The newly-appointed Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno delivered a short but stirring message to the participants of the 2^nd Public Management Development Program (PMDP) Leadership Conference held last September 1 and 2 at DAP Tagaytay. Addressing an audience of almost 300 public managers and executives, Secretary Diokno talked about the formidable task of carrying out the promise of a better Philippines for which the high-performing and high-potential PMDP alumni are expected to do their share. “Being among the most experienced, most well-trained and with the greatest potential in the public sector, so much is expected of you”, he said. He urged the alumni to keep up the good work they are doing in their respective agencies and challenged them to do better in the job of national development.

DBM Secretary Benjamin Diokno delivers an inspirational message to participants of the 2nd PMDP Leadership Conference. (Photo Credits: Jojo Mamangun)

Having been involved in major policy reforms in the Philippines, Secretary Diokno enumerated the many areas of development that our country still needs, particularly the unemployment rate which stands to be the highest in Southeast Asia at 18%. He also went on to say that much work is needed to improve our public infrastructure, health and education. He described the country’s incidence of crime, corruption, and drugs as “staggering” and that social justice is wanting. He expressed confidence though, in the strong leadership of the current administration to steer us in the direction of change. But knowing that transformation is not a job of just one person and cannot be done overnight, he emphasized the important role of public sector managers and executives as major partners of change. He invited everyone to “hold your end of the bargain in this joint enterprise”.

Sharing PMDP’s vision to produce transformative and strategic leaders in public service who are dedicated and honest, he said that there is no room for the laggards, procrastinators, and incompetents. Mediocrity will only slow us down and assured everyone that good performance will be justly compensated through salary standardization reforms, maintaining the performance-based incentive scheme, and tax adjustments that are fair and competitive with our neighboring ASEAN countries.

“I see the promise of a good life as a long journey”, he said.  He reminded everyone that the change promised by President Duterte requires competent and dedicated leaders who are willing to do the necessary work towards the administration’s “lofty vision of a safer, peaceful, more compassionate, fairer, more beautiful, more prosperous” Philippines.  Such leaders are what PMDP hoped to have formed in the almost five hundred graduates of the Program.

The Public Management Development Program is an intensive, multi-modal training program that aims to produce a corps of public managers that embody competence, integrity and commitment. It is the Philippine government’s career executive service development program that is being overseen by a Steering Committee composed of the National Economic Development Authority, the Department of Budget and Management, the Department of Finance, the Civil Service Commission, and the Career Executive Service Board. The implementing agency of PMDP is the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP).

PMDP is now accepting nominations for Middle Managers Class Batch 14 and 15 opening on February 17, 2017 and April 28, 2017, respectively.