President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has issued Executive Order (EO) No. 31, institutionalizing the Philippine Open Government System (PH-OGP), which would oversee and implement the country's commitments to the OGP.

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The EO, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on June 20, creates the PH-OGP Steering Committee to ensure that open government values are embedded in government policies and programs.

The committee comprises representatives from the government and civil society organizations (CSOs), which would act as a policy and decision-making body for the PH-OGP.

The Budget secretary would chair the Steering Committee, while the following would be the members:

• Executive Secretary
• Secretary, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)
• Secretary, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)
• Secretary, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)
• Four government sector representatives identified by the chairperson as non-permanent members
• National President, Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines
• 10 CSO representatives
  
  

The Philippines is one of the eight founding members of the OGP, a broad international partnership established in 2011 that includes members from national and local governments and CSOs.

As a member country, the Philippines endorsed a high-level Open Government Declaration, committing itself to co-creating a NAP with the CSOs, anchored on transparency, accountability, citizen participation, and technology and innovation.

LOOK: President Marcos issues EO no. 31, institutionalizing the Philippine Open Government Partnership which ensures the country's commitment to the OGP, a broad international partnership that includes national and local governments and civil society orgs. @manilabulletin pic.twitter.com/WHlgYpyEEH

— Argyll Cyrus Geducos (@argyll_mb) June 22, 2023

In his EO, Marcos said the PH-OGP has evolved into a vital platform for introducing governance reforms through harnessing technology, creating synergy with the CSOs, and mainstreaming these innovations in various levels of government.

"To further strengthen the engagement of government and non-government champions, there is a need to institutional the PH-OGP as a mechanism for the delivery of more effective and sustainable actions to address current social concerns," he said.

PH-OGP National Action Plan
Based on the EO, the PH-OGP NAP shall contain commitments from the government, which shall be co-created through a multi-stakeholder process.

"It shall embody a concrete set of actions, composed o government programs and projects that conform to OGP values," it read.

"The NAP shall incorporate the country's commitment to the OGP," it furthered.

Based on its website, the OGP is an "organization of reformers inside and outside of government working to transform how government serves its citizens."