Good morning to everyone and greetings from Washington!
My sincerest apologies for not being able to see you all in person. I am currently here in DC attending the Annual IMF-World Bank Meetings but the Open Government Partnership is an advocacy close to my heart so I made sure to make the time to be with you all, even virtually.
Thank you for being with us for this roundtable discussion on Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP).
I appreciate you making time despite your busy schedules in pursuit of our commitment towards Open Government Partnership as we tread the path to recovery from COVID-19 and as we move forward towards economic transformation and our Agenda for Prosperity.
Thank you, Asec. Rolando Toledo, who I understand is joining you over Zoom to facilitate this session and achieve the objectives of this Round Table Discussion.
We have now had a decade of PH-OGP work. For the past 10 years, we have worked hard towards energizing civic space, opening up public institutions, and strengthening digital governance. I believe we can confidently say that we have done so much towards reforming government to make it more open and accountable.
Yet, it is a never-ending commitment to improve and intensify the initiatives we have started.
As Chair of the PH-OGP Steering Committee, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is committed to continuing to work towards an Open Government in the next five years and beyond. PH-OGP has provided an avenue for genuine citizen participation in government processes and a platform for collaboration between champions and movers in government alongside active non-government actors.
While our non-government partners are initiating the on-going conversation on the Citizens’ Agenda, it is right and just that we, as the other half of this partnership, should also seek the insights and plans of the government with respect to our action plans. The convergence efforts that we have forged since 2011 must be continued because the works of our partners in civil society complements the paramount role of the government for the Filipino people.
There is great value in moving the PH-OGP forward in institutionalizing OGP in government and in engaging more partners—partners who share the same commitment to increasing the availability of information about governmental activities, supporting civic participation, implementing the highest standards of professional integrity, and increasing access to new technologies for openness and accountability as embodied in the Open Government Declaration that we, as members of OGP, are expected to endorse.
Indeed, the work in Open Government starts with us, public officers and civil servants. Let’s sustain the good work that’s been done.
On this note, I am also happy to welcome the representatives from our Steering Committee and new partners in key agencies who will now be champions of Open Government.
Our session today is a good venue to unpack insights from our government partners on how to renew OGP at the country level and energize coalitions as we enter the 4-year country action plan under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration. This is very timely considering the forthcoming development of the 6th National Action Plan.
I hope that today’s session will motivate everyone to pursue Open Government as part of good governance. That said, I hope that we see more of you and more open government champions in other agencies in the next consultations. Thank you very much.
Magandang umaga po sa lahat! Assalamu Alaikum!
