The Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), through its Center for Governance, will host the inaugural conference of the Capability Building on Innovative Leadership for Legislative Staff (CBILLS) Program on October 10, 2024, at the Marco Polo Ortigas, Pasig City. The event will also be streamed live via DAP’s official social media channels, underscoring the Academy’s leadership in promoting innovation and good governance in the public sector.
Themed “Reshaping the Future of Public Policy for Innovative Governance,” the conference seeks to explore the transformative impact of emerging digital technologies on the policymaking process. By highlighting how these innovations can serve as key drivers for more effective and adaptive governance, the event builds upon insights from previous Thursday Talks lectures, which emphasized policy innovation and participative governance.
DAP President and CEO Majah-Leah Ravago, PhD, will open the conference, reaffirming the Academy’s steadfast commitment to advancing sustainable development and promoting good governance in support of the Philippine Congress through the CBILLS Program. Hon. Francis Joseph “Chiz” Escudero will deliver the keynote address, emphasizing Congress’s critical role in fostering agile, technology-enabled policy processes aimed at achieving inclusive socio-economic and political reforms.
The conference will feature a series of sessions that underscore DAP’s expertise in facilitating high-impact discussions on the use of digital and information technology in public policy formulation.
The first plenary session, titled “Information Governance as a Foundation for Transformative Policymaking,” led by Usec. Dennis Mapa of the Philippine Statistics Authority, will explore how robust data governance can serve as the backbone of inclusive and data-driven policymaking.
In line with DAP’s mission to promote innovative leadership, parallel sessions on “Reimagining Governance through Innovative Leadership and Data-Driven Policymaking” will present the outputs of CBILLS scholars. Legislative committee secretaries from the House of Representatives and Senate will provide their reactions and insights on these innovations.
The plenary session, “Leveraging Emerging Technologies for Smarter Policymaking,” will be led by digital governance experts, including Mario Domingo, Global Chief Technology Officer from UBX, and Tirso Raymond Gutierrez, Chief of Staff from the Office of the Undersecretary for e-Government of the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
Further highlighting DAP’s role in bridging policy and practice, the “Lightning Talks: Bridging the Gap Between Technology and Public Policy” will feature case studies on disaster risk reduction, agriculture, food security legal research, and business. Speakers will include Exec. Director Alfredo Mahar Francisco Lagmay, PhD from the UP Resilience Institute, Dr. Alisher Mirzabaev of the International Rice Research Institute, Atty. Gio Bilog from Anycase.ai, and Atty. Princess Ascalon from IBM Philippines.
The penultimate session, “Fostering AI in Governance: Security and Ethical Considerations,” will focus on the socio-economic, security, and ethical concerns in the use of artificial intelligence. Atty. Maricel Sicat of PwC Philippines and Michelle Alarcon, President of the Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Association of the Philippines will delve into these issues, further highlighting DAP’s commitment to fostering ethical and forward-thinking governance.
The conference will culminate in a panel discussion titled “Navigating the Future of Public Policy for All,” where key insights from the previous sessions will be synthesized. The discussion will feature distinguished speakers: Atty. Czarina Grace Serrano, Senate Executive Director for Legislation; Dante Roberto Maling, House Deputy Secretary General for the Legislative Information Resources Management Department; and Majah-Leah Ravago, PhD, President and CEO of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP).
As moderators of this one-day conference, DAP’s Center for Governance leaders, including Vice President Imelda Caluen and directors Gilbert E. Lumantao and Jannis T. Montañez, will ensure dynamic and insightful discussions throughout the day.
Through this event, DAP reinforces its role as a key driver of innovative governance, providing a platform for policy leaders and technologists to collaborate on shaping the future of public policy.
The conference will be live-streamed via DAP’s official Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/dap.