January 16, 2025 | 6:15pm
MANILA, Philippines — The Palace touted that the upcoming Open Government Partnership (OGP) Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting 2025 is set to hone a democratic leadership within the country.
The Philippines will host the regional meet from February 5 to 7 in Manila, welcoming representatives from the government, civil society and policy-makers across the region.
The OGP is a global partnership with 77 member countries and 150 local governments that aim to promote transparent governance.
“We hereby stand united and firm in our commitment to fostering a government that is transparent and accountable as well as responsive to the needs and aspirations of our citizens. This event is a pivotal step in our journey toward enhancing democratic governance and empowering the Filipino people,” Bersamin said in his opening remarks at the OGP meet’s media launch on Wednesday, January 15.
The partnership between the Philippines and the OGP was formalized in President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Executive Order 31, issued in 2023.
“With your support and active engagement of every stakeholder, we can surely pave the way for a brighter and inclusive future where every Filipino has the right and the means to contribute to open and good governance,” Bersamin added.
Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandmaan was also selected as a new member of the OGP Steering Committee together with other representatives from Brazil, Estonia, Morocco and the United Kingdom.
Pangandmaan said the upcoming event displayed the Philippines is committed to open governance.
“By bringing together high-level government representatives, civil society leaders, policymakers, as well as our global and regional partners from across the region, we will be able to exchange insights, experiences, best practices, and progress on open government initiatives that will create bold impact for the benefit of our people,” Pangandaman said.
Meanwhile, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said that their city, a member of the OGP network, has chosen to adopt open governance and this has borne fruit.
“We have streamlined many of our processes, making them faster, while eliminating red tape and corruption. We modernized our services through digitalization, creating our QC e-Services portal and the QCitizen ID program, which improved the people’s access to information and assistance—whether for business owners and companies or in our delivery of social services,” she said.
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