Maayong adlaw sa tanan! (Good day to everyone!)

Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

First, please allow me to express my sincerest gratitude to everyone who made this purposeful campaign successful through their invaluable support—first, the Local Government of Cebu, represented by our good Board Member Atty. John Ismael Borgonia; our very own, the very hardworking DBM-Regional Office VII, together with our partner agencies; our dedicated partners from the Civil Society Organizations; our fellow public servants, and of course, all our dear participants.

Truly, this gathering is an embodiment of the essence of open government—ang pagkakaisa ng mga mamamayan upang makilahok tungo sa bukás at mabuting pamamahalang bayan.

Noong nakaraang taon po, inilunsad natin ang OGPinas! sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng bansa. Siyempre po malaking bahagi nito ang Visayas. Nanggaling na po ang OGP sa Iloilo City para sa Visayas Cluster at ngayon, dito naman po sa Cebu. Layunin po natin noon na ipakilala ang Philippine Open Government Partnership o PH-OGP sa ating mga kababayan at mas paigtingin ang ating ugnayan sa ating mga partner na civil society reformers sa pamamagitan ng pagtatampok ng kanilang mga karanasan sa pagsulong ng open government sa ating bansa.

Sa pag-iikot po natin, nakita ko po na napakaraming magagaling na mga local officials na nagsusulong ng open government sa kani-kanilang mga nasasakupan. At higit na mas marami po ang ating mga kababayan na nagpakita ng kanilang pakikiisa sa ating adbokasiya. Gaya po ng sinabi ng Chief Executive Officer ng Open Government Partnership na si Sanjay Pradhan noong nakaraang OGP Global Summit sa Tallinn, Estonia, sa Northern Europe, ang open government ay talagang nasa dugo nating mga Pilipino—at ang OGPinas! ay matibay na patunay nito. Indeed, the Philippines is a shining example of open government in the world.

For this year, we are building on our gains and expanding the OGPinas! advocacy campaign as we aim to introduce the 6th PH-OGP National Action Plan and its commitments and to provide an avenue for feedback—socializing the plans of the PH-OGP for the medium term.

Ang National Action Plan o NAP ay produkto ng co-creation process ng gobyerno at civil society, kung saan tayo ay nagtutulungan upang makabuo ng mga commitments na nagsusulong ng mga reporma para sa open government. It encapsulates our hopes and dreams for an open government in the country and our intentions to provide a better life for our fellow Filipinos through improved public service delivery.

Kasabay po ng ating advocacy campaign, nagkaroon po tayo ng series of development workshops at consultations para sa 6th NAP. And our efforts have borne fruit as we now have the country's first-ever medium-term action plan on open government, which responds to the call for the sustainability of our commitments.

We recognize that drafting an action plan is only the beginning. Hence, we are back on the ground to ensure that we close the feedback loop. We hope that this event will pave the way for increased public buy-in of the 6th NAP, guaranteeing its successful implementation.

As the PH-OGP Chairperson, I believe that the key to the success of our action plans is YOU—our partners from civil society. And so, I cannot stress enough how critical your feedback and collaboration are in realizing our commitments. And speaking of our civil society partners, I am even more hopeful about the success of our 6th NAP as we welcome the newly elected Non-Government Steering Committee members for 2023 to 2027.

Dahil tayo rin po ay naniniwala sa kahalagahan ng whole-of-government at whole-of-society approach sa good governance, ngayong araw, kasama natin ang Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) at Department of Finance (DOF) upang talakayin ang kanilang mga commitments sa ilalim ng 6th NAP. They have committed to safeguarding civic space and strengthening social accountability by improving the quality of participatory governance in local government institutions; and subnationalizing transparency, accountability, and participatory governance mechanisms in the extractives sector to ensure sustainable extractive practices and responsible management of our country’s natural resources.

These commitments reflect the role of open government in local governance and sustainable development—matters that significantly affect our nation’s growth.

Thus, I fervently hope that you seize this opportunity to push for accountability in our government, amplify our collective impact in driving change, and finally take up space and create space for our fellow Filipinos to participate in our country’s governance.

Rest assured that we, at the Department of Budget and Management and the PH-OGP, will continue to work hard for open government.

And so together, let us empower others through this platform to make the changes we all desire for the betterment of our country, achieving an even stronger Agenda for Prosperity. Alinsunod ito sa Bagong Pilipinas kung saan ang gobyerno ay mapagkakatiwalaan at ang mga mamamayan ay pinakikinggan.

Daghang salamat po! Mabuhay ang ating host city, Mandaue! Mabuhay ang PH-OGP at ang Bagong Pilipinas.

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