Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

To the Local Government of Cebu, represented by Mayor Michael Rama—maraming salamat po sa mainit na pagtanggap sa amin sa Department of Budget and Management (DBM);

To the Association of Local Budget Officers Central Visayas Inc. (ALBOCV) headed by President Samuel Penales;

To my DBM colleagues, most especially to the DBM-Regional Office VII led by Regional Director Lenin S. Bernales 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 from Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor, Maayong adlaw sa inyong tanan! (Good day to everyone!). I am so happy to be back in Cebu!

Mahal na mahal ko po ang Cebu, kahit na hindi ako kumakain ng sinasabi nilang napakasarap ninyong lechon dahil bawal sa amin. Pero mayroon akong paborito dito, bukod sa napakatamis ninyong dried mangoes. Alam niyo, I was just in Cebu last August 2023 for the Philippine Economic Briefing at mayroon akong natikman na mula noon ay iniisip ko talaga kung paano ko mababalikan—ang Conching’s Native Chicken at ang kanilang Balbacua! Salamat sa PFMCP at sa PHILLBO, makaka-Conching's na rin po ako mamaya!

Pero ngayon, trabaho muna. Before anything else, allow me to sincerely thank all of you for taking the time to join our PFMCP despite your busy schedules. Through your participation in this program, I see how you value PFM and how eager you are to contribute to achieving our nation’s goals through proper budget and management. It truly warms my heart to see such an astounding number of enthusiastic participants for the second run of this year’s PFMCP for LGUs. And I hope everyone here today can draw inspiration from the venue of our event—the City of Progress, Mandaue City.

As you may know, we, at the DBM, are persistently working toward enhancing our PFM system. Part of our efforts to do so involves developing the capacities of our PFM practitioners—as you are the front liners in delivering quality services to the people we have sworn to serve. And I am proud to share that we have already empowered more than 3,000 PFM practitioners, and counting, nationwide.

I cannot emphasize enough the crucial role of PFM practitioners in bridging the needs of our fellow Filipinos and the government's responses, especially in crafting a truly inclusive and people-centered budget. And this is what the Bagong Pilipinas is all about—shaping a government that is truly responsive to the needs of the people; one that is visionary and accountable to its constituents; and one that fulfills its promise of prosperity to everyone. Our growth and prosperity will never be truly inclusive without our local governments.  

Kaya naman kami po ay nagsumikap na buuin ang PFM Competency Program na ito, kasama ang PHILLBO, na targeted at nakatuon lamang sa ating mga LGUs. Covering topics on budgeting, procurement, cash management, accounting, and even auditing, we have specifically designed this training program for LGUs to deepen your knowledge of PFM with the ultimate objective of promoting good governance, financial accountability, and effective resource management in your respective localities.

And so we hope that this program will assist you in fully utilizing your respective National Tax Allotment, among other budget allocations. We want to ensure better and strategic planning as we strive to improve our processes for budget preparation and budget execution. That is why in the past two days, you were given updates and information under the Foundation and Budgeting Tracks.

Meanwhile, today’s session tackled procurement. Napaka-importante po ng procurement track na ito dahil kailangang makabisado ninyo ang procurement processes upang ma-improve ang inyong budget utilization. Kaya kahit po ang ating mahal na Pangulo, Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., ay kinikilala ang kahalagahan ng procurement.

At dahil nais ng DBM na gawing mas efficient at mas transparent ang ating procurement, sinisikap po natin na magkaroon na ng new and improved Government Procurement Reform Act. And I am proud to report that the House Bill No. 9648 or the New Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA) already passed the House of Representatives and has ongoing deliberations in the Senate.

At gumawa na po ang PS-DBM ng e-marketplace. Parang Shopee o Lazada po ang sistemang ito kaya magiging mas madali, mas mabilis, at mas masaya na ang procurement.

And because we want to be sustainable, we also have a Green Public Procurement Strategy. Sisiguruhin rin po natin ang reduced environmental impact ng ating mga procured goods at infrastructure projects.

