Phl reaffirms commitment to transparency at London summit

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and open governance at the two-day Open Government Partnership annual summit in London that ended yesterday.

Representing the Philippines at the summit were Commission on Audit (COA) Commissioner Heidi Mendoza and presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda.

Vivian Suerte-Cortez, recognized by Devex as one of 40 under 40 International Development Leaders for 2013, is one of seven finalists in the Bright Spots competition, launched this year to recognize initiatives that help move governments closer to the goal of open governance. She manages the citizen participatory audit project with the COA.

Mendoza spoke at the session “When audit institutions engage citizens,” which examined the role of audit institutions in promoting transparency, improving integrity and holding governments accountable. She shared COA’s experiences and approaches as well as the challenges and critical factors in fulfilling its mission.

Lacierda, a panelist at the launch of the Open Data Working Group at the OGP, discussed the challenges of pushing Open Data in the Philippines, including the digitization preparedness of various government agencies, the different digital platforms used by agencies, and the ingrained culture of opaqueness in some agencies.

He reiterated the Aquino government’s commitment to transparency, accountability and good governance by empowering citizens and harnessing technology to strengthen governance. “In this light, in the same vein as the ‘budget ng bayan’ (people’s budget), we endeavor to put government data, with the exception of sensitive and security-related information, online that is understandable, accessible and shareable,” he told the packed session.

Lacierda also announced that the Philippines’ Open Data will be launched on Nov. 26.

Also on the panel was Sir Tim Berners Lee, founder of the Internet and co-founder and president of the Open Data Institute.

Suerte-Cortez is country innovations manager of ANSA-EAP and was part of the team that entered into participatory budgeting activities with the Department of Public Works and Highways that resulted in the inclusion of about $294 million worth of tourism infrastructure projects in the 2013 national budget.

Other finalists in the first Bright Spots competition come from Chile, Romania, Indonesia, Georgia, Estonia and Montenegro.

The Philippines is one of eight countries in the steering committee of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), launched in September 2011 with 45 world leaders in attendance. This year, over 1,000 delegates from 60 countries joined the summit hosted by the government of the United Kingdom, this year’s OGP chair.

Speaking at the launch at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, Aquino expressed appreciation for “honoring my country with membership in the OGP Steering Committee,” which “acknowledges and further strengthens our commitment to promoting transparency, fostering accountability and combating corruption.”

The OGP summit was held in Brazil last year. Mexico will take over chairmanship of the OGP from the United Kingdom after this year’s summit. The Philippines is one of only two countries from Asia – the other being Indonesia – in the OGP Steering Committee.