DBM supports citizen involvement, acess to information in open gov't
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman stressed the need to pursue quality citizen involvement and have an ecosystem of data and information in promoting an open government, in her welcome remarks in the continuation of the 2023 Open Gov Week of the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP) on 10 May 2023.
The event's program included a panel discussion with government agencies and non-government organizations on strengthening civic participation and collaboration in governance through technology and digital transformation.
Contributions and accomplishments of PH-OGP in bolstering spaces for public engagement in governance processes were likewise highlighted.
"When we contribute to initiatives that promote open government, we also advance citizen engagement, which has always been considered one of the key pillars of open government. However, we should not only aim for increased participation, rather, we should pursue quality citizen involvement," Secretary Pangandaman said.
To do this, the Budget Secretary noted the importance of access to information through an ecosystem of data, which will also help in formulating policies that will benefit the people.
"With the access (to information) and transparency, we are able to have an ecosystem of information and data. Sabi nga nila, ang greatest wealth daw ngayon is data. With data and information, tayo po sa gobyerno, and even sa mga partners po natin, will be able to study that data, and with that data and information, we will be able to formulate policies for our people," Secretary Pangandaman said.
Further, Secretary Pangandaman mentioned the initiatives of the DBM to promote access to information and deepen public participation. These include the establishment of the civil society organizations (CSO) desk, which harnesses CSO participation by responding to various requests for information/data and budget-related queries.
The DBM will also relaunch Project DIME (Digital Imaging for Monitoring and Evaluation), a game-changing initiative that uses existing technologies and engages citizens through participatory monitoring.
"As we continue to strive for socio-economic progress under our Agenda for Prosperity, we invite you to join us in making sure that all of our stories are heard. Let us empower the people by catalyzing change toward a more open government: a government where the people co-create, collaborate, and contribute," Secretary Pangandaman said. .
At the event, PH-OGP Head Secretariat and DBM Assistant Secretary Rolando U. Toledo discussed sustaining development in governance reforms through public participation.
"On a more personal note, part of my reflections after a decade of PH-OGP is the recognition that there is still a lot of things to improve especially when it comes to processes, in using PH-OGP for advancing causes and advocacies beyond the National Action Plan, and expanding partnerships beyond the usual government agencies and CSOs we engage. We heard you and we are working towards making our processes more inclusive," Asec. Toledo said.
For its part, youth coalition WeSolve Foundation Executive Director and former Move As One Coalition coordinator Kenneth Isaiah Abante underscored two important factors in digital transformation: the opening of data and providing support to information advocates, which the DBM, headed by Secretary Pangandaman champions.
"We commend Secretary Mina Pangandaman and committed civil servants in the Department of Budget and Management for their continued commitment to the Philippine Open Government Partnership process…Mahalaga ang pagbubukas ng impormasyon; mas mahalagang makilahok ang ordinaryong mamamayan sa pamamahala. The open government community has helped ordinary citizens engage in the budget process… Our budget research and advocacy work in Move As One was made possible because the DBM opened up budget documents, the DOTr collaborated with us, Congressional leaders listened to our proposals, and fellow civil society advocates guided us and helped us become more effective - building relationships of trust," ED Abante said. (DBM/PIA Caraga)
