2019 Public Sector HR Symposium
MOVING TOGETHER TOWARD AMBISYON NATIN 2040
Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay City
July 24-26, 2019
The 2019 Public Sector HR Symposium entitled “Moving Together Toward Ambisyon Natin
2040” is a 3-day symposium held at Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay City from
July 24 to July 26, 2019. The Provincial Human Resource Management Office of Albay sent four
delegates for the said symposium to represent the Provincial Government of Albay.
The first day of the HR Symposium is divided into two major parts. During the morning,
participants were directed to present their Identification Cards at the Registration Area for them to
be able to receive their seminar kits. Afterwards, participants proceeded to a hall wherein they are
given the liberty to choose from different sessions to attend to which are displayed in the hall with
their respective room and time schedule. Some of the morning sessions got fully booked before 10
AM of the same day.
After deciding what sessions to attend, participants were informed about the different booths to
visit in the second floor of PICC. A piece of card included in the distributed seminar kit served as
a raffle ticket of the participants for a raffle draw in the third day of the symposium. The mechanics
was simple, all boxes in the card must be signed by the corresponding booth managers. When all
the boxes are signed, the card is dropped in the raffle boxes stationed at the registration area.
At 12 noon, lunch was served at the _______ hall. Participants gathered and had their lunch before
the opening ceremony to mark the formal start of the symposium as scheduled in the afternoon.
Before 1 PM, participants started to gather at the ____________.
At exactly 1 PM, the opening ceremony started with the acknowledgement of guests and
participants. Afterwards, a series of opening numbers were performed. The prayer and the singing
of the Philippine National Anthem as lead by the Makati Chorale marked the formal opening of
the program. It was followed by a series of intermission numbers to entertain the guests and
participants. Afterwards, CSC Chairperson Alicia dela Rosa-Bala, delivered a warm welcoming
remarks. She also introduced the attendees from other countries such as Malaysia, Myanmar, and
Singapore. At the end of her speech, she asked everyone to wear their bands and read the writings
therein which reads “Lingkod Bayani ako, Kayang Kaya ko”. The crowd willingly participated
and chanted loudly in chorus.
It was followed by a video presentation of the previous HR Symposiums from 2013-2018. And at
2:21 PM, the stage was claimed by CSI Exec. Dir. Arthur Luis P. Florentin for his speech and to
give overview of the Symposium. He greeted the more than 2000 attendees and gave them an
overview as to what to expect and what will be the focus of the symposium. According to Mr.
Florentin, the symposium will tackle topics which will be helpful in strengthening the ability of an
office to provide a better public service. He concluded his short speech by sending his warm wish
that this year’s symposium will be fruitful for all the participant and organizers.
At 2:26 PM, a keynote address was delivered by Chief Foresighter, Designer of the Future, Dr.
Anita Sykes-Kelleher. She welcomed the participants with energetic gestures of clapping her
hands. She then proceeded with her speech tackling a future-fit leadership in relation to preparing
the next generation of Public Service Leaders. She presented some steps and elements of a future-
fit leadership to highlight her speech. She also left a quotation of an old proverb which reads:
“A vision with a plan is just a dream; A plan with a vision is
just drudgery; but a vision with a plan can change the world”
At 3:40 PM, the participants had their snacks and at 4:19 PM they started returned back to the
PICC Plenary Hall to resume the program. Afterwards, Anti-Red Tape Authority, Deputy Director
General Ernesto V. Perez claimed the stage to give a speech tackling the Ease of Doing Business
and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018. He then presented a global competitive
report wherein, according to survey, he claimed that the Philippines ranked 113th among 190
economies and by 2019 the Philippines dropped even more at the 124th spot among the same
number of economies. And when compared to ASEAN members, the Philippines ranked 7th.
Deputy Director General Perez presented data corresponding to the upgrades and downgrades of
Philippines’ global ranking for the period covering the year 2010 to 2019. The country’s
demographic sweet spot was also tackled. According to him, Filipinos are younger than most
people than the rest of the world with median age of 24.1 years old. Afterwards, he proceeded with
the discussion of IRR and the salient provisions of R.A. 11032 as well as the coverage of the law,
prescribed time for processing, etc. He also highlighted some important provisions regarding the
accountability of Heads of Offices and/or agencies.
At 5:14 PM, it was the Managing Director for Human Resource Sub-sector of Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas, Dr. Gerardo A. Butardo’s turn to interact with the participants for the 3rd Plenary Session.
He started his speech with a story involving the famous song of an Artist named Khalid which is
entitled “Young, Dumb, and Broke”. Afterwards he continued his discussion of his topic entitled,
“On Point, On Par”. And after his speech, the program proceeded to the PRIME-HRM Awarding
which concluded the activities for the program during the first day of the Seminar. As the program
adjourned, participants are directed to proceed to the Reception Hall for the fellowship night where
they had their dinner.
For the 2nd day of the seminar, July 25, 2019, participants attended their chosen sessions as
scheduled. From 8:30 AM until 5:00 PM, participants were allowed to attend a maximum of 4
sessions wherein their knowledge and communication skills regarding the topic of their chosen
session were widened through lectures and activities. Some sessions that were attended by the
participants are as follows:
ENGAGING THE BRAIN with Ms. Carelle Mangaliag Herrera- President and CEO of
TrainStation wherein the latest studies on Neurosciences were discussed and how
Neurolinguisitic programming would be beneficial for government employees in raising
their level of service and contributions in national development.
ANTI GRAFT AND CORRUPTION with Atty. Asyrman T. Rafanan- Assistant
Ombudsman of the Office of the Ombudsman, herein discussed are the pertinent Anti-
Corruption laws of the Philippines and the role of the Office of the Ombudsman as the lead
anti-corruption agency in the Philippines.
PRACTICAL TOOLS IN ACHIEVING SDGs WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION with
Mr. Akira Furumoto- Consultant and Trainer, BCon Business Consultants, Inc. wherein
he provided frameworks and tools that can help implement and materialize Sustainable
Development Goals of an organization/ individual.
FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS with Assistant Commissioner
Elizabeth S. Zosa, General Counsel-Commission on Audit. The session tackled the nature
of public officer’s need for transparency and accountability in government operations,
liability for public funds, and the function of the Commission on Audit as an agency
ensuring fiscal responsibility.
The 3rd day marks the end of the 3-day seminar. It started with a raffle draw wherein the organizers
gave out 3 brand new Samsung A20 to three lucky winners from the participants of the symposium.
Afterwards, the closing program for the symposium proceeded. After a short Audio-Visual
Presentation, the Deputy Head of Mission Embassy of Australia in the Philippines, Mr. Richard
Sisson claimed the stage to give a message representing the Australian Government. As Mr.
Sisson’s speech finished, it was followed by an informative discussion given by Commissioner of
the Civil Service Commission, Aileen Lourdes A. Lizada. Commissioner Lizada’s discussion
revolves around the review of existing retirement program of government employees in the
Philippines. A brief talk regarding Good Governance Towards a Reformed Philippines was also
given by the Center for Excellence in Governance wherein it emphasized measures to be taken in
assuring that the participants remain steadfast in their mission to provide better public service. For
the closing remarks, Commissioner Leopoldo Roberto W. Valderosa Jr. of the Civil Service
Commission delivered his speech. The three-day seminar concluded with a motivational speech
from Ms. Carelle Mangalig-Herrera, President and CEO, TrainStation where the participants
actively participated in a very energetic dance number.
