TO ENSURE that President Rodrigo Duterte’s promise of “real change” will be largely felt by all Filipinos, the government working with the people is an imperative.
This was stressed on Tuesday by Undersecretary for Local Government Austere Panadero during the opening of the two-day Open Government and Participatory Governance Regional Dialogues Visayas Cluster 1 at SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City.
Panadero, who delivered the message of Participatory Governance Cluster (PGC) co-chairman Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, said given the sheer extent of corruption in the bureaucracy, changing how the government works would not be possible without the effective mobilization of civil society and sustained demand from the public.
“This dialogue is aimed at empowering citizens to become active in the fight against corruption," he said, adding that there is a big improvement in the participation of people since the last couple of months, if using as indicator the reports lodged through the 8888 hotline.
The activity, participated by at least 200 representatives from the government and private sector in Western and Central Visayas, is the kick-off run of the Open Government and Participatory Governance Regional Dialogues in the country.
Organized by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), this is the first of a series of serious conversations with citizens on key priority programs of the government.
In May 2017, Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) No. 24 that reorganized the Cabinet Cluster System and created the PGC.
The President also created the Office of Participatory Governance under the Office of the Cabinet Secretary through EO No. 9.
Assistant Secretary Marlon Broto of the Performance and Project Management Office of the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, who was also present at the dialogue, said the government wants to make sure that people are aware of updates in terms of governance in the country.
Broto said the dialogue aims to enable citizens to understand that there is an ongoing development in so far as what the administration would like the governance to be in the future.
“We want a whole of the national approach by involving civil society organizations, people’s organizations, and communities, among others,” he said, adding that “there should be a clear connection between the government and the people.”
Through participatory governance, responding to what really is needed by the citizens is assured, Broto added.
Tuesday’s session also included consultation with various stakeholders on the proposed new initiatives to be included in the PGC Roadmap 2017 to 2022.
“We aim to develop a roadmap that highlights the inclusion and strengthening of the push for sectoral policies and program goals that will directly impact the lives of the Filipinos at the grassroots,” Panadero said.
He added: “We hope to get agreements with partners here especially on how to make the system become more facilitative to the concerns of the people.”
For Wednesday’s session, there will be discussions on national budget for Fiscal Year 2018, Budget Reform Bill, and tax reform program of government, among others.
Among other organizers include the Caucus of Development NGO Networks, Department of Finance, and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce.
