Bohol has been chosen a model province in Open Government Partnership (OGP), a global initiative now having 75 signatory countries towards transparency, empowered citizenry and strong governance.

Gov. Edgar Chatto shared Bohol’s initiatives in people’s participation and empowerment, and experiences in bringing OGP to the people thru participatory planning and budgeting and open legislation.

This was during the National Policy Dialogue on OGP by the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) and High-Level Regional Conference on OGP by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

Intended for project strengthening the influence of local stakeholders in the Philippine OGP, the policy dialogue was done at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza – Manila on Monday.

A side-event of the Philippines’ chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the high-level conference was held at the Philippine International Convention Center on the following day.

It was an ASEAN roundtable discussion on OGP where best practices in good governance initiatives between and among the ASEAN members and selected other countries were cited and shared.

Selected governors and mayors were invited by the ULAP and DBM to listen to the Bohol model and share their own experiences in open government practices.

Chatto led Bohol’s delegation that included Vice Gov. Dionisio Balite and the mayors of OGP pilot towns—William Jao of Tubigon, Judith Cajes of Trinidad, and Marnilou Ayuban of Alicia.

The OGP-DBM activity also involved the ASEAN National Organizing Committee, with support from the USAID Facilitating Public Investment Project.

The OGP was formally launched on September 20, 2011 when its eight founding governments endorsed the OGP Declaration and announced their country action plans.

Its founders are Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, the United Kingdom, United States of America, and Philippines.

The OGP is multilateral initiative aimed at securing concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.

In the spirit of multi-stakeholder collaboration, the OGP is overseen by a steering committee, including representatives of governments and civil society organizations.

To become a member of the OGP, a participating country must endorse a high-level open government declaration and deliver a country action plan developed with public consultation, among others.

Since 2011, the OGP has welcomed the commitment of 67 additional governments to join the partnership.

Now, 75 OGP participating countries and 15 sub-national governments have made over 2,500 commitments to make their governments more open and accountable.  (Ven rebo Arigo)