Alongside our procurement wins, we have also ramped up our digital transformation, resulting in the full adoption of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) through Executive Order No. 29. Through this, our PFM processes will be digitalized, with the Budget and Treasury Management System (BTMS) serving as a centralized database for all government financial operations.

We have also already started working on our budget for FY 2025. As you know, the FY 2024 budget was already signed into law by PBBM on December 20. This amounts to Php 5.768 trillion, higher by 9.5 percent compared to last year’s budget, wherein Php 1.004 trillion is allocated to Local Government Units, with Php 182.34 billion earmarked for Visayas, Php 61.58 billion for the development of Region VII, and Php 31.58 billion for Cebu alone.

We are also supporting the 65 infrastructure flagship projects of the PBBM Administration located in the Visayas, with an indicative total cost of Php 1.7 trillion, to boost growth in sectors such as tourism.

So I hope that all these will be fully utilized para makita po natin ang kagandahan ng Bagong Pilipinas dito sa Visayas!

So our dear planning and budget officers, and PFM practitioners, kayo po ang tulay upang maipaabot ng gobyerno ang ating mga serbisyo sa publiko at magkaroon ng PFM system na tunay na tumutugon sa pangangailangan ng ating mga pinaglilingkuran.

Makakaasa po kayong mas pagbubutihin pa po namin sa DBM at pagsusumikapan namin upang masiguro na ang National Budget ay tunay na para sa Pilipino at para patuloy na maihatid ng ating gobyerno hindi lamang ang capacity-building kundi pati ang mga serbisyong tumutugon sa mga pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayan.

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.

Kaya 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 kung saan walang Pilipino ang maiiwanan, at kung saan ang gobyerno ay pinagkakatiwalaan ng mamamayan.

Together, let us secure a future-proof and sustainable economy to achieve our Agenda for Prosperity.

Maraming salamat po. Daghang salamat, Cebu!

Mabuhay po ang Region VII! Mabuhay ang ating host city, Mandaue! Mabuhay ang Pilipino at ang Bagong Pilipinas.

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

Maayong adlaw sa tanan! (Good day to everyone!)

Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

First, please allow me to express my sincerest gratitude to everyone who made this purposeful campaign successful through their invaluable support—first, the Local Government of Cebu, represented by our good Board Member Atty. John Ismael Borgonia; our very own, the very hardworking DBM-Regional Office VII, together with our partner agencies; our dedicated partners from the Civil Society Organizations; our fellow public servants, and of course, all our dear participants.

Truly, this gathering is an embodiment of the essence of open government—ang pagkakaisa ng mga mamamayan upang makilahok tungo sa bukás at mabuting pamamahalang bayan.

Noong nakaraang taon po, inilunsad natin ang OGPinas! sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng bansa. Siyempre po malaking bahagi nito ang Visayas. Nanggaling na po ang OGP sa Iloilo City para sa Visayas Cluster at ngayon, dito naman po sa Cebu. Layunin po natin noon na ipakilala ang Philippine Open Government Partnership o PH-OGP sa ating mga kababayan at mas paigtingin ang ating ugnayan sa ating mga partner na civil society reformers sa pamamagitan ng pagtatampok ng kanilang mga karanasan sa pagsulong ng open government sa ating bansa.

Sa pag-iikot po natin, nakita ko po na napakaraming magagaling na mga local officials na nagsusulong ng open government sa kani-kanilang mga nasasakupan. At higit na mas marami po ang ating mga kababayan na nagpakita ng kanilang pakikiisa sa ating adbokasiya. Gaya po ng sinabi ng Chief Executive Officer ng Open Government Partnership na si Sanjay Pradhan noong nakaraang OGP Global Summit sa Tallinn, Estonia, sa Northern Europe, ang open government ay talagang nasa dugo nating mga Pilipino—at ang OGPinas! ay matibay na patunay nito. Indeed, the Philippines is a shining example of open government in the world.

