The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) emphasized the need to leverage on digital interventions to promote open, inclusive sustainable governance.
“Our country needs to fully embrace and transition to digitalization, especially on government processes and business models. This is why at the DBM, digital transformation is at the core of our reform agenda,” Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said at the Pilipinas Conference 2022 held in Makati yesterday.
The budget chief highlighted three strategic priorities to promote digital transformation in the country, including energizing citizen participation in governance, investing on innovations to close the digital governance gap and harnessing an agile government.
She likewise stressed the important role of the Philippine Open Government Partnership towards energizing citizen participation.
“The DBM is in the process of establishing a civil society organizations (CSO) Desk to serve as the focal unit for all concerns related to public participation in the budget process, among others. The DBM CSO Desk will be one of the avenues in providing capacity-building activities for CSOs to enable a more meaningful engagement. We target to roll this out by year-end,” Pangandaman said.
In investing on innovations, the budget secretary underscored that the government must make meaningful digital opportunities beyond just providing basic connectivity.
“By investing in digitalization, we connect Filipinos to more opportunities. That is why in our proposed 2023 budget, P12.47 billion will be provided for information and communications technology and digitalization programs and projects of the government,” she added.
Lastly, to improve bureaucratic efficiency, she said DBM advocates for digitalization throughout the Public Financial Management process.
She reiterated the DBM’s commitment to roll out the Budget and Treasury Management System that aims to promote better cash management, effective financial control, accountability and oversight with financial management systems integration across the bureaucracy.
“Our main consideration across these strategic priorities is to leverage on digital transformation to achieve open, inclusive and sustainable governance,” Pangandaman said.
“To this end, we shall deliver effective and efficient public services; provide spaces to listen and to respond to the issues we face; and put the interest and welfare of the Filipino people at the center of its governance,” she added.
