Budget Sec leads PH in open global summit in Estonia
The Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP), chaired by Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman, will take part in the 2023 OGP Global Summit—the OGP's first in-person Global Summit since 2019, in Tallinn, Estonia, from September 4 to 8, 2023.
Promoting “Open Governance for a Resilient Future,” the Summit will bring together high-level government representatives, civil society leaders, and policymakers from more than 70 countries to exchange experiences, good practices, and progress on open government initiatives.
PH HOSTS OGP GLOBAL SUMMIT EVENTS
The Philippines will be hosting two events at the sidelines of the Summit, namely, “‘Innovation Talks: Fostering Transparency and Public Participation Through Open Budget Portals” on September 4 and “From Inclusion to Impact: Harnessing the Power of People to Make Public Budgets More Responsive” on September 7.
Organized in partnership with the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Innovation Talks aims to highlight existing technologies and innovative approaches that have played a key role in opening Public Financial Management (PFM) processes through presentations and live demonstrations.
Meanwhile, From Inclusion to Impact will showcase best practices in integrating public participation into various phases of the budget cycle and at different levels of government. This is co-organized by the International Budget Partnership and GIFT.
A WHOLE-OF-NATION FOR PH-OGP
Demonstrating a show of force for open government in the country, the Philippine Delegation is composed of officials and representatives from various government agencies including the DBM-Procurement Service, Government Procurement Policy Board-Technical Support Office, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Justice, Department of Foreign Affairs, Supreme Court, and the City Government of Baguio.
Members of the civil society, academe, and private sector will also engage in the Summit, ensuring proper representation of different sectors in the PH-OGP cause. These include the Mindanao Coalition of Development NGO Network, La Salle Institute of Governance, Public Services Labor Independent Confederation, Kaabag sa Sugbo Foundation, Inc., Caucus of Development NGO Networks/Coalition for Bicol Development, Unang Hakbang Foundation, and Makati Business Club.
TRANSPARENCY CHAMPION OF THE PBBM ADMINISTRATION
As the PH-OGP Chair, Secretary Pangandaman will participate in High-Level Roundtable Discussions on Anti-Corruption and Democratic Renewal on September 6 and 7, respectively, where she will discuss the country's current efforts on open government.
Since assuming office, the Budget Chief has been introducing reforms on fiscal transparency and digital transformation of the bureaucracy as part of her personal advocacies. The budget secretary was instrumental in institutionalizing the PH-OGP through the issuance of Executive Order No. 31 last June 20, 2023, which she has initiated and constantly pushed for.
"An aspect of open government is fiscal openness, which encompasses transparency, public participation, and legislative oversight throughout the budget and fiscal cycle. Through our OGP initiatives, we hope to bring our National Budget closer to the people and ultimately towards a people-centered economic development," Secretary Pangandaman said.
Pangandaman will be joined by DBM Assistant Secretary and PH-OGP Head Secretariat Rolando U. Toledo, and Undersecretaries Maria Francesca M. Del Rosario and Wilford Will L. Wong. (DBM/PIA-Caraga)
