My heartfelt greetings and warmest welcome to our fellow champions of open government and good governance!
Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
First, I would like to thank the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP) Secretariat, headed by our very own DBM Assistant Secretary Rolando U. Toledo; PH-OGP Steering Committee Members; representatives from the Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM); government reformers; former commitment holders; youth leaders; and civil society advocates for joining us in this endeavor and making the 2023 Open Gov Week a success.
Your enthusiasm and active participation in activities such as this are incontestable proof that we have a lot of partners and allies in advocating for a more open government and enriching our democracy.
For this year’s Open Gov Week, we have a roster of activities to gear up for the 2023 OGP Global Summit in Estonia. Yesterday, we conducted a planning session for the development of our 6th National Action Plan—the country’s first medium-term open government action plan—where we discussed and designed our co-creation approach with new and relevant stakeholders. This morning, we will highlight the contributions and accomplishments of the PH-OGP in bolstering spaces for public participation in governance processes and learn more about how PH-OGP intends to leverage strong co-creation mechanisms and digital technology moving forward. This afternoon, we will also recognize our Project Open Government Youth Champions and feature their respective Action Plans in promoting transparency, accountability, and participation in local youth governance systems.
In all of these activities—may it be in the past, present, or future—and relating to the theme of this event, it is incumbent upon us that we co-create, collaborate, and contribute in order to catalyze change toward a better and more open government.
Co-create. We co-create when we undergo the collaborative process of developing our OGP action plans. Co-creation allows for the delivery of better public services by capturing the needs and behaviors of the people and adapting to them dynamically. As such, we should move co-creation from the sidelines of public service delivery to the center of public sector innovation. So let us scale up our actions and ensure that the co-creation and implementation of our National Action Plan becomes a fundamental requirement for successful public service rather than a nice-to-have feature.
Collaborate. Collaboration among government, civil society, and other stakeholders is at the heart of the OGP process. It aids in identifying issues of most concern to citizens and promotes a community approach to problem-solving. So let us collaborate at all stages and make open government work so we can provide platforms and amplify the voices of the people in the decisions that affect their lives, especially those who don’t often have a seat at the table.
Contribute. When we contribute to initiatives that promote open government, we also advance citizen engagement, which has always been considered one of the key pillars of open government. However, we should not only aim for increased participation, rather we should pursue quality citizen involvement. More importantly, we should keep in mind that these measures are put in place to provide us with better public services and quality of life. Hence, when we contribute to such undertakings, we steer the government toward our desired future.
And so, as you co-create, collaborate, and contribute to a more open government, please know that the DBM stands with all of you, as this aligns with the whole-of-society approach that we have been relentlessly advocating for in the government.
On our end, we commit to stimulating the adoption of co-creation—even in our procurement processes—through the efficient use of our public budget; to mainstreaming more avenues to collaborate with different stakeholders, especially those in the most vulnerable sectors; and, ultimately, to contributing to our nation-building.
We intend to further energize citizen participation in governance through the establishment of our CSO Desk, which aims to harness CSO participation by responding to their request for information/data and budget-related queries. We will also focus on utilizing technologies that will help build the capacity of CSOs to properly monitor and evaluate national commitments.
Furthermore, the DBM recognizes the important role of e-governance in fostering an open government, thus the digitalization of government services and processes remains our top priority. We will be re-launching Project DIME or the Digital Imaging for Monitoring and Evaluation, which is a game-changing initiative that makes use of existing technologies and engages citizens through participatory monitoring. This is alongside the implementation of our digital transformation roadmap, which aims to facilitate faster release of data needed for government transactions, reduce government expenses for manual transactions, promote fiscal transparency, and prevent red tape.
The global celebration of Open Gov Week conveys the message of how the open government movement, even in challenging times, is aligned and how our stories can be a bright spot for the world.
As we continue to strive for socio-economic progress under our Agenda for Prosperity, we invite you to join us in making sure that all of our stories are heard. Let us empower the people by catalyzing change toward a more open government: a government where the people co-create, collaborate, and contribute.
Thank you very much.
Wabillahi Tawfiq Wal Hidaya, Wasalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.
