slogan of this administration, “Change is coming”, articulates the government's goal of being a catalyst of real change in the Philippines. We acknowledge that the role of any democratic government is clear: it should be people-centric. It must serve its people and provide a better quality of life for its citizens. This principle is what we strive to live through everyday. We endeavor to achieve inclusive...

April 10, 2018 | 1:00pm | PICC, Pasay City Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno Department of Budget and Management     Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairperson Teresita Herbosa, Procurement Service (PS) Executive Director Bingle Gutierrez and ComClark-PhilCox Varco Technosolutions’ Mr. Edwin Lazaro;   friends from both government and the private sector, good morning.   Today, we are here to witness the signing of the contract for the Company Investments and Financial Statistics System (CiFSS) of the Securities and Exchange Commission.   As I understand, the CiFSS will serve as the central database for all the data that it receives from all the corporations it monitors. In the era of Freedom of Information, this is an all too important step in making sure the large amounts of data we have can be translated into useful information for those who wish to use them.   I am especially excited by how this effort will help open up avenues for economic research on Philippine Corporations. The ease of...

Mindanao Today, Mindanao Tomorrow Forum April 6, 2018 | Marco Polo Hotel, Davao City Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno Department of Budget and Management To MinDA Secretary Alonto, World Bank Country Director Mara Warwick, and PBSP Chairperson Miguel Dominguez, to my colleagues in the government and the academe, to our participants from various sectors of civil society, magandang hapon po sa inyong lahat. Today, upon the request of the Bank, I have the pleasure of sharing with you the plans the administration has in store for Mindanao, particularly on key development priorities we are financing. Before I begin my presentation, I would like to congratulate the World Bank on the very comprehensive and incisive Mindanao Jobs report. I am happy to note that we are on the same page on the major constraints hampering the region’s growth, and we generally agree on how we ought to move forward to ensure that growth in the region is strong, sustainable and inclusive. The Mindanao Growth Narrative Mindanao...

3 April 2018 | Ace Hotel and Suites Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, PhD Department of Budget and Management (DBM)           Good afternoon everyone and thank you for your time and effort in attending this workshop.   Today, we, the Management Committee will embark on an important activity which will greatly influence the performance and success of our Department. We have had a number of planning sessions in the past two years to map out our goals and strategies consistent with our mandate. I think it is fitting that we follow these up with a workshop on risk and opportunity calibration as we continue our march to be one of the best budget institutions in the world. After all, goals and strategies mean nothing in the absence of proper risk-accounting and planning for contingencies.   Being the seasoned leaders of the DBM, we have both the technical capacity and experience to anticipate and guard against risks that would undermine the achievement of our objectives. So my first message is that of...

23 March 2018 | 1:40 pm – 1:55 pm | PICC, Pasay City Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno Department of Budget and Management (DBM)         To the officials from various national government agencies (NGAs), and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), and representatives of constitutional offices and the Judiciary: Good afternoon.   Today, we take one step further in our most ambitious Budget Reform agenda. This reform initiative represents the collective wisdom and shared experiences of many people in the bureaucracy. It incorporates best practices, observed around the world, to boost efficiency and accountability in public spending. Most importantly, it institutionalizes the many reforms that we have sought to implement in the past two years.   Hence, it is with great pride that we will share with you today the important features of the Budget Reform Program. Various speakers and panelists will shed light on the practical details of our initiative, ranging from cash management, impact to...

March 21, 2018 | 8:00 am Arcache Building, Gen. Solano Street   Secretary’s Message Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, Ph.D. Department of Budget and Management       To my colleagues in the DBM, ladies and gentleman, good morning.   We are gathered here today for the groundbreaking ceremony of our new office building. Before we formally begin, allow me to give you some quick information about our new Arcache Building.   First, this building will be environment-friendly. Solar panels will be installed. A sewage treatment plant will be put in place to recycle used water to be used as toilet water for flushing. And an Energy Recovery Ventilator will be installed to pre-heat or pre-cool the building depending on the humidity and temperature. This building will house the PhilGEPS Office on the first floor. The second floor will house the archives, a conference room, and the GPPB Executive Room. The DBM Regional Offices for Regions IV-A and NCR will occupy the third floor. Lastly, the fourth floor will...

March 19, 2018 | DBM Multi-Purpose Hall Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, Ph.D. Department of Budget and Management To our Mayors, City Engineers, Architects, Urban Planners, and Civil Servants, good morning and welcome to the DBM. The Philippines’ urban population has increased to more than 50 million in the past fifty years. According to the World Bank Group, this number will balloon to 102 million by year 2050, accounting for more than 65% of the Philippines’ total population. With rising urban density, we have to make sure our cities remain livable. We have to ensure our citizens’ are safe, healthy, and mobile, and that their daily activities are not interrupted by any increase in congestion and pollution that may come with an expanding population. On many occasions, I have discussed the administration’s ambitious ‘Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure program. We want to alleviate traffic and increase mobility for our commuters by spending approximately 8 to 9 trillion pesos...

De La Salle University - International Studies DepartmentConference on the Role of Regional Cooperation in fulfilling Philippine Development Vision: Inclusive Growth, Infrastructure Development, and Human Resource Enrichment 9 March 2018 | 9:00-9:30 | Fairmont Hotel Makati   Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, Ph.D. Department of Budget and Management   To my colleagues in government, friends in the academe, students, participants from civil society, good morning. As Budget Secretary, I am primarily concerned with fiscal policy, particularly on spending. But as one of the economic managers in the administration, and an economist by training, I am usually asked to give lectures and answer questions beyond fiscal policy or the national budget. Today I have the pleasure of kicking off this conference by giving an overview of the current state of the Philippine economy. I am happy to oblige as I have come to accept that it comes with the territory. Allow me to begin by addressing three of the...

February 27, 2018 (Day 1) | 9:15AM Venue: Great Eastern Hotel, Quezon City   Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno PH-OGP and PGC Chair, Department of Budget and Management   To NEDA Secretary Ernesto Pernia, PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar,  PLLO Secretary Adelino Sitoy, CHED Chairperson Prospero De Vera, DILG OIC Eduardo Año, Mr. Jeffrey Lehrer, Director of the Office of Economic Development and Governance of USAID Philippines, Mayor Herbert Bautista;   Fellow workers in government, members of civil society organizations, participants from various business groups, to our international development partners, the media, and the academe; Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat.   I am pleased to welcome you to the first cluster of our Luzon leg of the Open Government and Participatory Governance Regional Dialogues. This is the fourth of a series of our townhalls and serious conversations with citizens on key priority programs of government. In recent weeks, we have had very productive discussions in the Cities...

22 February 2018 | 12:20 pm – 12:35 pm | Caruso Ristorante Italiano   Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno Department of Budget and Management (DBM)     To the Italian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, European Union Ambassador to the Philippines Mr. Franz Jessen, colleagues in the government, ladies and gentlemen:good afternoon. First of all, we consider the private sector as a crucial partner in achieving our national goals. Hence, I welcome this opportunity to shed more light on the Administration’s Tax Reform Program. In the spirit of openness, we want the private sector and the general public to understand the why’s and how’s of tax reform – the rationale for TRAIN (or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) and how its provisions will translate to growth with equity. So, for the next fifteen minutes allow me to explain how TRAIN fits in the development agenda of this administration.   TRAIN and the Government’s Development Agenda Even before we were sworn into office, we outlined...