Public Financial Management Competency Program for Local Government Units

Diversion 21 Hotel, Iloilo City

To the Local Government of Iloilo, represented by Provincial Administrator Dr. Raul Banias—maraming salamat po sa mainit na pagtanggap sa amin sa Department of Budget and Management;

To the Association of Local Budget Officers in Region VI (ALBO VI), Inc. headed by President Arlene C. Depakakibo;

To my DBM colleagues, most especially to DBM-Regional Office VI led by our Acting Regional Director Maria Liane Gayomali whose support has been invaluable to the success of this activity;

To our local budget officers and Public Financial Management (PFM) practitioners; and all our participants, maayong adlaw po.

Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh. 

First, please allow me to congratulate all of you for being part of this year’s Public Financial Management Competency Program (PFMCP) for Local Government Units (LGUs). Napakasaya po namin sa DBM na umabot na dito sa Visayas, lalong lalo na dito sa Iloilo ang ating PFM capacity development program. And I am delighted to personally see that we have a lot of participants joining us in this run. 

We specifically designed this training program for LGUs to deepen your knowledge on PFM. As we all know, our end goal is to promote good governance, financial accountability, and effective resource management in your respective localities. 

Hence, I would like to sincerely thank all of you for taking the time to participate in this PFMCP despite your busy schedules. I admire and commend your effort to improve yourselves through this program, your dedication to providing better quality public service, and your commitment to serving the people.

I have conversed with various PFM practitioners across the country, so I am aware of the many challenging situations and circumstances that you face at the local level. As such, it is through these conversations with LGUs, as well, that I was made aware of your request to have a targeted and LGU-focused PFM Competency Program. And this is the very reason why we worked hard to implement this together with PHILLBO.

In addition, this event is much more special because we will also be turning over the Internal Audit Manual (IAM) for Local Government Units, 2023 Edition. We hope that this version of the IAM will help you establish and operationalize your respective internal audit services or units and strengthen the same so that your LGUs will reap the benefits of an effectively functioning internal audit.

In the next three days, you will be given updates and information under the Foundation, Budgeting, and Procurement Tracks by our credible resource persons. 

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of procurement in governance. Kanina po, sinabi ng ating administrator na parang meron po tayong underspending. Hindi lang po ‘yan dito sa mga LGUs; that’s also true for the national government. Sabi sa recent report, bumaba po to 5.3% ang ating GDP growth. Isa po sa nag-contribute sa pagbaba ng growth natin ay ang government sector. Hindi po natin nagastos ang ating mga budget. Kaya kung kayo po ay may catch-up plan, ang national government po, nagkaroon din po ng catch-up plan. Lahat po ng departments and agencies, pinag-submit po natin sila ng kani-kanilang catch-up plans. Kasi hindi po ba, ang budget, kaya po natin ‘yan ginagawa para maibigay natin nang mas efficient, mas mabilis, sa ating mga pinaglilingkuran?

Isa po sa mga nakita natin na bottle-necks ay ang government procurement. Mahirap po ba ang procurement? Tama po kayo. During the SONA of the President, he asked the Congress na mag-enact ng amendments to our Government Procurement Reform Act. So binilisan po ng DBM, kasama po ang ating mga stakeholders, GPPB, at PS-DBM, ang pag-amend ng ating Government Procurement Reform Act.

Alam ninyo po, 20 years na po ang GPRA. I was just starting in national government noong binuo ang GPRA. Staff po ako ni Senator Angara during that time. Kami po ‘yung nagsimula ng GPRA. Naalala ko po noong pagkapasa ng Procurement Law—that’s the very first law on procurement—si Senator po, pumupunta po ‘yan sa iba’t ibang lugar ng mundo and he’s presenting our Procurement Law kasi it is one of the best procurement laws that we had during that time. Again, maganda pa rin po until now, kaso lang po marami nang changes ang nangyari sa atin—may use of technology, digitalization, modern na po ang era natin.

I’d like to think also that our budget officers, planning officers, and our government employees are well developed and equipped sa procurement. Hindi na po kailangang isa-isahin lahat, tapos mayroon pang checklists—napaka-tedious po ng process.

With that, we presented to the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) noong September 20 ang ating procurement amendments at inapprove po ito ng LEDAC. Nandoon po ang Senate at House of Representatives and it was included in the Common Legislative Agenda (CLA) and we are also happy to note that the House of Representatives, nag-hearing na po sila dito many times. We are hoping po na maipasa na ng Mababang Kapulungan ang amendment sa Procurement Law. And just yesterday, nag-hearing na po ang Senate of the Philippines para sa amendments sa Procurement Law at ang nakakatuwa po, ang nag-introduce ng amendments ay ang anak ni Senator Angara, si Senator Sonny Angara—I’m sure kilala niyo po siya.  

These amendments include various strategies in procurement planning including market scoping, early procurement activities, and the use of framework agreements. We will likewise leverage digitalization and innovation to make public procurement more efficient and transparent through the modernized Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (mPhilGEPS).

If all goes well, we will soon also have an electronic reverse auction and an electronic or e-marketplace which we will expand to not just common-use supplies but also non-common-use supplies. This is similar to Shopee and Lazada; hence, it will be easier for us to order office-use supplies.

We will also make our procurement systems green! We will adopt a Green Public Procurement Strategy in the procurement of goods, infrastructure projects, and consulting services to ensure reduced environmental impact throughout their life cycle. In addition, we aim to integrate green practices and environmentally relevant criteria in the procurement design of a project, and effectively establish a local market for green products.

Most of all, because DBM is the head of the Open Government Steering Committee in the Philippines, we will make procurement transparent by mainstreaming public participation in our procurement process. We will be inviting at least two observers—from the private sector and the civil society—to sit in our procurement proceedings. And, if I may share, before going here, I was also with the OGPinas! Visayas Leg, together with our partners from Civil Society Organizations, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Philippine Information Agency.

Now on the budget, I am proud to share that the House of Representatives approved the Fiscal Year 2024 General Appropriations Bill on third and final reading last September 27—wherein a total of Php 1.008 trillion or 17.5 percent will be allocated to the Local Government Units. And this feat would not be possible without your support, our dear budget officers, as you play a crucial role in bringing the needs of our fellow Filipinos to the national government, making our PFM system responsive and people-oriented. 

Thus, we remain committed to continuing and even upscaling our efforts to provide you with more capacity-building and assistance in the future, as we update our PFM policies and guidelines to cope with the changing times and the evolving needs of our people.

Through our capacity building, I hope that you will be inspired not only to work harder but also to help us implement the necessary reforms that will improve our government systems and processes. 

I also hope that this PFM Competency Program will help you create and execute the necessary Programs, Activities, and Projects that will make your respective LGUs thrive because ultimately, that is the wisdom of the Mandanas-Garcia Supreme Court Ruling: to empower our LGUs to serve the people in your localities faster and better.

Sama sama po nating paigtingin at pagitingin ang ating mga LGU sa pamamagitan ng wasto at tapat na pagsasagawa at paggamit ng ating mga budget tungo sa Bagong Pilipinas. Together, let us secure a future-proof and sustainable economy and achieve our Agenda for Prosperity. 

Mabuhay po ang Region VI! Mabuhay po ang Iloilo! Mabuhay ang Pilipino at ang Bagong Pilipinas.

Maraming salamat po.

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