Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman on Tuesday called for faster dissemination of public information and enhanced transparency in government processes.

She made the call on the second day of the week-long event of the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP) in Manila.

In her opening remarks, Pangandaman expressed optimism that the sixth PH-OGP National Action Plan would promote transparency and accountability as cornerstones of governance.

“Let us keep in mind the infinite value of strengthened public participation, improvement of government transparency, and cementing accountability in our institutions,” Pangandaman, who also chairs the PH-OGP Steering Committee, said.

“At the same time, let us also take advantage of the tools of today: as we pursue the digital transformation of the bureaucracy, let us incorporate into our plan mechanisms that will facilitate the faster release of information to the public and promote fiscal transparency,” she added.

PH-OGP head Secretariat and Budget Assistant Secretary Rolando Toledo led the agenda-setting discussions in the planning session for the crafting of the sixth PH-OGP National Action Plan.

Toledo said the PH-OGP creation planning workshop aims to discuss the strategic approach for the co-creation of the first medium-term action plan.

“This is to design engagements for new and relevant government and non-government stakeholders and to discuss how we can move beyond the national action plan,” he said.

The week-long event dubbed as Open Gov Week carries a theme “Co-create. Collaborate. Contribute.”

The theme focuses on continuing efforts of the government and various stakeholders to promote deeper civil society-government engagement, amplified discourses on anti-corruption, strengthened mechanisms for public accountability, and advanced technological innovations to improve public service delivery.

Participants in the Open Gov Week include PH-OGP stakeholders from the government and civil society, members of the Steering Committee, representatives from the Independent Reporting Mechanism, government reformers, youth leaders, and civil society advocates.

Pangandaman also reiterated the need for the issuance of an executive order to institutionalize the PH-OGP as a value system, in an effort “to improve transparency and citizen participation in policy-making across all government agencies.”

This, as she underscored the importance of public participation, transparency, and accountability.

In 2011, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) was formed to promote transparent, participatory, inclusive and accountable governance.

The Philippines is a cofounding member of the OGP, a multilateral organization of reformers from government, civil society networks, businesses, and non-profits reflective of the values of access to information, public accountability, citizen participation, and leveraging technology and innovation to strengthen governance. (PNA)