To Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Maria Luwalhati Dorotan-Tiuseco, to Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masato Kanda, Vice President HK Yu, European Union Ambassador Massimo Santoro, World Bank Global Director for Governance Arturo Herrera Gutierrez, to all our development partners, fellow workers in government, PEFA Secretariat, civil society, academia, and friends from the media: Good afternoon.
On behalf of the Philippine Government and the Public Financial Management (PFM) Committee, welcome to the Philippine PFM Forum and the official launch of the Philippine PFM Reforms Roadmap 2024–2028 Midterm Update.
Today, we conduct a forum that is far more than a discussion on budgets, systems, and public finance.
At its core, this is a conversation about trust.
This is because every budget we prepare, every procurement we undertake, every audit we conduct, every reform we launch, and every peso entrusted to government ultimately leads to one fundamental question:
Can government be trusted to deliver results?
That is the challenge facing governments around the world today.
Citizens are no longer satisfied with promises. They want proof. They want to see roads completed on time. They want classrooms built, medicines delivered, and services that work. And that is precisely why Public Financial Management remains very essential.
PFM is often viewed as a technical discipline reserved for economists, accountants, auditors, and budget officials. But in reality, PFM is where governance becomes real.
Let’s face it— no reform succeeds without funding. No policy succeeds without execution. And no government succeeds without public trust.
As many of you know, I have been Acting Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management for only 38 days. But I have spent years working on these reforms—as a former DBM Undersecretary, a public administration educator, and a firm believer that institutions matter.
What I have learned throughout that journey is simple: Good governance is not built through speeches. It is built through systems. And strong systems create strong governments.
That brings me to the first word that defines our gathering today: Purpose
Three years ago, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. established the Public Financial Management Committee through Executive Order No. 29.
The purpose was crystal clear. It is to move beyond fragmented reforms and build a government financial management system that is integrated, digital, transparent, accountable, and responsive to the needs of our people.
Since then, we have undertaken major diagnostic assessments, strengthened inter-agency coordination, updated the PFM Reforms Roadmap, and developed concrete action plans that will guide implementation over the coming years.
But let us be honest. Citizens do not wake up in the morning asking about PEFA indicators. They care whether public services reach them, whether government responds when disaster strikes, or whether taxpayers’ money is spent wisely.
That is why our purpose must always remain people-centered.
PFM is not about managing money. PFM is about improving lives.
Every reform we implement must ultimately translate into faster services, better outcomes, and greater opportunities for every Filipino. Because every peso in government carries a human story behind it.
The second word is Friendship.
In government, we often talk about coordination. In development work, we often talk about partnerships. But I believe the success of Philippine PFM reforms goes beyond either.
It is rooted in genuine friendship.
The kind of friendship that allows partners to challenge each other. The kind of friendship that encourages honest conversations. The kind of friendship that pushes institutions to aim higher than what is merely comfortable.
Over the years, our development partners, oversight institutions, civil society organizations, and implementing agencies have done exactly that.
You did not simply support our reforms. You strengthened them. You did not simply celebrate our successes. You helped identify our gaps. And because of that, the Philippine PFM reform agenda is stronger today than it was yesterday.
For that, allow me to express my deepest gratitude.
Your trust, expertise, and commitment continue to be among our most valuable national assets.
Finally, Momentum.
Because reform is rarely defeated. In reform work, momentum is everything. More often, it is defeated by fatigue. It is defeated when institutions become comfortable, when urgency disappears, and when people begin believing that incremental progress is enough.
Today, the Philippines stands at a critical point in its development journey. We aspire to become an upper-middle-income economy. We seek to accelerate infrastructure development. We are pursuing digital transformation across government. We are rebuilding public trust in institutions.
None of these goals can be achieved without strong public financial management.
That is why our challenge today is not to create more plans. Our challenge is execution.
The next chapter of Philippine PFM reform will not be measured by documents produced, but by reforms implemented. Not by commitments made, but by results delivered.
At the Department of Budget and Management, we often say: “Dito Bawal ang Mabagal.”
DBM is not a place for slowpokes. And that mindset applies equally to our reform agenda. The Filipino people cannot afford slow reforms, delayed services, and wasted opportunities.
The time to act is now.
So, as we launch the Midterm Update of the Philippine PFM Reforms Roadmap, let us remember: Purpose gives us direction. Friendship gives us strength. Momentum gives us progress.
Together, these three forces will help us build a public financial management system that is more modern, more transparent, more accountable, and more responsive to the needs of every Filipino.
The ultimate measure of our success will not be found in reports, scorecards, or international rankings. It will be found in whether Filipinos feel the difference in their daily lives.
That is the standard we should hold ourselves to. And that is the future we must continue building together.
Maraming salamat po. Mabuhay ang sambayanang Pilipino. Mabuhay tayong lahat.
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