For this year, we are building on our gains and expanding the OGPinas! advocacy campaign as we aim to introduce the 6th PH-OGP National Action Plan and its commitments and to provide an avenue for feedback—socializing the plans of the PH-OGP for the medium term.

Ang National Action Plan o NAP ay produkto ng co-creation process ng gobyerno at civil society, kung saan tayo ay nagtutulungan upang makabuo ng mga commitments na nagsusulong ng mga reporma para sa open government. It encapsulates our hopes and dreams for an open government in the country and our intentions to provide a better life for our fellow Filipinos through improved public service delivery.

Kasabay po ng ating advocacy campaign, nagkaroon po tayo ng series of development workshops at consultations para sa 6th NAP. And our efforts have borne fruit as we now have the country's first-ever medium-term action plan on open government, which responds to the call for the sustainability of our commitments.

We recognize that drafting an action plan is only the beginning. Hence, we are back on the ground to ensure that we close the feedback loop. We hope that this event will pave the way for increased public buy-in of the 6th NAP, guaranteeing its successful implementation.

As the PH-OGP Chairperson, I believe that the key to the success of our action plans is YOU—our partners from civil society. And so, I cannot stress enough how critical your feedback and collaboration are in realizing our commitments. And speaking of our civil society partners, I am even more hopeful about the success of our 6th NAP as we welcome the newly elected Non-Government Steering Committee members for 2023 to 2027.

Dahil tayo rin po ay naniniwala sa kahalagahan ng whole-of-government at whole-of-society approach sa good governance, ngayong araw, kasama natin ang Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) at Department of Finance (DOF) upang talakayin ang kanilang mga commitments sa ilalim ng 6th NAP. They have committed to safeguarding civic space and strengthening social accountability by improving the quality of participatory governance in local government institutions; and subnationalizing transparency, accountability, and participatory governance mechanisms in the extractives sector to ensure sustainable extractive practices and responsible management of our country’s natural resources.

These commitments reflect the role of open government in local governance and sustainable development—matters that significantly affect our nation’s growth.

Thus, I fervently hope that you seize this opportunity to push for accountability in our government, amplify our collective impact in driving change, and finally take up space and create space for our fellow Filipinos to participate in our country’s governance.

Rest assured that we, at the Department of Budget and Management and the PH-OGP, will continue to work hard for open government.

And so together, let us empower others through this platform to make the changes we all desire for the betterment of our country, achieving an even stronger Agenda for Prosperity. Alinsunod ito sa Bagong Pilipinas kung saan ang gobyerno ay mapagkakatiwalaan at ang mga mamamayan ay pinakikinggan.

Daghang salamat po! Mabuhay ang ating host city, Mandaue! Mabuhay ang PH-OGP at ang Bagong Pilipinas.

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

Isang maganda at pinagpalang araw po sa ating lahat!

Hindi po lingid sa kaalaman ng mga nandidito na ako po ay isang taas-noong tubong Mindanao. Ako po ay isang Maranao, kung kaya naman, ako rin po ay anak ng BARMM. So please allow me to begin by saying, Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

Allow me to also acknowledge the presence of Rt. Hon. Lord Jack McConnell of Glenscorrodale, former First Minister of Scotland, member of the UK House of Lords, and expert adviser of Westminster Foundation for Democracy, extending to us the UK government’s commitment to the Bangsamoro peacebuilding.

Secondly, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to everyone who made this purposeful advocacy campaign possible through their invaluable support:

• our very own DBM Regional Office XII headed by no less than Director Akmad J. Usman; 
• our colleagues from BARMM—Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, Ministry of Finance, and Budget and Management Minister Ubaida Pacasem, Ministry of Interior and Local Government Minister Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba, and the Office of the Chief Minister–Bangsamoro Information Office; 
• the Local Government of Cotabato City led by Mayor Mohammad Ali “Bruce” Matabalao; 
• my fellow Maranao, Associate Justice Japar B. Dimaampao; 
• the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society, represented by Mr. Zalave Dinas, and our partners from the Civil Society Organizations; 
• our fellow public servants, and of course, our dear participants.

