Championing Open Governance on the global stage

Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.In last week's article, I shared the Philippines' success at the Open Gov Challenge Awards held during the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.

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But, beyond the distinctions, I believe our presence at the Summit manifests our country’s unwavering commitment to transparency, accountability, citizen participation, and inclusion under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s leadership.

At the Opening Plenary, we joined thousands of open government champions and reformers from around the world. OGP Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Aidan Eyakuze’s words served as a reminder of why we do this work: to make our communities stronger, fairer, and more resilient, so that future generations inherit governments they can trust, communities they can believe in, and a planet where dignity endures.

During the Steering Committee Meeting, it was heartening to hear CEO Eyakuze acknowledge the Philippines as one of the founding members now returning to the Committee — reinforcing our continued leadership and commitment to the open government agenda.

In my intervention, I underscored the importance of harnessing technology to strengthen reform efforts, ensuring that innovation bridges government and citizens. I also presented our country’s candidacy as incoming Co-Chair of the OGP Steering Committee. As lead of the OGP Programmatic Delivery Subcommittee, the Philippines works closely with the OGP Support Unit to scale thematic ambition across the Partnership and to provide oversight of OGP’s strategy for advancing open government reforms. Regardless of the election outcome, our country stands ready to take an active role in OGP leadership — bringing the voice of our people, the strength of our reforms, and the spirit of collaboration that defines our commitment to open government.