Marcos to public sector professionals: Help in ensuring national budget is spent wisely

Manila Bulletin

Amid criticisms against the enacted budget of 2025, President Marcos urged public officials, who graduated from the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), to help his administration ensure that the budget given to the offices they belong to is spent wisely. (Video courtesy of RTVM)  READ: https://mb.com.ph/2025/1/31/help-in-ensuring-national-budget-is-spent-wisely  Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5664f6TkaeHgwBly50DWZQ/join  Subscribe to the Manila Bulletin Online channel! - https://www.youtube.com/TheManilaBulletin  Visit our website at http://mb.com.ph Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manilabulletin Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/manila_bulletin Instagram: https://instagram.com/manilabulletin Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@manilabulletin  #ManilaBulletinOnline #ManilaBulletin #LatestNews

Transcript

00:00My fellow workers in government, our partners from the private sector, ladies

00:06and gentlemen, good afternoon. Well, before anything else, allow me to

00:14congratulate the 661 graduates who hold senior and middle management positions

00:21in various organizations. Every time that we cross or go past a new landmark

00:35in our lives, it is a great success and it is a great testament

00:43to the work that you put in because you will not have arrived to this day had

00:48you not been dedicated to the work that you have taken on to yourselves, and that

00:54is learning how to be better, how to be more effective, how to be more

00:59compassionate in public service. So here at the first Academy-wide graduation

01:05ceremony of the Development Academy of the Philippines, it brings me great pride

01:09to know that I am leading our nation alongside competent and highly skilled

01:15individuals. So as you include another academic and professional achievement in

01:20your list of accolades, be reminded of the great responsibility you hold to use

01:26the knowledge you have gained in the Academy to uplift good government and

01:31promote the welfare of every single Filipino. As graduates of the prestigious

01:37DAP, you are called upon now to consider how you can contribute to the noble yet

01:43formidable pursuit of public service. Public service is a different undertaking

01:51than any other sector of society. I refer to public service as a calling. It is

01:59something that is inherent in our natures. Many people do not

02:05feel the need to serve the public. We do, and we dedicate our lives to public

02:12service because it is the one thing that we have found, the thing that

02:19to be able to help people outside yourself, outside of your family, is what

02:26brings the most meaning to our lives, and that is why we enter into the sphere of

02:32public service. Many people have said, and I'm sure you have heard it yourselves,

02:38that public service is a thankless job, and I can also understand why people

02:44might say that, because the rewards that we gain are not rewards of treasure, of

02:49fame, of high position, of high influence. No, our rewards are more subtle, more

02:59nuanced. Our rewards are the satisfaction we gain that the work that we do, that

03:06the work, that the compassion that we bring is helping other people, and when

03:14we see that somehow we get frustrated and we say that, well, we are trying very

03:21hard, but the system is difficult. The system is not conducive to all the

03:27things that we would like to do. My advice to you is be patient. The time

03:32will come when you will see that you continue to go at the problem, and

03:39sometimes it feels like you're banging your head against a brick wall. Well, keep

03:44banging, because one day you will see the effects that banging your head against

03:50the wall and continuing the work that you have committed your life to, you will

03:57see that the effects and the results of your hard work, and to the benefit of

04:06other people, you will have changed lives. You will have made lives better for

04:14ordinary people, people you do not even know, and they say we are generous and we

04:22are giving, but on the other hand, I must say that there is a selfish aspect to it.

04:30We do it because we want to feel that satisfaction. We want to feel that joy of

04:38having helped, of having made a difference, of having brought maybe just

04:43one person to a better place, but in helping that one person, that one person

04:50is part of this society, and the better position that you have put them in will

04:57contribute to the progress of the entire society. That is how important is the

05:03work that you do. And so we are dedicated, we are passionate, and we are committed

05:10to the work that we do, but passion and commitment, no matter how great, can only

05:18take us so far, and that is why we must learn the skills to be better, more

05:25efficient, more proactive, more innovative, and we have to learn new skills because

05:32the world continuously changes, and that is why it is important what you have done,

05:37to go through these courses on the Development Academy of the Philippines,

05:42to learn the skills that are necessary, to be able to use the tools that are

05:48available to you to their best effect, and that is the achievement that we

05:53commemorate today. Without a doubt, our nation is in need of leaders who are

05:58committed to the greater good, leaders who embody the highest ideal of a

06:04disciplined Bagong Pilipinas, always opting to choose a difficult right over a

06:10convenient or easy wrong. We are working to ensure that the government budget and

06:16spending shall help improve the lives of our people and propel our nation to

06:21greater heights. Armed with new learnings and the values inculcated by this

06:26institution, I ask that when you fully resume your work, you will be the stewards

06:32of transparency and good governance. I trust you to ensure that every centavo

06:37appropriated to your offices be spent judiciously and wisely for projects that

06:42sustainably benefit the Filipino people, not only of this present generation, but

06:49all those who are to come. The Filipinos deserve no less than our utmost

06:53diligence, accountability, and our integrity. So I ask that every time you

06:59come to work, ensure that your efforts are geared towards uplifting the lives

07:03of our fellow Filipinos. Start by helping the government improve the delivery of

07:08services to our citizens. Amongst the many strategic initiatives and

07:13innovations that we should improve are promoting the ease in public

07:17transactions, for example, reducing red tape, eliminating unnecessary bureaucratic

07:22processes. So as you move forward, never lose sight of your core. Remember why you

07:29joined the public service and why you even pursued additional and rigorous

07:33competitive programs in this academy. May you carry your newly acquired knowledge

07:39and skills while embodying the academy's core values of dangal, galing, at tatag, as

07:45we collectively realize our aspirations for a bagong Pilipinas. Once again,

07:53congratulations to all our graduates. Mabuhay kayo, mabuhay ang DAP, mabuhay ang

07:59bagong Pilipinas. Maraming salamat sa inuli.

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