MANDATES OF FISCAL MANAGEMENT

ALLAN R. TRAQUINA

The provisions of efficient, effective, economical and ethical allocations of the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) of the school rely on the school head’s commitment to the principles of integrity, transparency and accountability in managing public funds and resources. This is a clear mandate of the school head as a fiscal manager towards the realization of RA 9184 also known as the Government Procurement Reform Act which is in accordance with RA 6713, Section 1: Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution on Public Office is Public Trust. Both mandates interfaced Section 2 of the PD No. 1445 otherwise known as the State Auditing of the Philippines.

The legislative enactment of obligations being a fiscal manager in the school are governed with laws and policies to ensure appropriate expenditures encompassing specified conditions and purposes. This explicitly covers the basic understanding of the underlying principles of fiscal management systems and operations correlating these concepts to planning, budgeting and accounting. This alignment is contributory in crafting the Enhanced-School Improvement Plan (E-SIP) and the Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) to guarantee that MOOE downloaded funds and resources are made available and expended anchored in the existing fiscal policy and in vertical articulation for allowable expenditures and appropriations.

It is perhaps expected in a school head to have acquired the basic knowledge and skills in fiscal management. This is relative to the ability to outline and manage funds and resources appropriately through responsible stewardship and commitment to address the pressing needs of the school in terms of repair and maintenance of instructional classrooms, properties, procurement, general services and administrative management. Hence, this encapsulates the importance of quality fiscal management which is believed that quality education is borne out of quality spending.

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The author is Head Teacher I/ Officer-in-Charge of Virgen Delos Remedios Elementary School, Division of Angeles City.