To UP Chancellor Atty. Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan II;

UP-NCPAG Dean Kristoffer B. Berse and UP-NCPAG Center for Policy and Executive Development Director Enrico L. Basilio;

My colleagues in the national government;

And to everyone joining us on this momentous occasion;

A pleasant afternoon. Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

First, I express my utmost gratitude to the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG) for your invaluable support to the Public Financial Management Competency Program (PFMCP).

I’m happy that, with our renewed partnership, the PFMCP will now be implemented by very able and passionate individuals from both the academe and the government—a testament to our commitment to adopting a whole-of-society approach to enhancing bureaucratic efficiency.

While we come from different sectors and backgrounds, we are bound by a common purpose: to serve our nation strengthened by our knowledge and application of the PFM system in the country. I believe that with a better understanding of PFM, we can truly be aligned with UP’s new motto, “Honor, Excellence, Service.”

And with both DBM and UP NCPAG on board in this endeavor, I am confident that we can inculcate a culture of excellence that generates brilliant solutions and strategies to address emerging challenges in public administration. The practical insights and technical expertise of the top-caliber experts from our institutions will truly lead to a more effective delivery of PFMCP courses, guided by a robust curriculum that meets our evolving needs in  PFM.

Looking back, our partnership from 2018 to 2019 successfully capacitated 209 PFM practitioners from various government agencies through three Foundation Track classes.

Next year, thanks to the Center for Policy and Executive Development (CPED) of the UP-NCPAG, our partnership will be stronger than ever as we engage hundreds more on Budget Preparation and Execution, opening the gates for more PFM practitioners from various agencies to learn more about the fundamentals of PFM.

But, we are not stopping here. To attain our Agenda for Prosperity, we at the Department of Budget and Management recently expanded our PFMCP to capacitate budget officers not only from national government agencies but also from local government units. Through this program, local PFM practitioners and budget officers are equipped with the necessary competencies to better serve their respective localities.

Just last week, we visited Tagaytay City, where we capacitated over 600 local PFM practitioners from Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Quezon, and Lucena City. This brings our total empowered local PFM practitioners to over 5,000 since the program started last year. And I am happy to share that, in the coming months, we plan to bring the PFMCP to at least 5 more regions.

Aside from capacity building, we also aim to fully digitalize our PFM systems by adopting the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) across all government agencies. To jumpstart this initiative, we are reviving the Budget and Treasury Management System (BTMS), which will serve as the centralized database for all government financial operations.

Meanwhile, to harmonize PFM policies and processes across agencies, we also conducted a workshop series earlier this year dedicated to developing the Philippine Public Financial Management Reforms Roadmap 2024 to 2028. Through these planning workshops, we reviewed PFM reforms developed in the past years, identified gaps, potential challenges, and key learnings, and formulated key strategies for enhancing PFM over the medium term.

These are just some of the reforms we are doing to enhance bureaucratic efficiency and promote sound fiscal management.

Indeed, enhancing public administration is never easy. Change is never easy. But progress is not possible without it. That is why this collaboration is not only timely but essential. So once again I thank the UP NCPAG for renewing our partnership and for this opportunity for us to once again work together to shape our leaders—in this generation and the next—so that we may fulfill our vision of a Bagong Pilipinas where our government is truly sound, systematic, transparent, and accountable, serving in the true spirit of “Honor, Excellence, Service.”

Maraming salamat po. Mabuhay po tayong lahat!

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