ILOILO City – To promote good governance, financial accountability and effective resource management, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is conducting a Public Financial Management Competency training for local government units (LGUs) of Iloilo.The three-day capacity-building program kicked off yesterday at Diversion 21 hotel here and wraps up this Friday.
It aims to enhance the behavior, attitude, skills, knowledge, and capacities of local public financial management (PFM) practitioners such as budget officers to foster in local government institutions effective governance, financial responsibility and effective management of resources, according to Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman.
“I have conversed with various PFM practitioners across the country, so I am aware of the many challenging situations and circumstances at the local level,” she told training participants.
Capacitating LGUs on PFM is crucial for fiscal discipline, effective service delivery, transparency, and accountability, stressed Pangandaman.
“I cannot emphasize enough the importance of procurement in governance. In fact, we call it the heart of public service because it is through procurement activities that we are able to source materials to provide our fellow Filipinos with infrastructure, healthcare services, education materials, and more,” added the Budget chief.
DBM, she emphasized, is “working very hard to improve our procurement systems to become future ready, efficient, and, most of all, to ensure integrity in procurement processes.”
DBM is partnering with the Philippine League of Local Budget Officers (PHILLBO), Inc. for this training, which is part of the series of face-to-face capacity-building activities for local PFM practitioners.
This also ensures consistent standards, promotes intergovernmental fiscal relations, and contributes to the overall improvement of financial management practices in the country, said Pangandaman.
“Through our capacity-building, I hope that you will be inspired not only to work harder but also to help us implement the necessary reforms that will improve our government systems and processes,” the Budget chief told training participants.
She added: “Sama-sama po nating paigtingin at pagitingin ang ating mga LGU sa pamamagitan ng wasto at tapat na pagsasagawa at paggamit ng ating mga budget tungo sa Bagong Pilipinas. Together, let us secure a future-proof and sustainable economy and achieve our Agenda for Prosperity.”
OPEN GOV’T
Also yesterday here, DBM brought its OGPinas! campaign a week after the Marcos administration launched this national advocacy on open government (OG) in Quezon City on Oct. 11.
This is in line with the institutionalization of the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP) by virtue of Executive Order 30 signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on June 20.
This means that all branches of government are mandated to be open or transparent and to promote public participation in government processes, said Pangandaman.
“I know that the Ilonggos are very passionate about the values of open government: transparency, public participation, and good governance,” she added.
The mission for OGPinas is to encourage and instill such a culture.
“Let us be empowered by our vision for an open government and let us empower others through this platform to make the changes we all desire for the betterment of our country — even beyond our Agenda for Prosperity,” said Pangandaman.
OGPinas! aims to raise awareness about the PH-OGP, especially at the local level; provide avenues and more channels of communication for government-civil society partnerships; and ultimately, strengthen public participation in policy-making and governance in the country./PN
