CITY HOST COUNTRY’S FIRST OPEN GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP SUMMIT

March 8, 2025 Metro BLISTT

BAGUIO CITY

“The city joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP) because we want to be a model of good governance.” Thus, declared Mayor Benjamin Magalong in his welcome message during the OGP Summit, March 5, at the Baguio Convention and Cultural Center that featured key presentations and discussions on Open Government principles aimed at making governments more open, transparent, accountable and responsive to citizens. “The underlying principles of both good governance and OGP are similar like transparency, accountability and citizens participation,” the Mayor said.

The Summit was participated by officials and employees of concerned government offices and agencies, barangay officers, members of various civil society organizations (CSOs), the youth, academe, and other sectors of society. It is the first conducted in the country by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in partnership with the city government through the city planning, development and sustainability office (CPDSO) under Ar. Donna Tabangin.

Keynote messages were delivered by DBM Undersecretary Rolando Toledo and DILG Cordillera Dir. Araceli San Jose while messages of support to Open Government were given by councilors Jose Molintas, Rocky Aliping, John Rey
Mananeng and Jennife Bugtong of the Baguio City People’s Council (BCPC) and Girl Scouts of the Philippines.
Deputy city administrator VJ Cawis gave an orientation on the Summit; BCPC Dir. Nathaniel Saquiban talked on the city’s OGP commitments; the DILG’s Richard Villacorte discussed the institutionalization of the Local People’s Council; while DILG Asst. Sec. Josephine Cabrido-Leyso talked on the Region 12 CSO Academy experience.

An open forum was also conducted. OGP is a multilateral initiative aimed at securing commitments from national and sub-national governments to promote open government, combat corruption, and improve governance whose core values are transparency, public accountability, civic participation and inclusion. Its vision is of open governments working in partnership with CSOs to strengthen democracy and deliver better social outcomes. A total of 75 countries, 150 local governments and more than a thousand CSOs are currently OGP members where only four
LGUs are from the Philippines including Baguio which joined on April 17, last year.

The city’s four OGP commitments are: First, Technology and Innovation for Transparency and Accountability: On Waste Management by developing and implementing a household waste tracking app to monitor and incentivize waste reduction efforts and aims to strengthen enforcement of waste segregation and encourage active citizen participation; Second, Civic Participation: On Traffic Management by engaging the community in co-creating a
pedestrian traffic discipline manual and simulate its application in school zones to instil traffic safety awareness.

Third is Civic Participation: Teaching Baguio’s Carrying Capacity by developing course modules on Sustainable Development Goals, carrying capacity and livability for all education levels that will promote in understanding the challenges faced by the city; and fourth commitment is Civic Participation: Institutionalization of the BCPC as a mechanism to enhance civic participation and ensure inclusive governance.

Gaby B. Keith/Baguio-PIO