MESSAGE

Maayong buntag sa tanan!

I am truly happy, grateful, and pleased to meet you all – our enthusiastic and impassioned AGAP members, participants, and the FY 2024 Outstanding Accounting Offices awardees, in this FY 2025 AGAP Convention-Seminar with its theme: “Sustainable Governance: Embracing Innovation and Technology on Public Financial Management”.

It is with heartfelt admiration and esteem that I recognize the presence of our distinguished Keynote Speaker, Honorable Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco and the Department of Tourism Key Officials. 

Esteemed colleagues, fellow public servants, and dear friends, it is both an honor and a privilege to stand before you today to acknowledge your individual and collective presence in this Convention-Seminar. It is my pleasure to welcome you all – aware and confident that your energetic participation will provide import and meaning to this 75th AGAP Founding Anniversary gathering.

This year’s convention carries a powerful theme: “Sustainable Governance: Embracing Innovation and Technology in Public Financial Management.” It is a timely call, especially as our nation continues to navigate the pressing challenges of our time, from the continuing demands of economic recovery to the fight against corruption and the drive for greater transparency, and to the urgent need to strengthen our institutions amidst both natural and man-made crises.  

We are especially grateful to be holding this convention here in Davao City, the crown jewel of Mindanao.  By doing our annual convention here, we are supporting its local industries, tourism, and enterprises.  It is home to Mount Apo, the majestic king of Philippine mountains, and the world-famous durian, which some of you may already have tasted or smelled!  After our sessions, I encourage you to explore the city, take time to enjoy its local delicacies, and buy pasalubong for your families, from durian candies, pomelos, malongs, and woven products, to world-class handicrafts proudly made by Davaoeños.   

These little moments of rest and discovery remind us that while we are here for learning and professional growth, we also deserve to experience the beauty and hospitality that our host city has to offer.  Likewise, we come here with optimism driven by our lingering desire and yearning to meet and intermingle with our AGAP members from different cities, provinces, and regions.

As accountants and stewards of public funds, we find ourselves at the very heart of today’s challenges. The decisions we make, the systems we uphold, and the integrity we demonstrate directly shape how resources are managed and how trust is either built or broken. In today’s environment, where citizens demand more accountability and where technology constantly reshapes expectations, our role has never been more crucial.

Other than the success of our efforts in enhancing our members' capabilities, knowledge, and professional development, we are determined to maintain our yearly Search for the Outstanding Accounting Offices of government agencies, including those of our Local Government Units and private organizations.

We want to see more recipients of AGAP’s Outstanding Accounting Offices Awards every year.  Having many recipients of this award each year will put  import and meaning on the purpose of AGAP awards, to promote competence of government financial management practitioners; foster distinction and serve as benchmark of excellence in public financial management (PFM); promote best practices, encourage adherence to accounting rules, budget regulations, and high standards of reliability and accuracy in financial reporting; and Foster Professional development, motivate government accountants to enhance their capabilities and professional standards.

For CY 2024, we have 112 recipients of AGAP Outstanding Accounting Offices Awards, and 11 offices vying for platinum awards:   The summary is shown on the screen:  

As of July 31, 2025, our scholarship program proudly supports twenty-eight (28) AGAP Scholars. To date, we have produced twenty-five (25) graduates, including thirteen (13) CPA Board Passers, while twenty-one (21) scholars are currently receiving review assistance as they prepare for their licensure examinations. We are especially proud of those who will be taking the CPALE this October, including three with Latin honors, one Magna Cum Laude and two Cum Laude, from some of the country’s most esteemed universities and colleges. 

It is inspiring and motivating to note that we have two (2) beneficiaries who will give their testimonies  conveying their gratitude for the financial assistance, and moral support that they have received, underscoring how the AGAP Scholarship Program helped and propelled them to achieve their respective academic goals. (video presentation) xxxxxxx

Their success is proof that when we invest in talent, we cultivate excellence that inspires. The real challenge before us now is this: how do we ensure that every scholar we nurture becomes not only a professional success but also a leader who will uplift communities and our nation?  That is the bold commitment we must all embrace together.

Today, and for the succeeding days of this event, you have the chance to embrace and embed into your systems the knowledge you will gain from the enlightening discussions of our esteemed resource persons. Let us take this as an opportunity not only to learn new skills and strategies but also to renew our shared commitment to transparency, accountability, and innovation.

Related thereto, we have invited knowledgeable Resource Speakers from different government agencies and offices to provide edifying and enlightening discussions on the topics assigned to them individually, that are significantly connected to this year’s convention’s theme.  These relevant topics we have lined-up for discussions will deepen and improve our knowledge and understanding of the aforementioned subjects.

In behalf of the AGAP Board, we assure you that AGAP will continue to be a partner in reform. We will be here to provide learning, to champion integrity, and to serve as a community where the highest standards of our profession are lived out.  We wish to inform that as part of AGAP programs and activities, we will continue, or increase if necessary, the conduct of Technical Seminars on pertinent, specific subjects intended for accountants, budget officers, and other personnel performing related functions. These are seminars that we will regularly organize to provide our members with valuable knowledge, meaningful learning experiences and opportunities for professional growth. 

We want to see more beneficiaries of AGAP’s Scholarship Program realize their ambitions and achieve their goals. We want to see more recipients of AGAP’s Outstanding Accounting Offices Awards every year. 

We want to see and witness AGAP’s continuous, unhampered, meaningful and successful growth, advocating transparency in all its affairs, and maintaining faithful commitment to serve, as emphatically declared through its persuasive slogan  “ALL FOR THE SERVICE, SERVICE FOR ALL”!!

On that note, I thank you all for your continued participation and support to this annual convention as members, and honored guests of AGAP!   We look forward to an animated and informative discussions ahead, with assured expectations of a successful culmination of this four-day convention-seminar! 

Let us make this convention not just a venue for learning, but a space for commitment. Commitment to sustainable governance. Commitment to harnessing innovation. Commitment to ensuring that the trust given to us by the Filipino people will never be betrayed.

Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat, and may this convention inspire us all to keep serving with excellence, with courage, and with unwavering integrity.  

Again, good morning, God bless us all!