The Philippines has two internationally recognised programs in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and both fall under the "Citizen Participation" commitment. These are the Citizen Participatory Audit (CPA), which won the Bright Spots prize in London last 2013, and the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting (GPB), which bagged third gold award in New York this year. I realized the Philippines' global strength and contribution in citizen participation while preparing a presentation for an OGP regional event in Phnom Penh, Cambodia last October 16. I joined this event on the invitation of Indonesian organizers-- Indonesia is taking leadership in the region-wide mobilization of East Asia and Pacific countries to join OGP since the conclusion of its OGP chairmanship.
From eight member countries in 2011, the OGP now has 65. This is the collective body that has bestowed honors on the innovative governance ideas from the Philippines in two consecutive years.
