Senate bill calls for increased reporting by economic agencies

SEN. Sherwin T. Gatchalian said he supports greater disclosure by the government’s key economic agencies, and called for their increased Congressional oversight, including the independent Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Senate Bill (SB) No. 1483 or the Fiscal and Monetary Report Act of 2017, would require the secretaries of Finance, the National Economic and Development Authority ( NEDA), and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and the governor of the central bank to present economic situation reports before a joint congressional session on or before the last Tuesday of March and September of each year.

The proposed measure requires the Department of Finance (DoF) to report the consolidated public sector financial position, national government debt service expenditures, foreign and domestic borrowings, national government revenues and national government financing program and outstanding debt. For its part, NEDA is to report on development and prospects for the macroeconomy including gross national income, net primary income, gross domestic product and the state of the labor market.

The DBM is to report on the status of expenditure programs, disbursements, and appropriations, allotments, obligations, and balances. Meanwhile the BSP is to report on monetary aggregates, purchases and sales of foreign exchange and of international reserves, the balance of payments, consumer prices and import and export prices, volume and value, and the financial status of the banking industry.

The joint session is to be attended by the Committees on Appropriations, Ways and Means, Economic Affairs, and Banks and Financial Intermediaries of the House of Representatives. On the other hand, the Senate will be represented by the Committees on Finance, Ways and Means, Economic Affairs, and Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies.

Mr. Gatchalian, chairman of the Committee on Economic Affairs said during his sponsorship speech last week that the bill “would ensure that Congress is kept abreast of the current position and direction of the government’s fiscal and monetary policies, especially with regard to the accumulation of foreign debt that could impact the country’s economic stability.”

He also added that the reports will “serve as a stronger fiscal accountability measure compared to the present system.”

Currently, the agencies are not required to report to the Congress. Reports of the DoF and BSP to Congress during the annual budget season are only limited to inputs required for budget analysis.

Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno told BusinessWorld that the measure is “an excellent idea,” but expressed concern about the logistics of a joint session.

“A joint session is too big. I think it’s either we report to Committee on Economic Affairs and Committee on Banks in both houses, but not joint session, it would be chaotic,” Mr. Diokno said.

The bill, principally authored by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto, claims as its basis Article II, Section 28 of the 1987 Constitution requiring a policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions. The bill is awaiting second reading.