We ended last year’s run of OGPinas in Davao City, and I couldn’t be happier to be back in my beloved land of promise, now in BARMM, to kickstart the year—only two months since I expressed my hope to also bring OGPinas here—a testament to the hard work and commitment of the DBM to empowering BARMM. And a true testament to our strong relationship with BARMM. To the BARMM ministers who have supported this event, once again, maraming, maraming salamat po! Shukran.

Definitely, we have a lot of reasons to celebrate including this momentous collaboration between the BARMM, DBM, and PH-OGP sharing the common desire to bring the government closer to the people.

Most of all, we are truly blessed because we are also commemorating the 5th Founding Anniversary of BARMM this week. As Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Relations Body working very hard on the development of BARMM, this truly warms my heart and means a lot to me. 

Back to OGP—Alam po ba ninyo na ang Pilipinas ay isa sa walong bansang nagtatag o founding member ng Open Government Partnership o OGP? And it was only under the Administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., through the issuance of Executive Order No. 31 last June 2023, that we have institutionalized the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP).

In line with this EO, we have brought the OGPinas! National Advocacy Campaign to different strategic locations around the country—from Luzon to the Visayas, and Mindanao—in pursuit of strengthened public participation in policy-making and governance.

Sa pag-iikot po namin sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng Pilipinas, nakita ko po na napakaraming magagaling at matutuwid na mga local officials na nagsusulong ng open government o bukas na pamamahala sa kanilang mga nasasakupan. At higit na mas marami po ang ating mga kababayan na nagpakita ng kanilang pakiki-isa sa ating adbokasiya. Gaya po ng sinabi ng Chief Executive Officer ng Open Government Partnership na si Sanjay Pradhan noong nakaraang OGP Global Summit sa Tallinn, Estonia, ang open government ay talagang nasa dugo nating mga Pilipino—at ang OGPinas! ay matibay na patunay nito.

Hindi lamang po dahil ako ay isang Mindanaoan ngunit dahil na rin sa aking mga personal na karanasan at pakikisalamuha sa ating mga kapatid dito sa BARMM, alam ko pong napakalaki ng ating pagpapahalaga sa good governance.

In fact, one of the principles that the Bangsamoro Administrative Code adheres to is that, in pursuit of moral governance, the Bangsamoro Government shall maintain honesty, integrity, transparency, accountability, and participation in governance; and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption.

Indeed, we must make the call for open government and good governance stronger and louder here in Mindanao and in BARMM. Marami na po tayong pinagdaanan para makamit ang kapayapaang ating tinatamasa sa kasalukuyan. At ngayon, kailangan naman natin ang open government upang mapangalagaan at lalong mabigyang halaga ang tinatamasang kapayapaang ito. 

Kaakibat po ng peacebuilding process ang pagsiguro na ang ating mga kapatid at kababayan sa Mindanao ay makaahon sa kahirapang bunga ng ilang taong labanan. As such, I firmly believe that peacebuilding and socioeconomic recovery will be sooner achieved if we invest in inclusive, responsive, and accountable governance systems. We need to establish public trust in our institutions that will strengthen our commitment to carry our people forward into a peaceful future.

And this is what Bagong Pilipinas is all about—the new tagline of the administration—shaping a government that is truly responsive to the needs of the people; one that is visionary and accountable to its constituents; and one that fulfills its promise of prosperity for everyone, including the future generations. 

At this point, I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate BARMM and its Government of the Day for having its Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget approved on December 21 of last year—just one day after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed the FY 2024 General Appropriations Act.

Bilang Budget Secretary, ako po ay lubos na naniniwala na ang budget ang pinaka-daan upang maiparating natin sa ating mga kababayan na tayo ay tapat sa ating pangako na tayo ay tutugon sa kanilang pangangailangan.

Actually, PH-OGP is not new to Mindanao since the Province of South Cotabato joined the OGP Local Program in 2018, and has since crafted complementing local laws and resolutions that strengthen participatory governance. In fact, Governor Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. was with us during the OGP Global Summit. I hope that South Cotabato will inspire all provinces in Mindanao, and even BARMM, to embrace open government as they have. 

