Local Youth Leaders to Champion Open Government in their Communities

Manila, Philippines – Local youth leaders from seven (7) local government units graduated as Open Government Youth Champions through POGCHAMPS: Project Open Government (Youth) Champions' three-month training program.

LYDO and LYDC from 7 LGUs ( Province of Albay, Province of Northern Samar, City of Manila, Quezon City, Municipality of Balete, Aklan, Municipality of San Mateo, Rizal, and Municipality of Odiongan, Romblon) with DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, DLSU President Br. Bernard Oca FSC, and Galing Pook Foundation Board of Trustees Member Ms. Ma. Gladys Sta. Rita

The training program concluded with a culminating activity last May 10, 2023, at De La Salle University, Malate, Manila. The event showcased Local Government Unit’s (LGUs) Open Government Youth Action Plans and their learning journey throughout the training program.

Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman stressed that the public’s trust and confidence in the government could be earned through strengthened citizen participation. She also urged the youth leaders to be a beacon of transparency and public participation.

"Remember that as we become more transparent, accountable, and participatory, we gain and regain the trust of our citizens. That is why we need to be open and encourage citizen participation so that together we can take action and catalyze change for the better," Secretary Pangandaman said.

DBM Secretary Pangandaman extends her congratulations to the participants in her welcome message.

On the same occasion, National Youth Commission (NYC) Commissioner Reena Vivienne Pineda congratulated the participants for completing the program. She also extended NYC’s support to the youth leader for their future youth development programs and projects.

"Now I am confident that you will continue to make a positive impact on your communities and that you will be able to use what you have learned to create a better future for all Filipinos," Commissioner Pineda added.

NYC Commissioner Reena Vivienne Pineda lauds the participants in her closing message.
Photo from: National Youth Commission Facebook Page

Building Bridges of Support for Mental Health Advocacy

Representatives from the LGUs of the Province of Albay, Province of Northern Samar, City of Manila, Quezon City, Municipality of Balete, Aklan, Municipality of San Mateo, Rizal, and Municipality of Odiongan, Romblon, presented their Open Government Youth Action Plans and shared their stories throughout the training program.

In their video, the Municipality of Balete, Aklan, laid out their action plan for addressing cases of teenage pregnancy and mental health problems in their locality by establishing the Balete Adolescent and Youth Facility, which aims to provide consultation and counseling services for the youth.

Echoing the same cause, the LYDO of San Mateo, Rizal, also hoped to address mental health issues in their province by implementing a long-term program such as peer mental health respondent.

The LGU also mentioned conducting focused group discussions, collaborating with different stakeholders, and publicizing the initiative’s progress as steps for transparency and engagement.

Meanwhile, the LGU of Quezon City (QC) showed its means of addressing gadget addiction among the youth in their locality by applying the values they learned from the program.

"Ini-encourage po namin sila na gamitin ang pribilehiyo ng isang kabataang QC sa pamamagitan ng pagtangkilik ng mga serbisyo, produkto, at mga lugar na makikita sa QC."( We encourage them to utilize the privilege of being a youth in Quezon City through its good services, products, and places found in the city.) LYDO Reynafelle Cenera said.

Pushing Towards Youth Economic Empowerment

Albay Local Youth Development Officer (LYDO) Rhondon Ricafort emphasized their priority to expand school youth's economic empowerment through youth employment projects.

"We wanted to focus on our youth's employment, especially sa out of school youth. That is why ito yung inuna naming ipakita, and we make it sure na… the office has the funds to support especially dun sa basic na gagamitin ng aming out-of-school youth." (We wanted to focus on our youth's employment, especially for out-of-school youth. That is why we presented it first, and we made sure that the office has the funds to support it, especially for the basic needs of our out-of-school youth.) he said.

The Municipality of Odiongan, Romblon presented their action plan to primarily deal with the increase in school dropout cases in their locality. Among the initiatives are implementing educational assistance programs and community learning hubs for youth.

