To the Local Government of Pangasinan, represented by no less than Governor Ramon V. Guico III and City of Dagupan Mayor Belen T. Fernandez—maraming salamat po sa mainit na pagtanggap sa amin sa Department of Budget and Management;

To the Association of Local Budget Administrators in Region I (ALBA I), Inc. headed by President Gilbert P. Botardo;

To my DBM colleagues, most especially to the DBM-Regional Office I led by our Regional Director Ria Bansigan whose support has been invaluable to the success of this activity;

To our local budget officers and Public Financial Manaement (PFM) practitioners; and all our participants, naimbag a bigat! Naimbag nga adlaw masantos ma kabwasan e kayo amin! And greetings of peace.

Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh. 

Napakasaya ko po na makita kayong lahat dito sa Dagupan. 
I am happy to see that there are hundreds of you here today. I sincerely thank all of you for taking the time to participate in this event despite your busy schedules.

This PFMCP is really important because we need to spend our budget effectively for our people. Kaya kahit nanggaling po kami sa Tawi-Tawi noong Tuesday, nasa Senate para sa budget hearing noong Wednesday buong araw, at nasa Davao kahapon hanggang kagabi, talagang pinilit ko po na umabot dito sa Dagupan ngayong araw na ito para makasama kayo!

I hope that you have learned much under the Foundation and Budgeting tracks. And today, our very own Executive Director of PS-DBM, Executive Director  Dennis Santiago will discuss the Procurement Track. 

Napaka-importante po ng procurement track na ito. Kahit po ang ating mahal na Pangulo, Pangulong Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., ay kinikilala ang kahalagahan ng procurement. During his second State of the Nation Address, he appealed to Congress to enact the amendments to our 20-year-old Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA).

I am also happy to share that we have presented the proposed amendments to the GPRA and both the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines have begun their hearings on this. Kasama po sa mga panukala nating mga pagbabago sa GPRA ay ang market scoping, early procurement activities, at ang pagkakaroon ng modernized Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System o mPhilGEPS. 

Sabi po nila, ‘yung ipinasang Government Procurement Reform  Act, ‘yun po ‘yung world-class procurement act. Tama ba ako? Si Atty. Dennis po ay batang abogado pa noon. Kasama ko po siya, ako po ay isang researcher lang sa office ni Senator Angara, sila po ‘yung mga katulong namin, mga resource persons namin para mabuo po ‘yung Government Procurement Act. 

Dati po kasi, wala pa tayo, iba-ibang mga circulars lang iyan sa Executive, tapos ay binuo nila iyan. Twenty years ago, umiikot po si Senator Edgardo J. Angara sa buong ASEAN para ipakita sa kanila kung gaano kaganda yung procurement reform act natin. 

Pero sabi nga ni Atty. Dennis, ‘yung change po, talagang nangyayari ‘yan sa buhay ng tao. Dahil may eleksyon, nagbabago ‘yung mga tao. So while the Government Procurement Act, twenty years ago, is a world-class law, I think it is about time to amend because of the changing times, because of modernization. We have to thank Atty. Dennis Santiago kasi siya po ‘yung nag-spearhead ng amendments, siya po yung humaharap sa House of Representatives at saka sa Senate para po mapabuti iyong ating Government Procurement Reform Act.  So palakpakan po natin si Atty. Dennis. 

We are also working hard to secure not only a future-proof but also a sustainable economy. That means for procurement, we must also implement a Green Public Procurement Strategy. This will ensure the reduced environmental impact of procured goods and infrastructure projects. 

Magkakaroon din po tayo ng electronic o e-marketplace para sa ating mga common-use at non-common-use supplies. Ito ay parang Shopee o Lazada. Magkakaroon po tayo ng gano’n but this time, we will ensure na ‘yung gagawin ng PS-DBM, ni Atty. Dennis, kapag inorder n’yo po, kung ano ang makita niyong litrato, kung ganito siya kalaki, dadating siya sa inyo nang ganito kalaki. Kasi hindi ba minsan po sa Lazada saka sa Shopee, inorder n’yo ganito, dumating sa inyo kalahati lang, o hindi kaya iba ang kulay. So si Atty. Dennis po, he will ensure na mapabilis ang pino-procure ninyo at ‘yung quality ng pino-procure ninyo ay tama at responsive sa pangangailangan n’yo. So, mag-a-add to cart na lang tayo lagi.

Habang inaayos natin ang procurement reform, sinisikap din po natin na maipasa na ang ating Fiscal Year 2024 National Budget. I am proud to share that the House of Representatives approved the Fiscal Year 2024 General Appropriations Bill on third and final reading last September 27—wherein a total of Php 1.008 trillion or 17.5 percent will be allocated to the Local Government Units. At nitong Miyerkules lamang, November 8, ay sinimulan na ng Senado ang kanilang plenary budget deliberations sa pamumuno ni Senate Committee on Finance Chair Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara. 

Ang lahat nang ito po ay naging posible dahil sa inyo, aming mga minamahal na planning and budget officers. Kayo po ang tulay upang maipaabot ng gobyerno ang ating mga serbisyo publiko at magkaroon ng PFM system na tunay na tumutugon sa pangangailangan ng ating mga pinaglilingkuran.

Makakaasa po kayong mas pagbubutihin pa po namin sa DBM at pagsusumikapan namin upang masiguro na ang National Budget ay tunay na para sa Pilipino at para patuloy po kaming makapaghatid hindi lamang ng capacity-building at assistance sa inyong lahat kundi maihatid sa lalong madaling panahon ang mga pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayan.

Through this PFMCP, I hope that you will be inspired not only to work harder but also to help us implement the necessary reforms that will improve our government systems and processes. 

I also hope that this PFM Competency Program will help you create and execute the necessary Programs, Activities, and Projects that will make your respective LGUs thrive because ultimately, that is the wisdom of the Mandanas-Garcia Supreme Court Ruling: to empower our LGUs to serve the people in your localities faster and better.

Sama-sama po nating paigtingin at pagitingin ang ating mga LGU sa pamamagitan ng wasto at tapat na pagsasagawa at paggamit ng ating mga budget tungo sa Bagong Pilipinas. Together, let us secure a future-proof and sustainable economy to achieve our Agenda for Prosperity. 

Mabuhay po ang Region I! Mabuhay po ang Pangasinan! Mabuhay ang Pilipino at ang Bagong Pilipinas.

Maraming salamat po.
Wabillahi Tawfiq Wal Hidaya, Wasalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.