OGPinas! open chair discussion pioneers in Butuan City
By Renelle Luzon Escuadro
BUTUAN CITY – The Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Caraga moderated the first conduct of the OGPinas! open chair discussion dubbed as “Kaya Natin,” during the OGPinas! Nationwide Advocacy Campaign-Butuan leg on August 30.
The Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman attended the said convergence by around 200 representatives from the local government units, academe, youth network, civil society organizations, government communicators, and media practitioners from Caraga region, who all pledged their commitment and support to open government.
The open chair discussion, as a strategy introduced under OGPinas!, is a form of dialogue designed to foster inclusive, participatory, and spontaneous conversations within a group.
The format typically involves a circle of chairs, with one chair left intentionally empty. This empty chair represents an invitation for anyone from the audience to join the conversation and bring insights.
Serving as panel of experts and resource persons of Kaya Natin were DBM Undersecretary Rolando U. Toledo and Dr. Francisco A. Magno of the La Salle Institute of Governance and moderated by PIA Caraga Assistant Regional Head Renelle Luzon Escuadro.
Usec. Toledo shared some collaborations with civil society organizations (CSO) on certain initiatives and projects such as the citizens’ participatory audit with the Commission of Audit (COA) where CSOs are trained to participate in the audit process.
The undersecretary said, “The DBM’s Project DIME (Digital Imaging Monitoring and Evaluation) is another initiative included in the 6th Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP) National Action Plan that is being implemented and institutionalized. Through technology we can now monitor the status of big projects even in remote and island areas by the use of drones and geo-tagging and where CSOs participate in the feedback mechanism.”
To bring to life the open chair discussion, Victor Emmanuel A. Ozarraga of the Gawad Kalinga shared insights on the participation of his organization in all audits conducted by the Department of the Interior and Local Government such as the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG).
“We appreciate the beauty of the CSO participation in these convergences because we are given an opportunity to make suggestions in the audit and these are accepted and incorporated in the succeeding audit conduct,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Magno underscored the role of the academe in making user-friendly tools to appreciate data transparency and research to fight against fake news.
He further encouraged the youth leaders to apply transparency initiatives in the youth development councils.
Daniel Daneo, a learner and a student leader from the Caraga State University in Butuan City, took the invitation to occupy the empty seat, and appreciated that the youth is considered as part of the OGPinas! Steering Committee. He expressed commitment to participate in the future open government engagements for the youth and the academe.
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is an international movement for openness established in 2011. The Philippines is one of the eight founding governments of the OGP together with Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.
With this, the country remains a global open government champion and weaves the OGPinas! narrative and framework with various national governance anchors and mechanisms of the administration. (RLE/PIA-Caraga)
