Magandang araw po, mga kababayan, mga kapatid!

Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

Maraming salamat po sa paglalaan ninyo ng panahon upang magkita tayo.

I am so happy to be here in New York with you this morning.

As you may know, nandito po kami para sa 79th United Nations General Assembly.

I am happy to share with you we have had very successful side engagements.

Yesterday, with Secretary Manalo and Ambassador Lagdameo, we met with the UNGA President Philemon Yang.

The day before, I represented the Philippines in the Open Government Partnership or OGP Leaders Roundtable at the Ford Foundation.

Here I talked about the anti-corruption and integrity measures of the PBBM Administration.

If I may briefly share with you what I presented to them dahil tuwang tuwa naman ang mga global leaders sa ating anti-corruption measures:

First, meron na po tayong New Government Procurement Act. This is one of the biggest anti-corruption measures we have taken and a reform I am proud to have initiated. How does it curb corruption?

First, it gives all stakeholders access to procurement information at all stages of the procurement process.

Second, it has a public participation mechanism, so observers from the private sector and civil society will be invited to participate in procurement proceedings.

Third, it has measures for holding public officials accountable.

Second, we will curb corruption through digitalization.

Just this month, we presented our Public Financial Management or PFM Roadmap to PBBM, which will fast-track the digitalization PFM processes. We will implement the Integrated Financial Management Information System or IFMIS which will ensure the timely and efficient management of public funds across all national government agencies and instrumentalities.

Aside from this, may digital monitoring system na din tayo para makikita natin kung ang mga projects ay ginagawa nga at hindi mga ghost project. Ito po ang Project DIME o ang Digital Information for Monitoring and Evaluation. Through satellites, drones, and geotagging, we will compare fund utilization with actual project completion status.

Third, we will maintain budget transparency. Advocacy ko po ‘yan. And I am happy to share with you that we are now Number 1 in budget transparency not just in Southeast Asia but in the whole of Asia based on the 2023 Open Budget Survey, thanks to DBM’s timely and comprehensive publication of all key budget documents.

These are just some of the anti-corruption measures we are taking and I am making sure these will be implemented because I am also an incoming member of the international Open Government Partnership Steering Committee. And as part of this global panel, assignment ko po ‘yan na siguruhin na ang ating anti-corruption at integrity measures ay ating tinutupad.

Ano naman ang ating ginagawa para sa ating mga OFW?

First, para sa elections. Another OGP commitment that we are keen on pursuing is building trust in the electoral system and mitigating voter disenfranchisement. So we are institutionalizing the role of accredited citizens’ arms in ensuring that the voters’ lists in all electoral exercises are complete and accurate. We also aim to increase the number of our registered voters overseas by at least two million by 2028 to ensure that qualified Filipinos, who will be abroad during the overseas voting period—kasama po kayo dito—may still exercise their right to suffrage for the Philippine National Elections.

As of date, the Office of the Overseas Voting estimates 1.5 million overseas voters for the 2025 National and Local Elections. And under the proposed FY 2025 National Budget, Php 111.91 million is allotted for Overseas Absentee Voting and Continuing Registration.

Second, syempre hindi natin kinakalimutan ang ating mga OFW—ang ating mga bayani—sa ating National Budget, which amounts to Php 6.352 trillion for FY 2025.

We would like to thank Congress for approving the General Appropriations Bill.

As such, we are giving the Department of Foreign Affairs a higher allocation of Php 8.6 billion under the FY 2025 National Budget to ensure the unhampered provision of consular services including issuance of passports, visas, and other consular documents. This includes a higher allocation of Php 4.29 billion for ePassport.

Assistance to Nationals is also allotted Php 1.0 billion to assist all distressed Overseas Filipinos in places without resident DMW Migrant Worker Offices, especially in repatriation, welfare and medical assistance, seminars, conferences, and other events.

Meanwhile, some Php 200 million has been appropriated for Legal Assistance Funds to provide legal services to migrant workers and overseas Filipinos in distress.

We also have the Commission on Filipinos Overseas or CFO which develops and implements programs to promote your interests and well-being.

The Ugnayan Series empowers Filipino communities and encourages them to participate in entrepreneurial and investment activities.

The CFO also continues to forge partnerships and agreements with post-arrival service providers, counterpart officers from the host countries, Filipino communities, migrant-serving institutions, and Philippine embassies and consulates.

The Philippine Schools Overseas are established to address the educational needs of children of Filipinos overseas, and facilitate their reintegration into our educational system upon their return.

BaLinkBayan provides options for overseas Filipinos to partner with national and local governments in starting a business, engaging in donation and volunteer works, and accessing online government services.

CFO’s Sa Iyong Sulok, also known as Itanong Mo Kay SIS!, is a free web and mobile application-based guidance and counseling service that offers consultation, coaching, and counseling from licensed counselors and life coaches.

These are just a few of the programs and services intended for you, our dear kababayans, and I hope that you are able to access all these and more.

Sinisikap po natin na tunay na mapaganda ang ating Bagong Pilipinas at na maramdaman ng bawat isa sa inyo ang kasaganahan. ‘Yan po ang ating Agenda for Prosperity.

Mabuhay po kayo! Mabuhay po ang Pilipinas, lalo na ang Bagong Pilipinas!

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

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