Intervention on the Open Government Partnership

INTERVENTION OF SENATE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE LOREN LEGARDA ON THE OPEN GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP
8 November 2023

I would like to express my utmost support for the Open Government Partnership.

First of all, I congratulate President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on his signing Executive Order 31, entitled Institutionalizing The Philippine Open Government Partnership last June 2023 which institutionalized Open Government Partnership or OGP in the Philippines. This means that through this E.O., all branches of government, despite being independent of each other, will now work closely to synchronize and complement our open government initiatives.

This will pave the way for increased transparency, accountability and public participation in all levels of government.

I likewise congratulate Budget Sec. Amenah F. Pangandaman, Chairman of the Philippine Open Government Partnership, for proposing this institutionalization of OGP to the President. I note that while the Philippines is a founding member of the OGP, one among only 8 countries, which was established in 2011, it is only now that the OGP has been institutionalized. This is a testament not only to Sec. Pangandaman’s understanding of how government works, but more importantly, her commitment to OGP and government accountability.

As part of the OGP commitment, the DBM has been performing well with what is called the Open Budget. This means that all budget documents are made available to the public. In fact, you can see all the budget documents you need on the DBM website. But more than that, they also make the effort to laymanize these and even translate them to different dialects so that the public in various provinces will not only have access but also a better understanding of the budget.

DBM is also embarking on massive digitalization efforts for public financial management in the Philippines. Once again, I manifest my congratulations and support to the President as he has also signed Executive Order No. 29, entitled “Strengthening The Integration Of Public Financial Management Information Systems (and( Streamlining Processes Thereof”, directing the full adoption of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) in government agencies. This will ensure not only the efficient delivery of quality services to the public but also greater transparency.

The OGP Steering Committee has also undertaken a nationwide OGP campaign entitled OGPinas! which seeks to create platforms for dialogue between the government and the people, represented by National Government Organizations (NGOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), youth and other sectoral organizations, etc. I would like to express my wholehearted support for this campaign.

On this note, I would like to express my hope that the Senate will fully support the Open Government Partnership. Public office is a public trust. It is incumbent upon us to be transparent, accountable, and most of all, to welcome public participation at all levels.

Thank you.