OPEN GOVERNMENT. Participants in the launching of the OGPinas campaign Visayas cluster recite the pledge to open governance during the program held in a hotel in Iloilo City on Wednesday (Oct. 18, 2023). The campaign promotes transparency, accountability, responsiveness, and citizen engagement. (PNA photo by PGLena)
ILOILO CITY – Local government units (LGUs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) are encouraged to embrace and support the Philippine-Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP) promoting transparency, accountability, responsiveness, and citizen engagement.
On Wednesday, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) launched the campaign for the Visayas cluster in a hotel here in Iloilo City.
DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said in her keynote message that with the institutionalization of the OGP under Executive Order number 31 issued by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. last June, all branches of government are already on board.
“We are now working closely to synchronize and complement our open government initiatives. We will also integrate open government vertically and bring PH-OGP to the local level through OGPinas,” Pangandaman said.
This program that establishes a line of communication would allow the government to respond effectively and efficiently to the needs of its constituents.
“This initiative seeks to further strengthen and expand the avenues for dialogues and partnership between and among government agencies and civil society organizations,” DILG Assistant Secretary Francisco R. Cruz said in his keynote message.
He added that new members with existing OGP participatory initiatives “will develop and implement local OGP action plans through a multistakeholder co-creation process, which further contributes to a more open, accountable, and responsive local governance.”
DBM Western Visayas Acting Assistant Regional Director Lawyer Mariel Dave M. Gallego, in his presentation, said the OGP has four core principles that guide its mission and initiatives, namely transparency, accountability, civic participation, and leveraging on technology.
Pangandaman and Cruz also joined participants from Central, Eastern, and Western Visayas in reciting the Pledge to Open Governance and signing the commitment.
The campaign was launched last week at the National Capital Region. The next stop will be in Mindanao and Baguio.
The Philippines is one of the eight founding members of the OGP, launched in 2021 and currently adopted by 78 countries. (PNA)