We also recognize the significant contribution of our Civil Society Organizations, People’s Organizations, and movements at the grassroots level in pushing for peace in Mindanao so I want to emphasize that this Open Government movement, OGPinas, is for you—so that we can dialogue and work together towards transforming Mindanao from a land of promise to a land of promises fulfilled.

To my fellow Mindanaoans, please maximize this opportunity. Ako po ay lubos na umaasa na ito po ang magiging simula ng pagyakap ng BARMM sa PH-OGP. 

I have always said that it is my dream to see a BARMM that is thriving and a Mindanao that shines as a land of promise—and I am confident that this dream will turn into reality through open government and good governance.

Hence, I call on each of you to join us in achieving our vision for an open government, and let us empower others through this platform to make the changes we all desire for lasting peace and prosperity in Mindanao—tungo sa Bagong Pilipinas kung saan walang Pilipino ang maiiwanan, at kung saan ang gobyerno at mamamayan ay nagtutulungan at nagkakaunawaan.

Muli, Happy 5th BARMM Founding Anniversary! Mabuhay po tayong lahat. Mabuhay ang BARMM at ang OGPinas! 

Maraming salamat po. Wabillahi Tawfiq Wal Hidaya, Wasalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.

To our colleagues in the government, partners from the academe, as well as private and civil society organizations, cyber experts and the rest of the cybersecurity community, and our dear participants, a pleasant afternoon to all.

Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

I am honored to deliver this keynote for the second day of this very timely and relevant two-day conference. As you may all know, the Administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. puts a premium on the country’s digital transformation as a means to achieve our national development goals.

In his latest State of the Nation Address, PBBM underscored that “digitalization is the call of today” and that the “government must fully embrace digitalization to provide better service to the people.” In June of last year, PBBM also signed Executive Order No. 29, propelling our digital transformation advocacy forward by directing the full adoption of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) in government agencies to improve bureaucratic efficiency and ensure the efficient delivery of quality services to the public.

Indeed, it is our responsibility to maximize the transformative potential of digital technology to ensure greater efficiency in the delivery of public services and ultimately uplift the lives of our fellow Filipinos. Thus, we, at the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), are moving full speed ahead in digitally transforming our bureaucracy and our country.

Towards this mission, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will receive a total of Php 6.9 billion budget for new appropriations under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 General Appropriations Act. And in fact, as we seek to apply the whole-of-government approach to digital transformation, we proposed a total of Php 38.7 billion to fund various ICT projects across the bureaucracy this 2024. This increased by 60.6 percent from its Php 24.93 billion budget in 2023.

Speaking from a budget perspective, we have fully embraced and are transitioning to digitalization as we are determined to have a more efficient and effective Public Financial Management (PFM) system in the country. In fact, digital transformation is at the core of the Department’s reform agenda, especially as this has always been an advocacy of mine.

Following this, please allow me to share with you a few of our digitalization initiatives at the Department.

First and foremost, we will be launching our Digital Transformation Roadmap—our guiding document—which promotes data governance and digitalization in fiscal-related government processes. This roadmap has a dual transformation feature that will future-proof the entire bureaucracy by institutionalizing all the digital reforms spearheaded by the DBM. 

In this roadmap, cybersecurity remains a paramount concern across various projects and initiatives from software development to infrastructure deployment. For software projects, implementing secure coding practices, regular code audits, and vulnerability assessments fortifies applications against potential threats. Meanwhile, employing strong access controls, encryption protocols, and intrusion detection systems adds layers of defense in infrastructure projects.

We also have Project TINA, or the Technical Innovations in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) Application Project, which will resolve pain points across our Budget and Management Bureaus, boost operational efficiency, and actively promote the digital evolution of the NEP Application. Through this project, we also aim to create a unified system that will automate the budget process between the Executive and the Legislative Branches of the national government.

