Taguig City: Open governance is key to attaining prosperity, stability, and security, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Thursday, as he called for strong collaboration through 'impactful dialogues, concrete action, and genuine support.'
According to Philippines News Agency, during the opening of the 2025 Open Government Partnership (OGP) Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting (APRM), Marcos urged stakeholders to become 'advocates of accountability' by being part of the global commitment to open governance. He emphasized the importance of collaboration in addressing complex challenges of governance in the 21st century, speaking at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.
The 2025 OGP-APRM, hosted by the Philippines and running until Friday, gathers over 800 high-level government representatives, civil society leaders, and policy makers from over 40 countries. The participants aim to exchange experiences, best practices, and progress on open government initiatives and key issues. The meeting's agenda includes three high-level and ministerial sessions, over 20 interactive breakout sessions, 35 side events, and numerous networking opportunities.
The meeting seeks to invigorate participating nations to pursue open government commitments, encourage a greater response to the Open Government Challenge, and strengthen relationships between governments and civil society organizations towards becoming true Partners for Prosperity. Marcos expressed optimism that the Philippines would learn from participants' best practices on fiscal transparency, digital governance, and climate resilience.
Marcos highlighted the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, identifying OGP as a 'key mechanism to deepen participatory governance.' He underscored the importance of active citizens' participation in policy development and noted initiatives like the Citizen Participatory Audit Program, Grassroots Participatory Budgeting, and Open Data Portal.
Marcos called on all government agencies, local government units, and civil society organizations in the country, as well as international friends and partners, to continue fostering deeper trust. He stressed that citizens can only truly participate in governance with access to information, facilitated by government transparency, digitalization, and the institutionalization of freedom of information through legislation.
Marcos concluded by stating that the occasion testifies to the Philippines embracing open governance as part of its national identity under a Bagong Pilipinas (New Philippines), complemented by efforts to make government processes more responsive, inclusive, and transparent.