To our colleagues in the government;
Our development partners and stakeholders;
Members of the diplomatic corps;
Fellow champions and advocates of open government and good governance;
Esteemed guests, friends, ladies and gentlemen;
Good evening!
Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
As we mark the end of this year’s Open Government Week, we come together not only to check on our progress but to honor the partnerships that continue to shape our collective journey toward a truly open government.
As you can see, tonight’s guests of honor reflect the commitment of the national government, the private sector, and the civil society to come together and synchronize open government initiatives.
Since the inception and institutionalization of the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP), under the leadership of no less than President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (PBBM), we have moved steadily from commitment to action. We’ve demonstrated that open government is not just a passing trend—it is a working principle embedded in how we plan, spend, consult, and reform.
At the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), we have taken deliberate steps to operationalize these values, anchoring our work in transparency, accountability, and citizen participation.
First, we cannot talk about open government without talking about access to information and deepening fiscal openness.
We are proud that the Philippines has not only cemented its position as the most fiscally transparent country in Asia based on the latest Open Budget Survey but has also drastically improved its standing in the World Press Freedom Index 2025.
However, the fact remains that we have yet to pass an enabling law that will truly uphold the people’s constitutional right to information. That is why I am calling on everyone present here tonight to make our clamor for the passage of a law on the right of access to information in the 20th Congress even louder and clearer!
I would also like to give a special mention to our 88 local government units (LGUs) that have enacted their own Right to Information (RTI) ordinances, palakpakan po natin sila! They demonstrate the power of local governments in driving change in our communities. As Interior and Local Government Secretary Juan Victor “Jonvic” Remulla said during our opening ceremony, we need more champions of local governance.
We are equally proud of our OGP Local Program members who have just launched their respective Local Action Plans!
And hand-in-hand with these transparency and localization efforts is our relentless push to amend our decades-old procurement law. On July 20, 2024, PBBM signed Republic Act No. 12009 or the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA)—the biggest anti-corruption measure in the country’s recent history.
This was likewise commended during the OGP Leaders’ Roundtable held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last year.
And at the heart of a transparent and open government are its citizens. That is why in the past years, we have made concrete efforts to respond to the voices of our people, both locally and globally.
This Open Gov Week 2025, in a historic first, we have provided a platform for our Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to have a dialogue with the country’s Economic Team so that we can gain greater insight into the concerns of the people from CSOs themselves, toward achieving a more responsive macroeconomic and fiscal targets.
The dialogue was a suggestion of the CSOs in one of the side events during the OGP Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting last February, and now we have made it a reality—hopefully the first of regular consultations between our economic managers and CSOs.
Speaking of the OGP Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting—also a first for PH-OGP—I am proud to share, especially with the members of our diplomatic corps present here, that we were able to successfully convene over a thousand reformers from more than 40 countries for this event, truly strengthening regional cooperation to promote the Open Government Agenda. This was especially meaningful for me as I just joined the OGP Global Steering Committee last October.
In addition, the Philippines has secured a leadership position in the Steering Committee as lead of the Programmatic Delivery Subcommittee (PDS). This subcommittee is crucial as it provides strategic oversight of OGP strategy for advancing open government reforms across priority themes—working closely with the Support Unit to scale thematic ambition across the Partnership.
I hope this was a great reassurance of the Philippines’ commitment to open government, not just in our nation but also in our region and as part of the community of nations.
As further testament to this, our country submitted the highest number of entries in the region for the Open Government Challenge—with more than half of the submissions coming from the Philippines. I believe this reflects the impact of OGP on the various leaders in our nation who have embraced its values and are transforming commitments into action.
Meanwhile, digital governance is also a central theme within the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028. We, at the DBM, count among our most significant milestones the launch of the Public Financial Management (PFM) Reforms Roadmap 2024–2028. It aims for the full adoption of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) across all government agencies. This will ensure that every peso is planned well, spent wisely, and accounted for transparently.
And we reached another milestone in digitalization this Open Gov Week, as we signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of the Philippines - Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards or UP NOAH for the Digital Information for Monitoring & Evaluation or what we call Project DIME. Thank you, UP President Angelo “Jijil” Jimenez, who is here. Sir, maraming salamat po for this significant collaboration!
Finally, our approach to open government also includes building a governance culture that respects inclusion and promotes peace.
At the first-ever International Conference on Women, Peace, and Security, which the Philippines hosted in October 2024, together with Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. of OPAPRU and Secretary Enrique Manalo of DFA, we highlighted the critical role of women’s stories and leadership in building resilient and peaceful communities, especially in areas that are recovering from conflict, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Now, we continue to push for more localized and gender-sensitive approaches to peacebuilding, anchored in the principle that access, representation, and equality are prerequisites to lasting peace.
We are also addressing the long-standing inequities in access to justice by approving the creation of 178 new Public Attorney positions—expanding the reach of legal assistance to indigent Filipinos.
These are just some of our wins which would not have been possible without you—our dearest partners in prosperity!
From policy design to grassroots consultations, from RTI lobbying to program implementation, you have walked with us every step of the way. You’ve kept us grounded and held us accountable. And for that, we are deeply grateful.
Clearly, tonight is more than just a celebration and culmination—it is a reaffirmation of a shared belief that when governance is transparent, participatory, and inclusive, it becomes truly transformative.
Thank you for celebrating with us! Mabuhay po ang OGP, at ang Bagong Pilipinas!
Wabillahi Tawfiq Wal Hidaya, Wasalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.
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