A pleasant morning to all my fellow advocates of transparency and freedom of information from all over the world. To the commissioners, ombudspersons, and leaders who dedicate themselves to this noble pursuit of providing people with truth, facts, and accurate information amidst the post-truth era, welcome and thank you.
Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
I mentioned post-truth because I believe that this concept has become particularly relevant in these times. According to a publication from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “Post-Truth” by Lee Mcintyre, post-truth is a “growing international trend where some feel emboldened to try to bend reality to fit their opinions.”[1]
This is a precarious phenomenon with several negative implications. First, it clouds people’s view of reality, including the reality of social issues that need to be addressed. Second, it perpetuates a culture of denial, impeding growth both at the individual and collective levels. Third, it enables institutions and personalities with hidden agendas to prey on the public by spreading false information.
As such, it is high time for us to take a stand and inculcate a culture of truth and transparency in our systems and communities. Thus, I would like to commend the information commissioners who crafted the theme of today’s event: “Bridging Information Across Nations: Concretizing the Global Role of Access to Information for Democratic Preservation, Inclusivity, and Development.”
In line with this, allow me to share with you the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) accomplishments and current efforts to enhance transparency and access to information in the Philippines.
As one of the founding members of the Open Government Partnership, we are proud to share how the Freedom of Information (FOI) Program promotes an open government and strengthens the people’s right to information as enshrined in the Constitution. This effort has been localized by several cities and municipalities as they established FOI desks, appointed information officers, and developed online platforms to process information requests.
The implementation of the FOI Program and its localization efforts is a huge part of the Philippine-Open Government Partnership’s (PH-OGP) success. We are currently pushing for the institutionalization of the PH-OGP through an Executive Order to improve transparency and citizen participation in policy-making across all government agencies. We are also gearing up for the co-creation of our 6th National Action Plan.
And we are carrying out more initiatives in line with our mission in the DBM to allocate and use public funds not only equitably and prudently, but with transparency and accountability.
We have our Fiscal Openness (FO) Working Group which leads and monitors the country’s performance in the Open Budget Survey (OBS) conducted by the International Budget Partnership. We continue the timely and online publication of key budget documents, which include the People’s Budget series, to support informed public debate on the national budget. To date, we have maintained our lead in the Southeast Asian region in providing mechanisms that allow the public to participate in the budget process.
Further, we have operationalized the DBM Civil Society Organizations Desk which responds to CSOs’ requests for information and addresses their budget-related queries. And just recently, the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) lauded the DBM, a founding member of GIFT, for remaining a prime example of fiscal transparency in Asia regardless of changes in administrations.
Moreover, we will continue to include in the 6th NAP the game-changing Project DIME or Digital Information for Monitoring and Evaluation. It is an initiative that utilizes Digital Data and Imaging Technologies to improve program implementation and promote participatory monitoring.
Aside from these commitments under the 6th NAP, the DBM will continue to prioritize funding for digital infrastructure under the proposed FY 2024 National Budget to ensure greater fiscal transparency and accountability. This expenditure direction is aligned with the strategies of the Administration’s Philippine Development Plan 2023 to 2028.
More good news: just this month, the President issued Executive Order No. 29 directing the full adoption of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) in government agencies to ensure the efficient delivery of quality services to the public.
This is a big stride towards bureaucratic efficiency through digitalization and soon, we hope to also pass the Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized Governance, or the PBBM Governance Bill. The Bill seeks to digitalize processes and transactions across all government offices and institutionalize key Public Financial Management (PFM) reforms such as the Cash Budgeting System.
In all these, our end goal is to advance freedom of information, good governance, and accountability. While we acknowledge that the road towards a truly transparent bureaucracy and genuine democracy is paved with challenges and gaps, we must also recognize that we have already achieved so much in terms of catalyzing and sustaining progress on open government reforms.
Thank you again for being with us and I look forward to hearing more success stories in our upcoming conferences. To all champions and advocates of access to information, let us build on our gains and continue working together as beacons of transparency and public participation. Let us maintain an open government and empower our people to be part of the solution while we combat global disinformation and misinformation.
Wabillahi Tawfiq Wal Hidaya, Wasalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.
[1] Mcintyre, Lee. 2018. Post-truth. Cambridge: MIT Press.
