Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

After the Philippines' successful participation in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit 2025, we, at the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), together with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) and the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Philippines and UN Women, sustained the momentum of openness, transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement—the very values of the OGP—as we led the Philippine Conference (PhilCon) on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) from Oct. 28 to 30, 2025.

Consistent with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s vision to amplify women’s crucial role in shaping a just and lasting peace, the three-day event, attended by over 600 delegates from the government, civil society, academia, media, and international partners, placed women’s empowerment and participation at the heart of national transformation.

The theme “Empowering Local Women, Peace, and Security Champions as Agents in Socioeconomic Transformation” reflects the government’s deep commitment to gender-responsive leadership and community-based peace processes. DBM’s stewardship underscores the belief that feminist peace is also participatory, democratic, and driven by inclusive public institutions.

For those unfamiliar, the PhilCon on WPS builds on the success of the country's hosting of the 2024 International Conference on WPS and implementation of the Pasay Declaration. It is based on the four key pillars of the National Action Plan on WPS 2023-2033, namely: i) Empowerment and Participation; ii) Protection and Prevention; iii) Promotion and Mainstreaming; and iv) Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning.

At the Opening Ceremony, I underscored that WPS shifts our focus from global commitments to local realities—the stories, struggles, and innovations at the grassroots that bring the WPS Agenda to life every single day. This is because true peace cannot exist without women who mend the social fabric torn by years of conflict through their daily acts of leadership, compassion, and resilience. Empowered women play a vital role in laying the foundation for enduring peace.

Thus, I cited the government’s initiatives and policies to mainstream gender-responsive programs in all government agencies. These include the Gender and Development (GAD) Budget, which directs government agencies to allocate at least five percent of their total annual budgets for gender-based programs, projects, and activities. Through gender-responsive budgeting, we ensure that our policies and investments empower and uplift the lives of the most vulnerable, particularly women, indigenous peoples, and children and youth. In local governments across the country, gender-responsive planning and budgeting have helped integrate peace and security concerns into local policies, ensuring that women are not only beneficiaries but leaders and partners in peacebuilding.

I also proudly shared that, in our first-ever multi-framework, multi-stakeholder Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Assessment, the Philippine Public Financial Management system achieved above-average scores across seven key indicators of gender responsiveness. Toward peacebuilding, our flagship peace and development convergence program, PAyapa at MAsaganang PamayaNAn (PAMANA), has notably improved the lives of the Filipino people in conflict-affected areas through capacity-building, reconstruction, and development initiatives.

Further, I emphasized the government’s determination to highlight women’s increased participation in peace and security efforts in the country and beyond. And as our nation prepares to chair ASEAN 2026, we will ensure that the WPS Agenda stays at the top of ASEAN priorities.

And through our work with the OGP, we continue to strengthen transparency and accountability by pursuing key reforms such as the Right to Information Act, ensuring that governance is not just about numbers, but about people and their right to participate in decisions that shape their lives. Open government complements the WPS Agenda by ensuring that the voices of women and local communities are not only heard but translated into concrete actions that foster trust, empower participation, and sustain peace. As the PH-OGP chairperson and a Gawad Kapayapaan awardee, I reaffirm our commitment to leveraging the OGP as a platform to advance our WPS Agenda.

Meanwhile, I agree with Solicitor General (SolGen) Darlene Berberabe, our Guest of Honor, when she emphasized that women should stop being just beneficiaries, noting, "We should take part in leadership." For SolGen Berberabe, "[e]mpowerment, peace, and prosperity are not three separate concepts. They are one movement grounded in local champions, backed by local institutions, and measured by lives improved."

At the media briefing, OPAPRU Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. highlighted that women have become the driving force of peace by helping turn inclusion into action and building a nation rooted in empowerment, equity, and shared prosperity. He added that women "rightfully deserve a seat at the table."

Beyond budget, the PhilCon on WPS provided a space where we can listen and learn from diverse experiences and perspectives. Let us therefore seize this opportunity by building on our gains to develop a truly holistic and inclusive approach to advancing the WPS Agenda. In this way, we can achieve a Bagong Pilipinas where every Filipina can thrive in equality, and where all of us live in peace and security, because empowering women is not merely an act of inclusion—it is the foundation of peace.