Undersecretary Bayani Agabin; Undersecretary Maria Luwalhati Dorotan-Tiuseco; Assistant Secretary Danielle Marie Rieza-Culangen; BLGF Executive Director Consolacion Q. Agcaoili; BLGF family; distinguished local chief executives; local treasurers and assessors; fellow public servants and our development partners: magandang hapon po sa inyong lahat.

First, let me greet the men and women of the Bureau of Local Government Finance—Happy 38th Anniversary!

For nearly four decades, your work has transformed how our LGUs collect, manage, and protect public funds. You have brought integrity and professionalism to a task that is both highly technical and deeply political.

And if the first 38 years were about building the foundation of local fiscal governance, the years ahead must be about raising the bar. And that bar is rising fast.
That is why it is only fitting that we gather today to celebrate your milestones and to honor our LGUs, who turn the BLGF’s reforms into real results on the ground.

To our top-performing LGUs: Maraming maraming salamat po. Saludo ako sa inyong dedikasyon at pagsisikap na patuloy na iangat ang antas ng serbisyo para sa ating mga kababayan.

And to the rest of our LGUs: darating din ang inyong panahon. The DOF and BLGF are here to help you reach the top-performing roster soon.

For it is the DOF and the BLGF’s job to ensure that every LGU succeeds in its noble mission. It is our duty to assist you in building up your financial capacity, attaining fiscal sustainability, and contributing to national growth.

That is why today, we are launching the Integrated Electronic Official Receipt to help every LGU standardize, integrate, and enhance their fiscal and financial management operations. This is among the key reforms that we have instituted upon my assumption in the DOF in 2024.

Kapag tayo’y bumibili ng grocery, ang una nating hinahanap: resibo. Gano’n din ang taumbayan.

Kapag sila’y nagbabayad ng buwis, ang hinihingi lang nila ay simpleng kumpirmasyon na ito’y maayos, lehitimo, at madaling ma-trace.

Kung kaya nating magbayad ng kape gamit ang cellphone, dapat kaya rin ng gobyerno na maglabas ng resibong digital na mabilis at malinaw.

We are also introducing new valuation and assessment manuals: the Local Assessment Manual, the Philippine Valuation Standards 3rd Edition, and the Mass Appraisal Guidebook 2nd Edition. These are our weapons of fiscal fairness.

Because when property valuation is fair, tax collection becomes credible. And when taxation is credible, the whole system gains legitimacy.

We are also fully implementing the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act, and I appreciate the tireless work being done by the BLGF to unify our direction and modernize our approach.

Of course, all of this is made stronger through partnerships.

Let me thank the Asian Development Bank for its continued support in implementing the Local Governance Reform Project. This strengthens the RPVARA and anchors our vision for a just, equitable, and efficient property valuation system.

Asahan po ninyo ang mabilis na pagpapatupad sa mga bagong reporma at programa para gawing mas klaro, mas simple, at mas moderno ang pamamalakad ng ating gobyerno.

For we all know this: the strength of the Republic is measured by the strength of our LGUs.

We cannot expect national progress if our LGUs are left collecting loose change with broken calculators.

At hindi natin kayang maiangat ang bawat rehiyon, siyudad, komunidad, at pamilyang Pilipino mula sa kahirapan kung hindi matatag ang mga LGU na nagsisilbi sa kanila araw-araw.

So today’s reforms, and today’s awards, remind us that local finance is not a local concern alone— it is a national priority.

Dahil kapag matatag ang pinansyal na performance ng ating mga LGU, mas mabilis ang pagdaloy ng serbisyo, mas dadami ang negosyo, mas maraming trabaho ang malilikha, at mas lalaki ang kita ng bawat Pilipino.

And so to my BLGF family: Thank you for being there for our LGUs. You may work quietly, but your impact resounds in every barangay budget, every tax collection report, and every city that has chosen to reform.

Keep leading. Keep building. Keep being the backbone of local fiscal transformation.

And know this: in the DOF, you have a partner who believes in your mission and will back it with strong policies and full support.

In the end, what we are building here is not just a better way to collect taxes and manage funds. It is a stronger connection between the government and the governed.

Between the taxpayer and the treasurer. Between policy and service. Between what people pay and what they receive in return.

Because when taxes are fair, systems are efficient, and receipts are real, trust is built. And that’s the most valuable currency in public service. Lalong lalo na sa panahon ngayon.

That is how we build a Bagong Pilipinas: sa tiwala, sa reporma, at sa mga resulta na ramdam ng bawat Pilipino.

Maraming salamat po. Mabuhay ang BLGF. Mabuhay ang mga LGU. At mabuhay ang Bagong Pilipinas!