GOVPH

CLOSING REMARKS 4th Annual Public Policy Conference Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) 6:00 p.m. | September 19, 2018 | EDSA Shangri-la, Ortigas   Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, Ph.D. Department of Budget and Management   Good evening, everyone.   First of all, I would like to congratulate the Philippine Institute for Development Studies for a successful forum. This is a very important topic, one that presents itself with much urgency despite its recent nomenclature.   The Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIRE) is not anymore an idea; rather, it is a reality that promises a lot of possibilities in addressing the social problems that we face today.   We live in an age when artificial intelligence plays a big role in our day-to-day activities. The gadgets that utilize this intelligence have become indispensable—from smartphones to Smart TVs, and even robots that can mimic human behavior.   During my younger years, I thought the fax machine was the best thing that could ever happen. I’m...

11 July 2018 | 9:00 am | DBM Multi-purpose Hall Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno Department of Budget and Management (DBM)     Good morning, everyone!   When the TRAIN Law was still being crafted, the Pantawid Pasada Program has already been identified as one of its complementary social mitigating measures. Today, as we sign this Joint Memorandum Circular, I am pleased that this program is nearing implementation, and soon, our intended beneficiaries, our jeepney drivers, will enjoy the benefits from this fuel subsidy program.   The Pantawid Pasada Program will cover 179,852 units or 100% of PUJ units with existing LTFRB franchise, within 2 years upon execution of the TRAIN Law. On our part, in the DBM, we will ensure that all the necessary funding, subject to proper documentation, shall be immediately released to ensure the smooth and speedy implementation of this program.   This 2018, for the first tranche of the Pantawid Pasada, we are allocating PhP 977 Million. This is to provide a 5,000 peso subsidy...

2018 Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) Midterm Convention Opening Ceremonies June 27, 2018, 10:00 a.m. | SMX Convention Center, Pasay City Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, Ph.D. Department of Budget and Management To Dr. Tirso A. Ronquillo, President of the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges; to all PASUC officials and members; esteemed guests; good morning. Since the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte last August 3, 2017, the government has kept its promise to fund the Free Tuition Law according to the spirit it was written. In keeping with the spirit of the law, we have budgeted for the four main components of the law, namely: Free Higher Education in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs), Free Technical Vocational Education and Training in TESDA-accredited Technical-Vocational Institutions, Education Vouchers through the...

  In the next ten minutes, allow me to share with you the reforms and developments in the fiscal sector of the Philippine economy. It’s been 9 months since the last Philippine Economic Briefing in Japan, and I am very keen to give updates on the government’s fiscal policy.   The expansionary fiscal policy we have adopted remains to be prudent, sustainable, and supportive of our development objectives.   To repeat, we believe that the Philippine economy will grow at a robust rate of 7% to 8% in the next five years, making it the fastest growing economy in the fastest growing region in the world. Our growth target is broadly in line with the growth projections of multilateral institutions and think tanks all over the world. With higher public investments, we are confident that our growth target is achievable.   The outline of my discussion is as follows:   I will present the fiscal performance of the Philippine economy in the past few years. I will touch on government revenues, disbursements,...

14 June 2018 | 10:00 am | Muralla 1, Bayleaf Hotel Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno Department of Budget and Management (DBM)     To our development partners, my colleagues in the Department of Budget and Management, ladies and gentlemen: Good morning. When I was appointed Budget Chief by President Duterte, I was determined to champion the modernization of the Philippine budgeting system. Admittedly, it is an ambitious and difficult quest, considering that in the past, similar bills were filed in Congress, but none get to first base. Hopefully this time around, with a reform-oriented President and a supportive Congress, we will have the Budget Modernization Bill (BRM) enacted into law within the year. Today, I open this forum with the goal of further enlightening our development partners on the benefits to be derived from the Budget Modernization Program. Later, I will discuss the impact of the shift from two-year obligation-based budgeting to a one-year cash-based appropriation to the...

