To Pampanga Vice Governor Lilia G. Pineda;
PH-OGP Steering Committee members from the government and civil society;
Our very own DBM Regional Office III, led by Director Rosalie C. Abesamis and Acting Assistant Director Gracela A. Ortiz;
Our partners from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA);
Our commitment holders, stakeholders, and participants,
Mayap a gatpanapun, Pampanga!
Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
It is a very special day for all of us Open Government advocates because today, November 15, we are conducting the 15th and final run for the year of OGPinas! here at the Culinary Capital of the Philippines!
But I also know you are very famous for your vibrant and fabulous festivals—the Giant Lantern Festival, Sinukwan Festival, and Manyaman (Masarap) Festival and I even learned that Porac is celebrating the Binulu Festival today featuring indigenous cooking!
But here in Clark, we are also celebrating! Because we have completed our OGPinas! which started in 2023 and we have engaged almost 4,000 stakeholders from national and local government units, civil society organizations, and even state universities and colleges!
I am so proud to share napakadami na po nating nagawa para sa bukas na pamamahala.
First of all, in June 2023, we achieved a major milestone in PH-OGP when, for the first time since its founding more than a decade ago, we institutionalized this movement through the signing of the Executive Order No. 31 by no less than our President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
Next, we brought the biggest delegation to the 2023 OGP Global Summit held in Tallinn, Estonia where the Philippines was lauded by no less than the Chief Executive Officer of OGP, Mr. Sanjay Pradhan, as "a country with open government in its DNA."
In Tallinn, I also announced that we will work hard to amend the 20-year-old Government Procurement Reform Act, and I am proud to share that we did this in less than a year!
Most importantly, we deeply embedded the principles of transparency and participative governance in our procurement law. With the President’s signing of the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA), the biggest anti-graft and corruption law in recent history, we have paved the way for a more efficient and incorruptible procurement system.
This has been hailed by no less than the World Bank with this statement [and I quote], “The Philippines has taken a big step forward with the enactment of the NGPA, which strengthens the ability of CSOs to participate in public monitoring of procurement processes and contract implementation.”
Another highlight of the NGPA is the Inclusive Procurement Program which aims to create opportunities for marginalized sectors, including women-led MSMEs, social enterprises, and startups. This landmark law aims to enhance participation and promote fairness in procurement activities while recognizing gender and ethnic equity, poverty reduction, and adherence to labor standards.
For 2024, we introduced the Support and Assistance Fund to Participatory Budgeting. Through this, some 75 municipalities nationwide will have access to safely managed and resilient water supply and sanitation services. This also covers the construction of climate-smart evacuation centers. The OGP component of this is that civil society organizations themselves have helped identify the beneficiaries, two of which are from Region III1, namely the Municipality of Dinalungan in Aurora and Municipality of Nampicuan in Nueva Ecija.
Kaya naman po, number one din po tayo sa Southeast Asia pagdating sa Public Participation ayon sa Open Budget Survey. Ibig sabihin, ang taumbayan, pati na mga Civil Society Organization ay kasama sa pagdedesisyon ng pamahalaan.
Aside from participatory budgeting, we also ensured that we improved on budget transparency.
Gaya ng lagi kong sinasabi, ang OGP po ay importante upang pagtibayin pa ang transparency at accountability ng ating gobyerno. And I am happy to report that this May, the Philippines ranked number 1 in budget transparency, not only in Southeast Asia but in all of Asia, based on the latest Open Budget Survey as well.
Ibig sabihin, maaaring siyasatin ng publiko ang ating national budget. Higit pa diyan, sa pamamagitan ng ating People’s Budget series, mas naiintindihan ng mga Pilipino ang nakalaang pondo para sa mga programa at proyekto sa bawat sektor ng gobyerno.
We also welcomed four LGUs from the Philippines to the OGP Local Program! These LGUs are Baguio City, Quezon City, Municipality of Larena in Siquijor, and Tagbilaran City, joining South Cotabato. Sa mga susunod na taon, sana po ay mas marami pa po ang mga Local Government Units na makasali rito at naniniwala po ako na kayang-kaya ring makipagsabayan ng Pampanga sa OGP Local Program!
Last September, I attended the OGP Leaders Roundtable held on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York. I am proud to report that OGP CEO Sanjay Pradhan cited the Philippines as a shining example of OGP for mainstreaming open government in its socioeconomic framework. So I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members and partners for all your hard work and our enthusiastic collaboration that has reinforced the Philippines as a global leader in the open governance space!
We also hosted a side event at the very first ministerial-level International Conference on Women, Peace, and Security (ICWPS) two weeks ago wherein the PH-OGP convened notable women leaders for a panel discussion on the integration of the WPS Agenda into the open government framework. This is a testament to our commitment to ensuring a transparent, accountable, and participative governance that leads to a peaceful and prosperous nation through gender-responsive approaches.
And last October, I started my term as a member of the OGP Global Steering Committee, and we embarked on our new role in leading OGP in the region. We also see the magnitude of the responsibility and the opportunity to elevate our efforts on a regional and even global scale.
This coming February 2025, we will host the OGP Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting. Our preparations are now in full swing! I encourage all of you to share your OGP testimonies and success stories with us, so we can show the world what we are doing for a more open government in the country. Together, we can make this the most dynamic, fruitful, and memorable OGP Regional Summit. In Shaa Allah!
Our commitment to advancing open government has yielded positive results, and it will continue to impact the lives of our fellow Filipinos.
So we have a lot of good news for OGP, but we also still have a long road ahead. Let us continue to build on our gains as we pursue the sustainability of our commitments under our 6th PH-OGP National Action Plan.
And since this is the last one for the year, let’s make this the best run of OGPinas!: speak up, push for accountability in our government, and create space for our fellow Filipinos to participate in our country’s governance.
Sama-sama po tayo sa Bagong Pilipinas kung saan ang gobyerno ay bukas—bukas sa publiko, bukas sa kabataan, bukas sa kababaihan, bukas sa manggagawa, bukas sa sambayanan… bukas para sa magandang kinabukasan ng ating bayan!
Kaya sama sama din po nating isigaw: OG… Pinas! (Isa pa, mas malakas! OG… Pinas!)
Dakal pung salamat Pampanga!
END
1 Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1, s. 2024