MANILA – Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman is set to participate in the 2023 Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit in Tallinn, Estonia on Sept. 4 to 8, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said Friday.
In a statement, the DBM said Pangandaman, chairperson of the Philippine OGP (PH-OGP), will lead the official delegation to the OGP’s first in-person summit since 2019.
Pangandaman will discuss government efforts on anti-corruption and democratic renewal during high-level roundtable discussions on Sept. 6 and 7.
As DBM chief, Pangandaman has been introducing reforms on fiscal transparency and digital transformation of the bureaucracy as part of her personal advocacies.
She has likewise been instrumental in the institutionalization of the PH-OGP through the issuance of the Executive Order 31 on June 20, 2023.
“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,” Pangandaman said in a news release.
The DBM said the Philippines will also be hosting two events on the sidelines of the global summit.
“Innovation Talks: Fostering Transparency and Public Participation Through Open Budget Portals” will be held on Sept. 4, while “From Inclusion to Impact: Harnessing the Power of People to Make Public Budgets More Responsive” will happen on Sept. 7.
“Organized in partnership with the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Innovation Talks aims to highlight existing technologies and innovative approaches that have played a key role in opening Public Financial Management processes through presentations and live demonstrations,” the DBM said.
“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,” it added.
Promoting “Open Governance for a Resilient Future,” the summit aims to bring together high-level government representatives, civil society leaders and policymakers from more than 70 countries.
The Philippine delegation in the summit is composed of officials and representatives from 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, DFA, Supreme Court and City Government of Baguio.
Attendees from the DBM include Assistant Secretary and PH-OGP secretariat head Rolando Toledo and Undersecretaries Maria Francesca del Rosario and Wilford Will Wong.
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.
The OGP started in 2011 when government leaders and civil society advocates came together to promote transparent, participatory, inclusive and accountable governance.
To date, it includes 75 countries, 104 local governments and thousands of civil society organizations.
The 2023-2028 OGP strategies include building a stronger, more political global coalition for open government; investing in leadership development for reformers; expanding strategic alliances and partnerships to reinforce open government principles; raising the bar on transparency, accountability, participation and inclusion; and launching a Partnership-wide challenge to promote collective action. (PNA)