Odiongan, Romblon LYDO officer, Engr. Reden Escarilla, also mentioned collaborating with various agencies to conduct livelihood programs. "Sa pakikiisa ng pamahalaang bayan ng Odiongan, pangarap namin na maiangat ang antas ng kabataan at walang iwanan.” (Through the support of Municipal Government of Odiongan, it is our dream to uplift the level of youth and leave no one behind.) he said.

Applying Principles and Practices of Good Governance

Jhon Mel Rebenito, Balete, Aklan LYDO shared that identifying the root cause of the problem, consulting with community stakeholders, planning financial management, and advocating for transparency are the key takeaways to strengthening community participation and accountability.

"Through this program na-enlighten kami. Although we have a different set leadership training na pinagdaanan, additional na leadership style and naibigay ng De La Salle University (La Salle Institute of Governance)," Rebenito added. (Through this program, we were enlightened. Although we underwent a different set of leadership training, the De La Salle University (La Salle Institute of Governance) provided additional leadership styles.)

Meanwhile, the training program brought the Manila City Local Youth Development Council (LYDC) team closer to the various communities they reached out to, emphasizing the importance of openness to changes and differences for the betterment of the programs and projects.

Jaycee Del Rosario, member of the Manila City LYDC, shared budgeting process is crucial in obtaining accountability. He added that "discussions with my local development youth officer opened my consciousness to how tedious the budgeting process is on the LGU level. Civic education, driven mechanisms, and funding accountability are some of the options the youth can do in attaining accountability through public service."

Northern Samar LYDO Representative Jhon Allen Berbon, compared their training experience to the journey of the disciples to Emmaus. "We have been journeying with these OGP values even before La Salle Institute of Governance has mentored us... However, just like the disciples, we have been completely opening our eyes that...there is so much more work to do."

It is also highlighted in their presentation that accountability, public oversight, and consistent practice of democracy are the key elements of open government.

San Mateo, Rizal LYDC Representative Elijah Ermita pointed out that public trust is public office. "Wala ang opisina ng gobyerno at wala mismo ang gobyerno kung wala ang tiwala ng taumbayan satin.” (The government office and the government itself would not exist without the trust of the people in us.)

He also underscored accountability, transparency, and citizen participation as important elements of gaining public trust.

Organized by the La Salle Institute of Governance, in collaboration with the National Democratic Institute, the Galing Pook Foundation, and the National Youth Commission, the POGCHAMPS: Project Open Government (Youth) Champions training program served as a platform to empower young leaders and equip them with the necessary skills to foster open government practices and youth development in their respective localities.

The culminating activity was supported by the Philippine Open Government Partnership as part of the celebration of Open Government Week 2023.

Participants with LSIG Director Dr. Ador Torneo, and Galing Pook Foundation Board of Trustees Member Ms. Ma. Gladys Sta. Rita

DBM, Experts Reiterate Push for Budget Transparency

Manila— Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman reiterated the importance of budget transparency after the Philippines slipped eight notches in a budget transparency survey for 2021 but still maintained its lead in Southeast Asia.

"It is vital that we realize that open government does not only benefit the system, rather its advantage cascades to different sectors of society. It creates more stable conditions to incentivize investments from the private sector, sets the stage for ensuring public trust, and strengthens the country’s democratic institution’s principles,”

Sec. Pangandaman said during the 2021 Open Budget Survey (OBS) Public Forum last December 1, 2022, organized by the La Salle Institute of Governance, together with the International Budget Partnership and Stratbase ADR Institute. 

Results of the 2021 OBS show that the Philippines was able to maintain its lead in Southeast Asia despite a decline in its score. The Philippines scored 68 out of 100 in budget transparency, placing the country at the 19th rank out of 120 countries. In the previous round of the OBS in 2019, the Philippines got a score of 76 and ranked 10th.

Secretary Pangandaman stressed DBM’s commitment to open and participatory government and its intent to take OBS recommendations to improve budget processes.

"We are also committed to continuing working towards an open and participatory government as we chair the Philippine Open Government Partnership Stating committee. Furthermore, we will take the recommendations of the OBS to heart and study the feasibility of introducing this in our processes,” she added.

