The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has sent a delegation to the 2023 Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit held recently in Tallinn, Estonia.
In a statement on Monday, Sept. 11,the DILG said that it shared its “experiences and good practices of the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on making governance and policy-making more transparent and accountable’’ during the event.
“The DILG’s participation in the international summit is in line with the directive of DILG Secretary (Benjamin) ‘Benhur’ Abalos (Jr.) to highlight the government’s initiatives on good governance and enlist the support of OGP in further improving citizen participation in local governance,’’ the DILG noted.
The OGP includes 75 countries and 104 local governments seeking new ways of working together to strengthen democracy and deliver better societal outcomes in partnership with civil society.
During the summit, DILG Undersecretary Marlo Iringan highlighted the efforts of the Philippines in building more inclusive and resilient democracies, including giving citizens a stronger voice in decision-making, fighting corruption, reforming public services and improving local governance.
He also discussed the initiatives of the DILG on encouraging active citizen participation in governance such as barangay assemblies and government-CSO town hall meetings; third-party monitoring for local infrastructure projects; Citizen Satisfaction Index System (CSIS), among others.
DILG Support for Local Governance Program-Project Management Office (SLGP-PMO) head Richard Villacorte also shared the Philippines’ experiences in strengthening spaces for CSO participation by utilizing the existing platforms such as the Local Development Councils in all local governments.