To the honorable President of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Dr. Manuel M. Muhi, and his fellow executive officials; members of the Board of Regents; educators, administrators, staff, the graduating students, their families and friends, magandang umaga po.

Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh. And happy Eid Mubarak po sa ating mga kababayang Muslim.

Before anything else, I would like to congratulate all personnel of PUP, both teaching and non-teaching, for paving the way for these students from different fields to reach this milestone in their academic life. Nais ko rin pong magbigay-pugay sa mga magulang, asawa, kaibigan, o ka-opisina na kasama ng ating mga graduate students sa pagharap sa mga pagsubok sa kanilang pag-aaral at sa buhay.

Of course, ultimately, I want to congratulate you, our dear graduates, of one of the oldest and most esteemed higher education institutions in the Philippines. Regardless if you are graduating with flying colors, pumasang-awa, o na-delay nang sobra dahil sa thesis, what matters is that YOU ARE HERE. You rose above life's challenges—in your families, relationships, classrooms, and jobs, among others. Smile. Savor this moment. Give yourself a pat on the back. Be proud of this achievement.

And as you leave the halls of this university, I want to give you a simple reminder—there is power in TAKING CHANCES and MAKING CHOICES.

I took a chance at working in the Senate of the Philippines and this started my career in government service which has now lasted for almost two decades and brought me to where I am today. It entailed so much work but I took the chance because this was a great opportunity to develop myself. While I encountered many challenges in government service, it was my choice to keep reading, working for long hours, enduring, and persevering.

So, it was this series of choices that eventually made me the Head of the Policy Research Group under the Political and Constituency Office of the late Senator Edgardo J. Angara. I then became his Chief-of-Staff, and the rest is history. Because of the chances I took and the choices I made, I am here before you as the Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management.

I am certain that as graduate students of the country’s national polytechnic university, you are already familiar with the essence of these two words—CHANCES AND CHOICES. Still, allow me to share how there is an interplay between chances and choices based on my experiences as a student and a public servant.

On the one hand, when I say chances, these are possibilities beyond an individual’s control including the society and the community we are in, its cultures and norms, and the opportunities presented to us.

On the other hand, you have choices. These are your responses to the chances—that day when you submitted your application to graduate schools, that moment when you requested a study leave from work for your comprehensive exams, and that time you used holidays to study to get a passing rate. You made important choices that brought you here today.

So when life overwhelms you, in your careers, businesses, or personal engagements, find comfort in knowing that it’s always a combination of chances and choices. Do not blame yourselves if you took five years to finish your MA or MS. A part of it was chance—you might have struggled because you lost a loved one, encountered financial difficulty, or had conflicts with your current jobs. But you showed up and enrolled again—these are your choices. And when choices are made, chances are changed, built, and even overturned.

This is not to say that chances are more powerful than choices or vice versa. They both influence our lives. But my advice would be for you to focus on making the right choices by first, identifying your values, priorities, and identity, when acting and speaking accordingly.

Meanwhile, our commitment as your predecessors is to create an environment filled with opportunities wherein you can take chances to enable you to make the right choices. In my decades-long experience as a public servant—from the Legislative and Executive branches to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and then back again to the Executive as the Budget Secretary—I learned that government decisions are chances that greatly affect the choices of our citizens.

For instance, during the pandemic, when the government provided cash assistance to displaced workers, some became successful entrepreneurs in their localities.

This is why, at the Department of Budget and Management, we carefully craft a national budget that is responsive to the needs of the time. For 2023, our priority expenditures are aligned with the 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda that aims to address the immediate and pressing concerns of all Filipinos. These will also cater to the objectives under the Philippine Development Plan 2023 to 2028.

To give you an overview, the bulk of the Fiscal Year 2023 National Budget amounts to Php 5.268 trillion and we allotted 38 percent for the Social Services sector. This is in line with our commitment to investing in our people through major social and human capital development expenditures.

