To Governor Sharee Ann Tan of the Province of Samar;
Tacloban City Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez;
Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez;
Region Eight Association of Local Budget Officers (REALBO) Inc. President Adelwisa L. Acebuche;
DBM Eastern Visayas Director Imelda C. Laceras and Assistant Director Aleli N. Hernandez;
Our PFM practitioners and participants from the Eastern Visayas Region;
Maupay na adlaw! Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
I am glad to be with all of you today, although virtually, for the Public Financial Management Competency Program or PFMCP for Local Government Units (LGUs).
As you may know, our ultimate goal here in PFMCP is to promote good governance, financial accountability, and effective resource management in your respective localities. That is why our top-caliber subject matter experts walked you through the seven foundation courses.
I am also excited that you are now learning more about the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA), which was signed into law last July 20.
Unang araw ko pa lang po bilang Budget Secretary, top priority ko na po itong NGPA dahil isa ito sa mga susi sa pagsugpo sa korapsyon sa gobyerno sa pamamagitan ng digitalized, efficient, mas mabilis, at mas madaling maintidihan na procurement system.
With the NGPA, pwedeng mag-add to cart na lang! We will have an e-marketplace where agencies can procure common-use supplies and equipment directly from competent and reputable suppliers.
At transparent ito! Because we will also open the procurement process to citizen participation and allow the public to observe in procurement proceedings—true to the spirit of the Philippine Open Government Partnership!
In line with this, I am also happy to share that we are number one not only in Southeast Asia but in the whole of Asia in terms of budget transparency under the PBBM administration. This is based on the 2023 Open Budget Survey.
We have also ramped up our digital transformation, resulting in the full adoption of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), with the Budget and Treasury Management System (BTMS) as the centralized database for all government financial operations.
We will also revive Project DIME or the Digital Information for Monitoring and Evaluation which will use modern technologies such as satellites, drones, and geotagging to monitor and evaluate the status, progress, and activities of the government’s big-ticket projects.
Last September 17, we officially endorsed to the President the PFM Reforms Roadmap 2024 to 2028, a comprehensive blueprint that will harmonize PFM policies across agencies and fully digitalize our PFM processes. This is guided by eleven (11) strategic focus areas, including capacity building.
Most importantly, the proposed Php 6.352 trillion National Budget for 2025 has already been approved by the House of Representatives on September 25, 2024 and transmitted to the Senate for further reading and scrutiny.
Under this budget, some Php 1.184 trillion1 has been allocated to our Local Government Units. Of this amount, Php 245.9 billion2 is allotted to Region VIII. On top of this, the Eastern Visayas Region will also receive Php some 61.9 billion3 from the LGUs’ FY 2025 National Tax Allotment which increased by 18.8 percent from this year.
So I hope that all of your budgets will be fully utilized para naman mas makita pa po natin ang kagandahan ng Bagong Pilipinas dito sa Eastern Visayas at sa bawat LGU.
We also want all our LGUs to help us develop a green economy. Hence, we will support local governments in building open spaces and infrastructure that promote active mobility through the Green Green Green Program with Php 1.0 billion.
Dahil ‘yan ang Bagong Pilipinas—may gobyernong tunay na nagtatrabaho para sa mas maginhawang buhay ng bawat Pilipino.
Mabuhay po ang Tacloban at ang buong Eastern Visayas! Mabuhay ang Pilipino at ang Bagong Pilipinas!
Wabillahi Tawfiq Wal Hidaya, Wasalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.
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