To our partners and colleagues from the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency, the Analytics Association of the Philippines, the Freedom of Information-Program Management Office or FOI-PMO, and the Department of Budget and Management, and to all the participants of #InfoDataQuest, I am glad to join you today—albeit virtually.
The theme for today’s launch and workshops, “Strengthening Fiscal Transparency through Access to Information” is something that resonates strongly with our mission in the Department of Budget and Management—to allocate and use public funds not only equitably and prudently, but with transparency and accountability.
This is why the DBM is a staunch supporter of the Freedom of Information or the FOI Program which aims to promote an open government and strengthen the people’s right to information as enshrined in the Constitution. In fact, the DBM has been a consistent winner in the FOI Awards since 2018 and just last November, we were recognized after registering as one of the top requested and performing agencies in the eFOI Portal.
In addition to FOI, we are implementing several initiatives to achieve an open government and ensure fiscal transparency. Currently, we lead the Philippine Open Government Partnership or the PH-OGP, the main consultation platform of the Participatory Governance Cluster (PGC) of the Cabinet that provides a platform for interface between the government and the citizens.
The implementation of the FOI Program and its localization efforts is a huge part of PH-OGP’s success as it empowers citizens to request for information about government transactions and operations. I am also glad to share that the Philippines has been chosen as one of five candidates for three open seats in the OGP Steering Committee, OGP’s executive, decision-making body.
And we have a lot more accomplishments to share on fiscal transparency. We have our Fiscal Openness (FO) Working Group that leads the preparation and development of the DBM Fiscal Openness Action Plan and monitors the country’s performance in the Open Budget Survey (OBS) conducted by the International Budget Partnership.
We have also operationalized the DBM Civil Society Organizations or CSO Desk to harness CSO participation by responding to their request for information and addressing their budget-related queries.
As you can see, we have been doing our best to ensure that every allocation, decision, and program implementation involves public participation. But in order to sustain this, we need you—our fiscal transparency and FOI advocates, data analysts, researchers, statisticians, and graphic designers and creators—to help us spread the good news and let the public know that the government is working for them. We hope that you will join us in our pursuit of open governance and transparency, and ultimately increase the Filipino people’s trust and confidence in government.
I will not take too much of your time as I know that you are looking forward to today’s workshops and learning sessions. Rest assured that the DBM is one with you as you continue to implement and promote access to information mechanisms in the country.
Assalamu alaikum. Maraming salamat at mabuhay tayong lahat.
