Department of Budget and Management Sec. Amenah Pangandaman. Photo by Ryan Leagogo/ INQUIRER.net
The Executive branch, led by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and through the efforts of Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah “Mina” F. Pangandaman, has earned the support of the business community due to its ongoing efforts to advance the people’s right to access information.
Speaking in a media interview a day after millions of Filipinos voted in the country’s midterm polls, Makati Business Club Executive Director Rafael “Apa” Ongpin, cited the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill as one of the priority legislative measures that the business community hopes the next Congress will consider enacting.
The passage of the FOI bill is seen to significantly impact the business community by fostering transparency, accountability, and empowered citizenship.
“I should point out, and I always point this out to people that, generally speaking, the branch of government that resists Freedom of Information the most is the Executive, right? Not just because they have something to hide but it’s because it is a lot of work for them, you know. They are actually an expense. They are actually to create teams to service the public with this information. So generally speaking, [the] executive branches of government tend to resist Freedom of Information. The opposite is the case with the Marcos [Jr.] administration,” Ongpin pointed out.
“That is a very good thing. We’ve gotten so much support, particularly from their team leader on this, who is Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman. She is just a star. And she has put in so much work into this. It is amazing considering normally it is the executive that resists this thing,” he added.
Advancing the FOI Bill
Sec. Pangandaman, who also chairs the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP), has been committed to upholding transparency and freedom of information by pushing for the passage of the FOI Bill in the 20th Congress.
“It has been over three decades since the filing of the very first FOI Bill, and we have yet to pass an enabling law that will truly uphold the people’s constitutional right to information. It may have been a long road ahead, but we are fully committed to taking action, especially because we have the support of no less than our President. We are thankful to the President as this is very much aligned with our vision to make the Philippines a global leader in transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in governance,” Sec. Pangandaman said.
To recall, President Marcos underscored that citizen participation in governance requires access to information, made possible by the “institutionalization of FOI through legislation.” He made the pronouncement during the 2025 OGP Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting last February.
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In support of this, the PH-OGP, in partnership with the Presidential Communications Office, has conducted a series of stakeholder consultations to revisit strategies and chart the next steps for the passage of the FOI Bill. Participants included representatives from government, civil society, academé, and the private sector.
As a testament to the administration’s commitment to upholding access to information and fiscal openness, the Philippines has also cemented its position as the most fiscally transparent country not just in Southeast Asia, but in the whole of Asia, based on the 2023 Open Budget Survey.
The result is attributed to DBM’s timely and comprehensive publication of all key budget documents, including the pre-budget statement, proposed and enacted budget, in-year and mid-year reports, and the People’s Budget series.
With the strong support of President Marcos, Sec. Pangandaman vowed to position the Philippines as the top country in the world for budget transparency.