My greetings to our fellow champions of open government and good governance!
As-salamu alaykum.
My apologies for not being able to see you all in person. But I leave you in the very capable hands of Asec. Rolly Toledo who, being one of the Department’s top budget reformers, will represent the Department of Budget and Management well in this event.
In all previous budget engagements, in all the reforms the DBM has initiated, and in all fiscal policies formulated, we have always underscored the importance of having an open budget system—one that is transparent, fosters public participation, and has adequate budget oversight from the legislative and audit institutions.
And so, it is vital that we realize that open government does not only benefit the system, rather its advantages cascade to different sectors of society. It creates more stable conditions to incentivize investments from the private sector; sets the stage for ensuring public trust; and strengthens the country’s democratic institutions and principles.
Towards this end, I am very happy that we fared well in the results of the 2021 Open Budget Survey or OBS—the only independent and fact-based survey for open budget.
We garnered a transparency score of 68 out of 100, making us rank 19 out of 120 countries included in the survey. Although this is moderately lower than our score in 2019, this is still significantly higher than the global average of 45, which indicates that we have sufficient mechanisms in place to promote transparency in our budget processes.
With this, I would like to commend the previous administration under former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and the DBM leadership before me.
This is an undeniably tough act to follow yet I am positive that we can do the same or even better, through the guidance and support of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
On this end, we hope to fast-track our initiatives to digitize government processes and transactions through the implementation of the Integrated Financial Management Information System, as well as the enactment of the Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized Governance Bill or the PBBM Bill, which shall institutionalize the Cash Budgeting System. We are also committed to continue working towards an open and participatory government as we chair the Philippine Open Government Partnership Steering Committee.
Furthermore, we will take the recommendations of the OBS to heart, and study the feasibility of introducing these in our processes. We appreciate the insights of our partners from the academe and civil society organizations; and we look forward to our continued collaboration with them towards a more inclusive and participatory budgeting process.
Quoting former US President Barack Obama, “a budget is more than just a series of numbers on a page; it is an embodiment of our values”.
It is our fervent hope that through the practice of open budgeting, we are able to embody a government that holds integrity and accountability in high regard - values which I believe are key to the good governance that we have always yearned for.
Inshallah.
Maraming salamat!