Meanwhile, Project Marissa provides an innovative strategy that uses blockchain technology to enhance the management of critical data such as allotment release orders and other DBM records in public finances. Among its features are document tokenization to ensure immutability, tamper-proofing, and reliable digital history; a hybrid blockchain ecosystem to address both privacy and transparency needs; a user-friendly interface for document verification and tracking; and a public-facing portal on the public blockchain to facilitate independent verification and promote citizens’ trust.

We are also reviving Project DIME or the Digital Information for Monitoring and Evaluation Project, a game-changing initiative that utilizes existing technologies such as satellites, drones, and geotagging to compare fund utilization with actual project completion status for monitoring and evaluation of government projects while encouraging citizen dialogue. This is especially useful for far-flung areas to ensure that infrastructure development is realized and adequate public service is delivered throughout the country.

Further, in recognition of the potential of data analytics in shaping strategic decision-making and fostering innovation, we have the Budget Data Analytics Managed Services Project, which includes the creation of four vital government dashboards. These will focus on monitoring and analysis of the 8-point Socioeconomic Agenda; inflation for food and non-food items; Aggregate Allotment per Departments, Agencies, and Operating Units; and financial performance, operational efficiency, and compliance of Government-Owned and -Controlled Corporations.

On a bigger scale, we will harmonize the policies and guidelines in the IT activities of the government through Project MITHI, or the Medium-term Information & Communications Technology Harmonization Initiative, in partnership with the DICT and the National Economic and Development Authority.

Likewise, we have been continuously lobbying and working for the passage of the Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized Governance or PBBM Governance Bill, which aims to streamline the processes of delivering programs and services across all government offices through the IFMIS. This will institutionalize the Cash Budgeting System, alongside the Budget and Treasury Management System (BTMS) which shall serve as a centralized database for all government financial operations from purchase to payment, and in turn, allow for real-time transaction monitoring.

To ensure the safe and seamless implementation of these initiatives, our Information and Communications Technology Group, headed by Undersecretary and Chief Information Officer Maria Francesca Del Rosario, has taken great strides to complement these with cybersecurity measures. These include the creation of a Zero-Trust Cybersecurity Framework, Data Loss Prevention, Identity and Access Management, Mobile Device Management, and Disaster Recovery Planning. And, I am very proud to share that we are the first in the bureaucracy to have an Information Security Division which will oversee our information security, cybersecurity, and IT risk management programs based on international standards and industry-accepted information security and risk management frameworks.

Further, we strongly support DICT’s National Cybersecurity Plan 2023 to 2028, which emphasizes a risk-based approach and focuses on identifying individual Critical Information Infrastructures based on their significance and potential economic impact if breached.

For DBM, our ICT Group has also strategically allocated 20.92 percent of the Department’s ICT budget to cybersecurity projects, which is notably even higher than the 10 percent internationally recommended standard based on the report published by the Deloitte Center for Financial Services.

All of these initiatives and achievements would not also be possible without the support of international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which provided us with technical assistance and benchmarking of best practices by other countries.

And so, before I end, I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Embassy of Canada in the Philippines for co-hosting this conference. The success of this event is proof that the ever-increasing people-to-people ties between Canada and the Philippines have been strengthened throughout our 75 years of diplomatic relationship. And we hope to further strengthen this long-standing friendship, especially in the areas of digitalization and economic development.

In today’s fast-paced, modern, and interconnected world, it is inevitable that we fortify cyber cooperation toward digital security—as the title of this event suggests. And I believe today’s conference is a strong testament to our commitment to doing such, especially seeing astounding participation from different sectors of society, including members from the international community.

We are not oblivious to the challenges that we have, and we are well aware that we still have a long way to go to achieve our dream of digitally transforming our country. But as the famous saying goes, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Hence, I call on each and every one of you to take a step forward, maximize this opportunity, and enrich this avenue by sharing your knowledge and insights.

Together, let us explore innovative solutions and ensure a digitally secure Philippines.

Thank you very much. Wabillahi Tawfiq Wal Hidaya, Wasalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.