To Cavite Provincial Governor Juanito Victor C. Remulla;
Batangas Provincial Governor Hermilando I. Mandanas;
Our mayors present today and from the past three days, Mayor Reynaldo E. Rosilla Jr. of Buenavista, Quezon; Mayor Angelique E. Bosque of Polillo, Quezon; Mayor Jose D. Saavedra of Plaridel Quezon; Mayor Cinderella Valenton-Reyes of Agoncillo, Batangas; Mayor Eliseo R. Ruzol of General Nakar, Quezon; Mayor Ronald B. Cosico of Paete, Laguna; Mayor Rachel A. Ubana of Lopez, Quezon; Mayor Cesar V. Areza of Pagsanjan, Laguna; Mayor Eric B. Africa of Lipa City, Batangas, and Mayor Patrick Ellis Z. Go of Siniloan, Laguna — maraming salamat po sa mainit na pagtanggap sa amin mula sa Department of Budget and Management (DBM);
To the Philippine League of Local Budget Officers (PHILLBO) CALABARZON Inc. President Dr. Rosarie C. de la Paz — thank you for being our incredible partner in making the PFMCP in Region IV-A happen;
To our very own DBM Regional Office IV-A, led by Director Nympha R. Manalastas and Assistant Director Jacqueline B. Ludovice whose support has been invaluable to the success of this event;
To our Public Financial Management (PFM) practitioners, and all our participants from Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, Rizal and Lucena City.
Magandang Umaga po! Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
First, allow me to share how happy I am to be here in abreathtaking City of Tagaytay!
Despite the chilly weather, it warms my heart to see an astounding number of participants eager to participate in this PFM Competency Program that we especially developed for our local PFM practitioners.
As you may know, we, at the Department of Budget and Management are persistently working hard to enhance our PFM system. That includes developing the capacities of our local PFM practitioners—because you are the front liners in delivering quality services to the people we have sworn to serve.
And I am proud to share that we have already empowered more than 4,200 local PFM practitioners, and counting to date, nationwide. This only shows that our growth and prosperity will never be truly inclusive without our local governments.
In the past few days, our top-caliber resource persons and subject matter experts walked you through the seven (7) foundation courses on Maintaining PFM Understanding, Principles of Internal Controls and Internal Audit, Relationship Management, Budget Preparation, Budget Authorization and Review, Budget Execution and Accountability, and Procurement. Ultimately, our goal in PFMCP is to promote good governance, financial accountability, and effective resource management in your respective localities.
We are also fortunate to have our Government Procurement Policy Board - Technical Support Office (GPBB-TSO) on board, especially now that we are getting closer to having a New Government Procurement Act (NGPA). Now, we can all look forward to a procurement system that adheres to global standards and is more attuned to changing times.
Through the NGPA, we will establish an e-marketplace where agencies can procure common-use supplies and equipment directly from competent and reputable suppliers. And because we want to be sustainable, we also have a Green Public Procurement Strategy to ensure the reduced environmental impact of our procured goods and services.
We will also make our public procurement process more inclusive by providing equal opportunities to vulnerable and marginalized sectors, microenterprises, social enterprises, and start-ups through the Inclusive Procurement Program.
And not only that, we will also open the procurement process to citizen participation and allow the public to observe in the procurement proceedings—true to the spirit of the Philippine Open Government Partnership!
As a testament to this commitment to open governance, we have cemented our position as a global leader in budget transparency, oversight, and public participation based on the recently published 2023 Open Budget Survey. In fact, we are now internationally recognized as the most fiscally transparent country not just in Southeast Asia, but in the whole of Asia as a result of the timely and comprehensive publication of all key budget documents, including the People’s Budget Series.
Alongside our procurement and OGP wins, we have also ramped up our digital transformation, resulting in the full adoption of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), with the Budget and Treasury Management System (BTMS) as the centralized database for all government financial operations.
DBM is also maximizing the transformative potential of digital technology to boost operational efficiency and automate the budget process. We will launch a Digital Budget Management Roadmap, which will be implemented in a phased manner starting with Project TINA, or the Technical Innovations in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) Application Project.
We are also gearing up for the launch of our PFM Reforms Roadmap 2024 to 2028, the blueprint that will harmonize PFM policies across agencies and enable the full digitalization of PFM practices.
And most importantly, we are now preparing to submit the President’s proposed FY 2025 national budget to Congress on July 29. I am very happy to share that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. already approved the proposed Php 6.352 trillion FY 2025 national budget last week.
We thank our dear President for the swift approval of the proposed budget with the theme, “Agenda for Prosperity: Fulfilling the Needs and Aspirations of the Filipino People.” In the words of PBBM himself, “You see a really good thing,” as the budget supports the key pillars of the administration’s Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 and continues to usher in economic and social transformation for a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient society.
Meanwhile, we continue to implement the FY 2024 National Budget amounting to Php 5.768 trillion, wherein no less than Php 1.011 trillion[1] is allocated to Local Government Units. Of this amount, some Php 341.10 billion[2] is allotted for CALABARZON. On top of this, the region will also receive Php 103.34 billion[3] from the LGUs’ FY 2024 National Tax Allotment.
I hope that all these will be fully utilized para mas makita pa po natin ang kagandahan ng Bagong Pilipinas dito sa rehiyon because ultimately, that is also the wisdom of the Mandanas-Garcia Supreme Court Ruling: to empower our LGUs to serve the people in your localities faster and better.
Kaya sama-sama po nating paigtingin at pagitingin ang ating mga LGUs sa pamamagitan ng wasto at tapat na paggamit ng inyong mga budget tungo sa Bagong Pilipinas kung saan walang Pilipino ang maiiwanan, at kung saan ang gobyerno ay pinagkakatiwalaan ng mamamayan.
Because at the end of the day, what matters most is for our citizens to know and feel that the government is working FOR and WITH them.
Dahil yan ang Bagong Pilipinas — may gobyernong tunay na nagtratabaho para sa mas magandang buhay ng bawat Pilipino.
Maraming salamat po.
Mabuhay po ang City of Tagaytay at ang Region IV-A! Mabuhay ang Pilipino at ang Bagong Pilipinas!
Wabillahi Tawfiq Wal Hidaya, Wasalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.
[3]https://www.dbm.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/Issuances/2023/Local-Budget-Memorandum/LOCAL-BUDGET-MEMORANDUM-NO-87-A-DATED-DECEMBER-28-2023.pdf