Suad Hasan of the International Budget Partnership (IBP) expressed hope that the Philippines would increase its efforts to improve budget transparency after falling out of the top ten performers in the 2021 OBS.

"We, in the open budget survey team, give the Philippines examples of budget documentation, especially of your citizens’ budget, very often [in presentations to other countries], and there are some really clear and simple measures to be taken that I’m sure would put the Philippines back in the top 10 performers. I am optimistic here," Hasan said.

She further highlighted the joint congressional review committee formed during the pandemic as one of the Philippines' initiatives for budget accountability reforms.

"This is an example of how we shared best practices from amongst countries and we also encouraged all countries to usher in a race to the top by disclosing more and more information, especially around debt and financial risk and make these accountability reforms permanent," Hasan explained.

La Salle Institute of Governance Senior Fellow and Professor Francisco Magno, who serves as the OBS independent expert for the Philippines, presented the survey results and discussed that the OBS provides data and information to the public regarding the budget processes.

"It [OBS] indicates where we are currently when it comes to the availability of information, the timeliness of its publication, and the content, especially the budget; it’s a public document, it's people’s money, how it is used, and how it can be an important resource for enabling us to achieve our policy goals."

He also explained the importance of digitalization for budget transparency.

"The gold standard nowadays for effective budget transparency is digitalization, providing information on public websites, the timeliness of the information, and the comprehensiveness of the content, including the eight key budget documents," Professor Magno said. 

While the Philippines’ budget transparency score remains at a sufficient level, experts and government officials still see the need to improve budget mechanisms to develop public access and open government further. 

DBM Assistant Secretary Rolando Toledo stressed the Department's careful analysis and response to OBS indicators in increasing the transparency of budget documents.

"Currently the budget documents produced by the DBM are now published and it is assured that we have a higher score compared to the next cycle. Improvements of the score of the key budget documents under the DBM based on some IBP’s recommendations are also included in the documents," he added.

Stratbase ADR Institute President Prof. Victor Andres Manhit also expressed support for DBM's initiatives. He said that with digitization and e-government, there would be more responsive public expenditure programs for the Filipino people. He also highlighted that the Philippine governance culture is lacking accountability.

“Good policy choices on the continuing pandemic, rising inflation, food security and energy, job creation, poverty reduction, even public-private partnerships, will be the barometer of accountability moving forward for this administration,” he explained.

Manhit also stressed the demand of stakeholders for institutions of government to be more transparent, accountable, and responsive.

“What we want are institutions of government to become more transparent, accountable, and responsive in delivering public services in terms of managing the public sector also,” Manhit said. 

Moreover, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) President George Barcelon believes budget transparency is critical for policy advocacy and development outcomes for policy stakeholders.

"Every local government official should take it upon themselves that people may not be complaining, but they have to look at their systems, and the quality of the process must be reviewed. And if they can reduce the time in helping the private sector and establishments file their papers, that would be a big help. These are all part of what I might say, the need for us to make ourselves attractive to foreign direct investments," He further explained.

Barcelon also emphasized the presence of KPIs in budget processes.

"We have to do our homework; we have to make our country attractive, and it boils down to the whole government. systems. Relying on an open budget, and budget that is effective. The budget is just numbers, but without any KPI, it means nothing. For any budget to make sense, you got to have KPI."

The OBS evaluated three components of open budgeting: budget transparency, or the Open Budget Index (OBI), public participation, and budget oversight. The survey is grounded on a thorough and objective methodology that has been examined by independent experts. The results are based on a 228-question questionnaire completed by researchers normally located in the country being studied. A government representative and an independent expert review each country's draft survey questionnaire.

More than 300 participants from Zoom and Facebook live streams attended. Esteemed guests primarily from the Department of Budget and Management, Senate Committee on Science and Technology, Senate Economic Planning Office, House of Representatives, Philippine Institute of Development Studies, civil society organizations, the academe, and media partners participated in the event as well.

The 2021 OBS Forum was organized by the La Salle Institute of Governance, in partnership with Stratbase ADR Institute, and International Budget Partnership (IBP).