Magandang araw po sa ating lahat!
Mayad nga timprano.
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—of course, the Provincial Government of Palawan; the City of Puerto Princesa, Palawan; our very own DBM-Regional Office IV-B, together with our partner agencies; our dedicated partners from Civil Society Organizations; our fellow public servants, especially the Supreme Court and Commission on Elections (COMELEC); and 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 pamamahala ng bayan.
Noong nakaraang taon po, inilunsad natin ang OGPinas! sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng bansa. Layunin po natin na ipakilala ang Philippine Open Government Partnership o PH-OGP sa ating mga kababayan at mas paigtingin ang ating ugnayan sa ating partner civil society reformers sa pamamagitan ng pagtatampok ng kanilang mga karanasan sa pagsulong ng open government sa buong bansa.
Sa pag-iikot po natin, nakita ko po na napakaraming magagaling na mga local officials na nagsusulong na po ng open government sa kani-kanilang nasasakupan. At higit na mas marami po ang ating mga kababayan na nagpakita ng kanilang pakikiisa sa ating adbokasiya. Kaya naman tumpak na tumpak ang sinabi ng Chief Executive Officer ng Open Government Partnership na si Dr. Sanjay Pradhan noong nakaraang OGP Global Summit sa Tallinn, Estonia—na ang open government ay talagang nasa dugo na nating mga Pilipino at ang OGPinas! ay matibay na patunay. Indeed, the Philippines is a shining example of open government in the world.
And I am happy to share that this April, we have proven this yet again with four out of the 55 new members of the OGP Local Program being LGUs from the Philippines! Palakpakan po natin ang ating mga LGUs! With this po, kumpleto na po ngayon ang representasyon ng OGP. Mayroon tayo sa National Capital Region (NCR), Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, at Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), from Cotabato.
For this year, we are building on our gains and expanding the OGPinas! advocacy campaign as we introduce the 6th PH-OGP National Action Plan and its commitments—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 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 adbokasiya, nagkaroon po tayo ng series of development workshops at consultations para sa ating 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. 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—ang ating partners from civil society. And so, I cannot stress enough how critical your feedback and collaboration are in realizing our commitments.
Dahil tayo rin po ay naniniwala sa kahalagahan ng whole-of-government at whole-of-society approach sa good governance, ngayong araw, kasama natin at narinig n’yo po kanina ang Supreme Court at COMELEC upang talakayin ang kanilang mga commitments sa ilalim ng 6th NAP. They have committed to enhancing the administration of justice at the local levels and building trust in the electoral system. These commitments reflect the role of open government in transparent and accountable governance through our justice and electoral systems—which significantly affect our nation’s growth.
Thus, I 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 po ito sa Bagong Pilipinas ng ating Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (PBBM) kung saan ang gobyerno ay mapagkakatiwalaan at ang mga mamamayan ay pinakikinggan.
Maraming salamat po. Mabuhay ang ating host city, Puerto Princesa! Mabuhay ang OGPinas! at ang Bagong Pilipinas.
Wabillahi Tawfiq Wal Hidaya, Wasalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.