As always, we have provided the highest allocation to the Education, Culture and Manpower Development Sector amounting to Php 909.1 billion. This is consistent with the Constitutional mandate to assign the highest budgetary priority to education but more than this, it also reflects the Administration’s commitment to empowering our youth. President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. himself, in his first State of the Nation Address, said, “Education is the only legacy we can leave our children that will never go to waste. So we will not hold back on investing in our education.”

Through this budget, we hope to address the present challenges in the Philippine education system. Specifically, this includes allocations for Basic Education Inputs with; Education Assistance and Subsidies; Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education with Php; and Basic Education Facilities Program, among others.

Through revitalized education, I aspire to provide every Filipino with a fighting chance to manage life’s uncertainties so they can choose to achieve their full potential.

Sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay ng prayoridad sa edukasyon, matutulungan natin ang bawat Pilipino, lalo na ang ating mga kabataan, na makamit ang kanilang mga pangarap.

These are just some of the things we have been doing to ensure that every allocation, decision, and program implementation will benefit the Filipino people today and the future generations. This is our Agenda for Prosperity. Sinisikap ng kasalukuyang administrasyon na maiangat ang buhay ng bawat mamamayan sa pamamagitan ng pag-angat ng ating ekonomiya. At unti-unti ay nakakamit na natin ito. Sa katunayan, nangunguna ang Pilipinas sa buong ASEAN Region pagdating sa projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ngayong taon. Itinaas ng International Monetary Fund ang real GDP projection ng Pilipinas sa 6.0 percent, kaya naman Number 1 na ang Pilipinas sa GDP growth ngayon, mas mataas kaysa sa Vietnam, India, China, at iba pa.

Ngunit hindi natin ito makakamit kung ang gobyerno lamang ang kikilos. We cannot do this alone. We need the people’s participation. And so we have also been doing everything to open up the government to the people and give them a chance to participate in the budget process.

Ngunit hindi natin ito makakamit kung ang gobyerno lamang ang kikilos. We cannot do it alone. We need the people’s participation. And so we have also been doing everything we can to open up the government to the people and give them a chance to participate in the budget process.

Let me share an advocacy on transparency and public participation that is close to my heart: the Philippine Open Government Partnership or PH-OGP. Gusto ko po kasi na parating pinapakinggan ang daing at hinaing ng taong-bayan. Open Government Partnership provides an avenue for genuine citizen participation in government processes and a platform for collaboration between champions and movers in the government alongside our active non-government actors. We are set to institutionalize PH-OGP through an Executive Order. Sinisikap po natin ang pakikipag-pulong sa taongbayan bago tayo gumawa ng mga polisiya ang gobyerno para ito ay maisa-batas.

And all of you have the chance and the choice to join us in this journey of maintaining an open government, championing fiscal transparency, and achieving prosperity that is truly inclusive and sustainable for every Filipino.

So to all the graduates: make the best choices and maximize your chances well in every moment. You can create change in the lives of others, in your community, and eventually, our country.

And in all these, may you remember one of PUP’s values: “that meaningful growth and transformation of the country are best achieved in an atmosphere of brotherhood, peace, freedom, justice, and nationalist-oriented education imbued with the spirit of humanist internationalism.”

May these resonate with you as you contribute to the next institutions you will be part of and become the drivers of economic growth in the country. It is you, the next generation of leaders, public servants, professionals, volunteers, and private workers and entrepreneurs, who will shape the social landscape of the Philippines. Embrace this responsibility and opportunity as we stand together for social justice, work towards economic equity, and concretize genuine prosperity for every Filipino.

Ngayong nakamit niyo na ang susi para sa magandang kinabukasan, siguruhin ninyo na tuluyan niyo nang bubuksan ang pinto para naman sa magandang kinabukasan ng buong bayan.

Congratulations again, my dear graduates! Be life-long learners in service to others. Mabuhay kayong lahat.

Wabillahi Tawfiq Wal Hidaya, Wasalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.