At the 2025 Open Government Partnership (OGP) Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting, an uneasy pang in the heart was felt as the Philippines was hyped as the “most fiscally transparent country in Asia.”

Also, it was touted that in the current dispensation, the biggest anti-corruption measure in recent history has been achieved: the New Government Procurement Act.

It can’t be helped but feel like being taken for a ride with the claims in the Department of Budget and Management (DBM)-led assembly, which was attended by local government and Asian representatives.

The holding of the summit had as a backdrop the disputes over the budget, in which the opaqueness of the bicameral conference committee led to the return of the corrupt pork barrel practices and the allegations of the murky confidential fund that led to the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

The pretense of a transparent fiscal situation is particularly appalling since the issues rocking the legislature and other branches of government involve precisely the lack of transparency.

Cielo Magno, co-chairperson of the steering committee representing civil society in the OGP, said it is important from the perspective of civil society to identify populist governments since they are anti-transparency.

“They directly attack civil society, they use fake news, they hire trolls (on social media) to influence the political discourse,” she explained.

Magno, who is also a professor at the University of the Philippines School of Economics, stressed the importance of OGP members having a strong commitment to institutionalizing spaces for civil society to participate, as she referred to the Philippine government, which is a founding member of OGP.

Laws should also be legislated, she said, to strengthen the participation of private groups.

Magno then touched on the Freedom of Information (FoI) law, which has defied decades of campaigns from media and other civic groups demanding the passage of the measure but has failed.

An FoI law should be a minimum for all OGP countries, and the Philippines is the only nation among the founders without such an accountability law.

Magno added that policies should also be institutionalized to push back against corruption.

She cited as an example the law on beneficial ownership that will divulge public officials’ controlling interest in a legal entity or arrangement, such as a company, a trust, or a foundation.

She also listed an open contracting law as among the musts for an OGP adherent. The law would require the publishing and use of open, accessible and timely information on public contracting.

Magno said open communication between citizens and the government is important, and at the same time, the use of data in informing policy is essential.

“We should distinguish between what is a token and a genuine civic space, so when we engage, we have to make sure that we are not being used to whitewash and legitimize.”

Magno stressed the importance of passing the FoI law “immediately” to reflect the government’s commitment to the advocacies of the OGP.

In the previous administration, Executive Order 2 was issued to apply FoI to the executive branch, but still, Congress blocked the enactment of a law for it, as one legislator said that EO 2 and other related edicts were enough for transparency.

The usual excuse of Congress about preserving national security to hinder the passage of an FoI law does not align with the country’s OGP commitments.

Extremely disgraceful is that the country is the last holdout among the OGP founders that resists institutionalizing freedom of information.