PHL commits to OGP; Civil, business sector urged to monitor gov’t

MALACAÑANG on Thursday issued an order reaffirming the Philippines’ commitment to a broad international partnership for transparency and citizen participation in governance.

Executive Order No. 31 institutionalized the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP), “a multi-stakeholder partnership responsible for overseeing and implementing the country’s commitments to the OGP.”

Under the presidential order, the PH-OGP, through its steering committee, shall ensure that open government values are embedded in government policies and programs.

“The Philippines has been a long-time signatory to the Open Government Partnership and it is good that the country reaffirmed its commitment to the agreement,” Philip Arnold “Randy” P. Tuaño, dean of the Ateneo School of Government, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“Hopefully, this would bode well to strengthening citizenship participation at both national and local government levels and improving transparency and accountability in different government structures,” he said.

“What is critical here is that the specific commitments in the partnership agreement are acted upon by the national government,” he said, adding that monitoring of the government’s actions by the business sector and civil society is also critical.

Through the OGP, governments and civil society organizations (CSOs) work together in creating action plans with concrete reforms.

“This model helps ensure citizens play a role in shaping and overseeing government,” the OGP said on its website.

Since its founding in 2011, the OGP network has grown to 76 countries and 105 local jurisdictions “that work alongside thousands of civil society organizations.”

OGP members address issues involving justice, gender, health, education, digital governance, the right to information, civic space, natural resources, and corruption, among others.

Every two years, every member submits an action plan co-created with CSOs.

The committee created under Mr. Marcos Jr.’s order is tasked to set the direction, programs, and activities of the PH-OGP and promote open and participatory governance through advocacy and outreach activities.

“It shall also embody a concrete set of actions, composed of government programs and projects that conform to the OGP values.”

The Philippines’ fifth action plan — which covered years 2019-2022 — improved access to civil society–government town hall meetings and widened public participation in OGP, the global network said in a report in May.

But the momentum was not sustained during the implementation, OGP said.

“Five of the action plan’s eleven commitments achieved early results, producing fewer open government results than the last plan,” it said, noting that Commitment 6 — the passage of the Freedom of Information and Localizing the FOI program — made major progress “as 61 local governments passed relevant ordinances during the implementation period.”

OGP noted limited implementation for other commitments, saying it was “largely the result” of COVID-19 disruptions and the May 2022 elections.

OGP said the impact of local governments’ commitments will be “magnified” by the implementation of the Philippine Supreme Court ruling that increased their shares from national government taxes and led to the devolution of public services. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza