To the City Government of Zamboanga;

PH-OGP Steering Committee members from the government and civil society;

Our very own DBM Regional Office IX, led by Director Mark Louie Martin;

Our commitment holders, stakeholders, and participants,

Magandang araw po sa ating lahat at Buenas tardes, Zamboanga!

Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

I am delighted to join all of you today, although virtually, for another run of OGPinas!, our nationwide advocacy campaign which embodies the essence of open government—ang pagkakaisa ng mga mamamayan tungo sa bukás at mabuting pamamahala ng bayan.

This is the 10th province we have visited since we launched the campaign in 2023. To date, we have introduced the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP) and personally engaged more than 1,500 Filipinos from Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, including BARMM.

And I am always so happy to see that during our OGPinas visits, our local officials are doing their part to advance the cause of open government in their localities.

When we attended the OGP Global Summit in Tallinn, Estonia last year, no less than the OGP Chief Executive Officer Sanjhay Pradhan said that open government is in the DNA of Filipinos. Naniniwala po ako na totoo ‘yan dahil sinisikap po natin na ang Pilipinas ay patuloy na maging "trailblazer in open governance.”

Indeed, we are doing this. Just last April, we proved our commitment to open government yet again because four out of the 55 new members of the OGP Local Program are local government units from the Philippines! These LGUs are Baguio City, Quezon City, Municipality of Larena in Siquijor, and Tagbilaran City, and they are joining South Cotabato and Borongan City, Eastern Samar. So now we have LGUs in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao all represented in OGP. At sa mga susunod na taon, sana mas dumami pa po ang from Mindanao and BARMM.

Nakapaka-importante po ng OGP dahil ito ay isang inisyatibo upang magkaroon ng transparency at accountability ang ating gobyerno. And I am happy to report that just this May, the Philippines ranked number 1 in budget transparency, not only in Southeast Asia but in all of Asia, based on the latest Open Budget Survey.

Ibig sabihin, ang national budget natin ay bukas at maaaring siyasatin ng publiko. Higit pa diyan, sa pamamagitan ng ating People’s Budget series, sinisikap natin na maintindihan ng lahat ang nakalaang pondo para sa mga programa at proyekto sa bawat sektor ng gobyerno.

Number one din po tayo sa Southeast Asia pagdating naman sa Public Participation. Ibig sabihin, sinasama natin ang taong bayan, kasama na ang mga Civil Society Organization, sa decision-making process ng gobyerno.

Pang-anim naman po tayo sa buong mundo pagdating sa budget oversight. Ibig sabihin, nakabantay ang Kongreso at ang ating Commission on Audit mula budget preparation hanggang budget execution.

Hangarin po natin na maging ehemplo ang Pilipinas ng open government sa buong mundo.  So I am very happy to share that the Philippines, just this May, has been elected as a new member of the OGP Steering Committee, joining countries such as Brazil, Estonia, Morocco, and the United Kingdom to be represented by yours truly. This is a big responsibility, but I am grateful and looking forward to this rare opportunity to show the world all that we are doing, and I hope that the Philippines can truly be a bright, shining example of open government to the world. In Shaa Allah!

Finally, we also have very exciting news: The Philippines has been chosen to host the OGP Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting in 2025! It will be this coming February, and I hope you join us in making this the most dynamic, fruitful, and memorable OGP Regional Summit.

So we have a lot of good news for OGP but we also still have a long road ahead. Let us continue to build on our gains as we pursue the sustainability of our commitments under our 6th PH-OGP National Action Plan. And let's make the most out of OGPinas!: make your voices heard, push for accountability in our government, amplify our collective impact in driving change, and take up space and create space for our fellow Filipinos to participate in our country’s governance.

Sama-sama po tayo sa Bagong Pilipinas kung saan ang gobyerno ay mapagkakatiwalaan at ang mga mamamayan ay pinakikinggan.

At sama sama din po nating isigaw: OG...Pinas!

Muchas gracias, Zamboanga!

Wabillahi Tawfiq Wal Hidaya, Wasalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.

END