To the Secretariat headed by Executive Director Maria Marcy Cosare-Ballesteros; members of the CES Governing Board; Atty. Engelbert Caronan; Usec. Luis Pagulayan; guests and resource speakers; participants, good day.

First, I would like to commend the CES Board for the successful conduct of the 2022 CES Lifelong Learning for Leadership Congress as part of their 49th Founding Anniversary. Honing career administrators and leaders in public service for almost five decades is not an easy feat. So for this, my heartfelt congratulations.

With the theme “Bounce Back Better,” this year’s CES Congress is a fitting continuation of last year’s theme ”Resilience”. Indeed, today’s ambiguous, uncertain, and volatile world—coupled with the impacts of continuing global health crises, worsening climate change, and constantly wavering external environment—means that we can no longer go back to the status quo. The world as we know it today demands that beyond resilience, we must bounce back better.

The Administration is now focused not only on regaining, but also on surpassing our pre-pandemic economic momentum.—as evidenced by the 7.6 percent GDP growth for the third quarter of 2022—

In fact, the Administration’s Medium Term Fiscal Framework emphasizes economic transformation towards inclusivity and sustainability, which means:

(1) achieving 6.5-7.5% real GDP growth in 2022 and 6.5-8% real GDP growth annually between 2023 to 2028;

(2) single digit or at least 9% poverty rate by 2028;

(3) 3% National Government deficit to GDP ratio by 2028;

(4) Less than 60% National Government debt-to-GDP ratio by 2025; And

(5) Attaining upper middle income status.

To achieve these goals, we need bureaucratic efficiency, one of the goals of the Administration’s 8-Point SocioEconomic Agenda.

I cannot think of a better forum to discuss this specific agenda on bureaucratic efficiency because everyone here is a frontliner in your own right in our pursuit of an agile bureaucracy.

Towards this goal, the Department of Budget and Management, through the 2023 Proposed National Budget, has been pushing for the digital transformation of the bureaucracy, as well as the streamlining, improvement, and simplification of government processes.

For instance, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) was allocated Php 9.8 billion to implement its programs and projects next year that will support the transformation to a technologically-driven and digital economy. These include the Free Public Internet Access Program, National Government Data Center Infrastructure, National Broadband Plan, and the National Government Portal.

Also, some Php 8.5 billion was allotted to accelerate the transition to digital governance through ICT Systems and Infostructure Development, Management, and Advisory Program; Revenue Information Systems Development and Infrastructure Support; and the Customs Modernization Project, among others.

Together with the Department of Finance, Bureau of the Treasury, and Commission on Audit, we are also fast tracking the roll-out of the Budget and Treasury Management System or BTMS to improve bureaucratic efficiency throughout the Public Financial Management process through digitalization.

This will improve our data governance by generating real-time, accurate and vital financial information which will aid government managers to make timely and data-driven decisions. This will ultimately result in better cash management, effective financial control, accountability, and oversight with financial management systems integration across the bureaucracy.

We will also work with Congress towards the enactment of the PBBM or the Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized Governance Bill, which shall facilitate the development and implementation of the Integrated Financial Management Information System and the gradual implementation of the Cash Budgeting System.

Furthermore, we are embarking on digital transformation for the government's procurement process to enable more efficient and transparent public procurement.

Another undertaking to promote bureaucratic efficiency is the National Government Rightsizing Program. President Bongbong Marcos himself has touted this program as “a reform mechanism that seeks to enhance the government’s institutional capacity to perform its mandate and provide better services, while ensuring optimal and efficient use of our resources.”

In fact, the Career Executive Service is a product of a similar effort to streamline and reorganize the National Government, specifically the Executive Branch. Presidential Decree No. 1, series of 1972 emphasized the need to "form a continuing pool of well-selected and development-oriented career administrators who shall provide competent and faithful service."

Aside from bureaucratic efficiency, we are also working hard for an open and transparent government. Towards this end, the DBM is pursuing energized citizen participation in governance, as measured by the Open Budget Survey.

In 2021, the Philippines ranked 35 out of a hundred, making us no. 1 in Southeast Asia. We intend to further energize this through our efforts in the DBM and in the Philippine Open Government Partnership.

In particular, the DBM is in the process of establishing a CSO Desk to serve as the focal unit for all concerns related to public participation in the budget process, among others. The DBM CSO Desk will be one of the avenues in providing capacity-building activities for CSOs to enable a more meaningful engagement and we target to have this project by year-end.

We are also in the process of crafting the 6th National Action Plan under the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP) initiative. Central to the development of the plan is to amplify collaboration between the non-government sector and government agencies in the design, implementation, and monitoring of government programs.

All these initiatives redound to strengthening the integrity of our systems, diminishing human discretion in government transactions, and strengthening inter-agency coordination.

Finally, as this Administration is also prioritizing sustainability, the DBM is spearheading the implementation of the Green Public Procurement or GPP Roadmap through the Government Procurement Policy Board. This will integrate green choices in public procurement and put the government closer to its ultimate goal of ensuring sustainable management and use of natural resources by 2030.

As career executives, you all play a substantial role in this pursuit of economic transformation towards inclusivity and sustainability. As vanguards of good governance, you are at the forefront of formulating and implementing policies, strategies, and solutions for the people; you are our commanders in the institutionalization of changes in the bureaucracy as we bounce back to the new—and better—normal.

As the title of this event suggests, learning for leadership is life-long so let’s keep this in mind as we continue to serve the people and better ourselves with integrity and commitment to public service.

Never stop learning. Embrace innovations. Keep up with the changes in our organizations. Be reform-oriented persons and public administrators. Listen to our constituents. Welcome feedback and recommendations. Let’s do all these as we continue to recover, rebuild, and bounce back better.

Again, congratulations to the CES Board, CES officers, members, and eligibles, our retiring CES members, and all of our partners and stakeholders.

Assalamu alaikum. Mabuhay po tayong lahat!