Mr. Chair, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri; Mr. Vice Chair, Representative Ramon Guico Jr.; Representative Luis Raymond Villafuerte; and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, and the rest of the members of this honorable Commission, good morning.

I am honored to appear before the members of the Commission on Appointments, for the opportunity to humbly submit myself to the process of confirmation of my appointment as Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

This is an especially meaningful moment for me as I started my public service career in these halls. I have great respect and admiration for the senate as an institution, having spent more than ten years in the upper house: first as senate researcher then as chief-of-staff of the late Senator Edgardo Angara, whom the Senate fondly called SEJA.

I consider those years formative to my now almost two decades of service in government. I learned the intricacies of the budget process especially when he was Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and then later when I worked for Senator Loren Legarda when she also served as Chairman of the same Senate Committee. Indeed, the Senate has been a formidable training ground for me.

And in my years with SEJA, he instilled in me the values of hard work and most importantly, reform-oriented public service.

Thereafter, I served the Executive Branch and learned the ins and outs of the budget process as Chief-of-Staff of then Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno. At the DBM, I served as Assistant Secretary and then Undersecretary. I gained an even wider perspective on the economy and finance as Assistant Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. So I am humbled yet proud to be here today for confirmation as Budget Secretary because I was mentored by the very best.

I am fully dedicated to bringing into this role not only an appreciation of economic policy and technical know-how on public financial management and government processes but also the values instilled in me by my mentors: ​That we are here not only to work but to serve, that what we have is not only a process but a purpose, and above all, that we must always serve with integrity as we do our best to find ways to uplift the lives of the Filipino people.

I carry these lessons with me now that I serve as Budget Secretary of the administration of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. I believe in the vision of this administration for inclusive and sustainable growth and I am determined to do my best, along with the other economic managers, to achieve our dream for this country of eradicating poverty and achieving upper middle-income status; to achieve the dream of a better Philippines for all, including and especially for those in the farthest areas who are often neglected, like Mindanao, where I am from.

That is why for the first budget that I led as Secretary, with our equally competent and integrity-filled team, we made sure that the National Expenditure Program is fully aligned with the President's vision, with the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework and with the 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda. This is why we are investing heavily on infrastructure, agriculture, health, human capital development, and social protection. Investment in these sectors will ensure our continued economic growth while taking care of our people.

On a macro level, I have always recognized that our government is not just one institution, and that institutions must not work in silos to make lasting change. With this as my mindset, the phrase “Whole-of-Government” is the approach I fully embrace and espouse, especially in how we are to manage our economic resources, and uphold the interest of the nation and our people.

And so, as the Budget Secretary of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., I will not only support his economic vision and agenda, but also express my commitment to fully work with the different branches of government to achieve lasting change and reform.

To be more specific, the DBM will implement the digital transformation of the bureaucracy through the Budget and Treasury Management System (BTMS).

This will be a centralized Budgeting system that will improve the ease of doing business, limit human discretion and intervention, and will fully enhance transparency in government transactions. Through this platform, all transactions will be mapped in real-time, from purchase to payment and can provide solid data to ensure informed decision making, as well as allow secure and seamless access to public services.

We can build on past gains such as Executive Order 170 (s. 2022)—which, if I may mention, I advocated during my time as Assistant Governor of the BSP. EO 170 mandates the adoption of digital payments for government disbursements and collections.

With its effective implementation and the proposed Government Rightsizing Program and Cash-Based Budget System, we will surely achieve bureaucratic efficiency to ensure quick and responsive public service delivery to the Filipino people.

I am also determined to institutionalize much needed reforms: on procurement, through digitalization and systems improvement; on devolution, in fulfillment of the Mandanas ruling; on strengthening local government finance and budgeting, through the assistance of institutions such as the Asian Development Bank. And I am especially keen on assisting the BARMM as it strengthens the region's leadership towards peace through the public financial management capacity building programs of the DBM.

With the support of both Cabinet and Congress, I know we can successfully facilitate a whole-of-government approach to achieve efficiency and transparency, to lasting change and reform with the end goal of giving the Filipino a fighting chance.

I am very grateful to be given this honor to serve. I look forward to working with you all for a better Philippines. I assure you I will work with integrity and always give my best.

Assalamu alaikum. Warahmatullahi wabaratu. Maraming salamat po.

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