To the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative to the Philippines, Dr. Selva Ramachandran;
Procurement Service - Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) Executive Director, Atty. Genmaries Entredicho-Caong;
And to all our fellow champions of open governance from the national government, the development sector, civil society, the academe, and the business community:
Magandang umaga po!
Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
Before anything else, allow me to extend my sincerest gratitude to the UNDP and the PS-DBM for organizing this event in line with this year’s Open Gov Week celebration.
This session presents a meaningful opportunity to examine the role of Beneficial Ownership Information in advancing transparency, and to explore the potential of disclosing other procurement data to further strengthen public participation in our procurement process.
Through initiatives like these, we demonstrate the Philippine’s strong commitment to protecting the national budget from corruption and ensuring that every peso we spend translates to quality public services for the Filipino people.
In line with this, we are leveraging open governance to strengthen our public procurement system. This is crucial since public procurement remains one of the governance aspects most prone to corruption, not just in the country but across the globe.
As a global leader in open governance and now a member of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Steering Committee, it is only fitting that we rise to this challenge by institutionalizing meaningful procurement reforms. And I am proud to say that under the leadership of our beloved President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., we have already made significant headway toward a procurement system that is more transparent, accountable, and responsive to the needs of our citizens.
In July 2024, we amended the Philippines’ decades-old procurement law and passed Republic Act No. 12009, better known as the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA)—the country’s biggest anti-corruption law in recent history.
This landmark legislation introduces groundbreaking transparency measures that aim to eradicate side deals, under-the-table arrangements, and uncompetitive behavior, among others, which hinder our government from delivering the best services to the Filipino people.
One of these is the mandatory declaration of Beneficial Ownership Information, which requires bidders in government procurement projects to disclose the ultimate owner of their companies. By doing so, those who attempt to use the corporate veil in performing illicit transactions with the government will be exposed and prevented from corrupting our system.
To effectively implement this, the DBM, PS-DBM, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have entered into a Data-Sharing Agreement (DSA) to facilitate the streamlined data-sharing of corporate information stored in our agency's respective systems.
Through this, we now have an Open Data feature to our Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) where we can see real-time numbers and data about the merchants, bids, awards, and contracts.
While we continue to strengthen our internal systems, we also engage in meaningful collaboration on both regional and global stages.
Just last month, we proudly showcased our procurement reform milestones during the East Asia and the Pacific International Public Procurement Conference (EAP IPPC), which we successfully hosted! I am proud to note that we are now an emerging global leader in public procurement, and as such, we took this valuable opportunity to champion a procurement system that truly serves the people.
All of these efforts align with the bold commitment we made through the OpenGov Challenge during the OGP Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting. We pledged to improve data availability, enhance interoperability, and strengthen public participation in procurement. And today, it is clear that we are moving in the right direction toward fulfilling that promise.
And we will not stop here, as these achievements only inspire us to move forward with even greater determination. So today, let us reflect on our progress, reaffirm our commitment to our shared values of openness, fairness, and inclusivity in governance, and reshape our public procurement to continue benefiting all Filipinos, including future generations.
Once again, thank you to our esteemed partners. Thank you also to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Managing Director Atty. Dennis S. Santiago, who is also a procurement expert. Maraming maraming salamat sa iyong tulong, and also to UNDP and PS-DBM. Palakpakan naman natin!
Indeed, together, we are advancing toward the Bagong Pilipinas we all aspire for—a nation where transparency is woven into the fabric of our identity, and public participation is a driving force of good and open governance.
Thank you very much, and Happy Open Gov Week!
Wabillahi Tawfiq Wal Hidaya, Wasalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.
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