2:00 p.m. | 8 June 2018 | Justo Albert Auditorium, PLM Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno Department of Budget and Management   To University President Dr. Ma. Leonora de Jesus, University Officials, Members of the Board of Regents, College of Medicine Dean Angeline Alabastro, Administrators, Faculty and Staff, to our dear graduates, their parents, families, and friends; good afternoon.   First of all, let me thank you for having me as the speaker for today’s commencement exercises. My warmest congratulations to the Class of 2018!   Full disclosure: I am not a doctor. Well, at least, not your kind of doctor. I have a Ph.D. in Economics. That’s quite different. So when I was asked to give the commencement speech for your graduation, I was not quite sure what you expected me to say. Surely, I do not have the experience required to prepare you for your entry into hospitals, private practice, or whichever path there is for you to take when you finally claim the title of “Doctor”.   I asked myself:...

17 May 2018 | 1:00 PM | Shangri-La Hotel, Makati Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, PhD Department of Budget and Management (DBM)           To all the local executives in attendance, esteemed guests from the private sector, colleagues in the Cabinet, ladies and gentlemen: Good afternoon.           Before we proceed with our discussion, allow me to give some brief remarks on the DBCC decision on the FY 2019 Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA). Along the way, I’d also like to give my thoughts on the fiscal and economic implications of the proposed shift to Federalism.                 Last April 24, the DBCC held its 172nd meeting to deliberate on economic and budgetary matters. The collegial body decided that pending the decision of the Supreme Court on the consolidated cases of Enrique Garcia vs. Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa and Mandanas,et.al., vs. Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, the IRA revenue base shall be maintained as laid out by DBCC Resolution No. 2003-02, entitled, “Defining the Revenue Base of the Internal...

  Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, PhD Department of Budget and Management   Esteemed guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning/good afternoon! It is an honor to be amongst the most noble and daring reformers of Southeast Asia and Korea, to share ideas on public sector reforms in and for our respective countries in particular, and for the region in general, from the perspective of a wider lens and a profound yet pragmatic discourse. But before I share some of the Philippines’ major development strategies and experiences in this regard, under the leadership of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, allow me to thank the Korea Research Institute of the University of New South Wales, Australia for organizing this very important event, which would definitely expand our knowledge understanding, as we learn from country experiences. Without further ado, let me now bring to the table some of the key game-changing reforms from the Philippines, which have helped secure and maintain the country’s place as an...

Philippines-Open Government Partnership Week DBM Central Office | May 8, 2018 Secretary Benjamin Diokno Department of Budget and Management   To my fellow workers in government, members of civil society organizations, participants from various business groups, colleagues in the academe, good morning. I am glad to see familiar faces here.  I know a lot of you participated during the series of Open Government and Participatory Governance dialogues that were concluded recently. Now, I am pleased to welcome you again, this time in the halls of the Department of Budget and Management, the home of the Philippine Open Government Partnership Secretariat.   As many of you already know, the Philippines is one of the founding members of the Open Government Partnership or OGP, a multilateral initiative that promotes transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement in all aspects of governance. Under the Duterte administration, we continue to mainstream the OGP principles and mechanisms as...

EDSA Shangri-la | 7 May 2018   Secretary Benjamin Diokno Department of Budget and Management Good morning. First, allow me to thank my esteemed colleagues from the Asian Development Bank, ADB Institute, International Budget Partnership, and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development for inviting me to open this very timely and relevant good governance event. Today’s gathering is a perfect way to start our celebration of the first ever global Open Government Week which will run today up until this Friday, May 11.   The Philippines is one of the eight founding countries of the Open Government Partnership or OGP, a multilateral effort that seeks to make governments better by way of co-creating programs that promote transparency, fight corruption, engage citizens, and harness new technologies for more efficient governance.   My decades of experience in the public sector has taught me that the national budget is the most potent tool for development, and one of the biggest...