DBM details open governance initiatives

The budget authorities have implemented SEVERAL initiatives to further promote open government and financial transparency.

During the #InfoDataQuest presentation and Freedom of Information (FOI) workshops on Thursday, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) discussed various measures to fully achieve good governance.

“In addition to FOI, we are implementing several initiatives to achieve open government and ensure financial transparency,” said Budget Minister Amena Pangandaman.

“We are currently leading the Philippine Open Government Partnership or PH-OGP, the main consultation platform of the Cabinet Co-Governance Cluster, which provides a platform for government-citizen engagement,” she added.

The FOI program, according to Pangandaman, has played a huge role in the success of PH-OGP “because it allows citizens to request information about government transactions and operations.”

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The establishment of the Fiscal Openness Working Group was included in the public sector initiative that emerged from the development of the Fiscal Openness Action Plan and monitoring the country’s progress in the Open Budget Review.

“We are doing our best to ensure that the public participates in every allocation, decision and implementation of the program,” Pangandaman confirmed.

The Working Group has established the DBM Civil Society Organizations Service (CSO) which facilitates CSO engagement by responding to requests for information and answering questions related to the budget.

“Be assured that DBM is one with you as you continue to implement and promote access to information mechanisms in the country,” said Pangandaman.

Rolando Toledo, Assistant Secretary of State for Local Government Budget and Regional Operations Group, also spoke about the country’s financial situation at the #InfoDataQuest presentation and workshops.

He then reaffirmed the importance of DBM in providing budgetary transparency.

Toledo said the Philippines has been recognized as a world leader in fiscal transparency by increasing citizen access to information and participation in the budget process.

“The ability to use technology to increase the availability and access of the public to budget information has enabled us to do just that,” Toledo concluded.