The city government of Baguio expressed its interest to be among the models of Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP) following President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s Executive Order 31 on June 20 institutionalizing the same for the co-creation of collaborative solutions to public problems.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Budget and Management, and the Philippine Information Agency launched the OG Pinas on Nov. 7 in Baguio City clustering participants from the government, academe, civil society organizations, and other groups from regions 1, 2, 3, and the Cordillera.
OG Pinas 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.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong said his administration has always been supportive of inclusive and sustainable development thus encouraging youth groups and civil society organizations in committees and decision-making bodies of the city as part of his Good Governance campaign.
He said the use of social media platforms in information dissemination had also been a catalyst in the city government’s transparency of projects and plans therefore boosts citizen participation.
His administrations’ seven-point development agenda is also in line with OG Pinas’ direction to promote integrity, accountability and social innovation, enabled by the use of new technologies.
Being an OGP model provides LGUs verifiable means of reform credentials with incentivized training in the development of local action plans that address local and national issues.
OGP was formed by 76 countries, 104 local governments, and more than 3,000 civil society organizations since 2011 aimed at developing and implementing concrete commitments to advance open government. – Jessa Mardy P. Samidan
