Good afternoon, Open Government champions, and happy Open Gov Week!  

I am always happy to join our government, civil society, and development partners, and our fellow open government champions, but today I am most excited to meet our young ones and interact with our youth!  

To our dear children and youth, in case you don’t know me, ako po si Sec Mina. Ako po ang Secretary ng Department of Budget and Management.  

At nandito rin po si Sec. Rex (Gatchalian). Siya naman po ang Secretary ng Department of Social Welfare and Development. 

I also want to acknowledge the European Union, the United Nations Children’s Fund or UNICEF Philippines, the Council for the Welfare of Children, and the Positive Youth Development Network. Thank you for partnering with us and for joining us in this dialogue. Palakpakan po natin sila. 

I want to begin with a greeting of peace in Arabic—marami po akong nakikitang kababayan ko rito: 

Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

Now you might be wondering: why are you here today? Well, you are here today because we, your leaders in the government, want to listen to you, our future leaders in government.  

You know why? Because a good leader is also a good listener. So, si Kuya Rex and si Ate Mina are here to listen to you.  

So that when we make our government policies—when Kuya Rex comes up with his programs for the children and Ate Mina comes up with the best budget for those programs—we would know what is best for you because we listened.  

Usually, the government is the leader, and the people are beneficiaries or recipients of the services of government. But now, we have something called an Open Government Partnership. It means that instead of working separately, the government and the people are becoming partners and working together for the common good.  

Because that is the best way for us to have what is called Inclusive leadership. This means that we are creating an environment where everyone is included, where everyone has a voice. And that includes you. And that is why we are here today to listen. 

Because many government policies are made to make sure that when you grow older, you will have good education and better opportunities and live your best lives. So, we wanted to consult you so we know how you feel and what you need, and what are your dreams and aspirations.  

Because we are doing our best to make sure you have a better future. For example, did you know that in the Philippine Constitution, the highest budget is in—alam n’yo ba? Ano ba ang dapat [may] highest budget na nakasaad sa ating Constitution? Alam n’yo ‘yan, kanina pa natin pinag-uusapan. Education. Bakit kailangan education? Kasi gusto natin, kayong mga kabataan na nandirito ay maging productive, para po kayo makatulong sa ating bansa, para sa ating ekonomiya. At gusto rin natin na kayo ang maging susunod na lider ng ating bansa. 

To expound on this, allow me to share with our friends from CSOs focused on Education, that this budget for Education is in fact one-sixth of our total national budget of Php 6.326 trillion. 

And towards inclusivity, we also have allocations for our Inclusive Education Program. When we say inclusive, it means that we are not leaving anyone behind, regardless of age, gender, religion, or origin. This is why we support our Special Needs Education and the provision of Flexible Learning Options, among others. 

For our teachers, we recently approved the creation of 16,000 teaching positions, including Special Science and Special Education (SPED) teachers, in public schools. 

Nag-apruba rin po tayo ng additional na 10,000 administrative staff para sa Department of Education (DepEd). Ang mga teachers po kasi natin, what happens is that nagkukulang po ang oras dahil sila na ‘yong nagtuturo, sila pa ‘yong nagtatrabaho sa admin work. 

So, ang susubukan po nating gawin is that wala na pong admin work ang ating mga teachers. At lahat sila ay magtuturo na lang ng kani-kanilang mga expertise. Mas gusto ba natin ‘yon? Siyempre mas gusto natin ‘yon kasi mas matuturuan tayo nang mabuti ng ating mga guro. 

There are a lot more programs and projects, but these are just some of the many ways that the government addresses the needs of our children and youth.  

Now, back to our future leaders. We wanted to hear from you! Thank you for telling us your thoughts and what you think we, from the government, can do to make your future better.  

Thank you for being our teachers today. Because, like I said earlier, a good leader is a good listener.  

That’s what we do at the Open Government Partnership. We listen, we include, we make sure our lines are open. Because the best way to move forward is together. 

To the parents and guardians, thank you for allowing your children to participate in this consultative exercise. We are committed to making the Philippines a better place for your children. Let’s all work together toward a brighter Bagong Pilipinas.  

Maraming salamat po.  

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

END