Legarda pushes passage of budget reform bill

SEN. Loren Legarda has pressed for the passage of the budget reform bill to address “underspending,” which affects the delivery of services to the people.

The senator on Saturday complained that underspending has been a “perennial problem” in government.

“Government agencies must improve forecasting,” said Legarda, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance.

“They should be able to carefully plan their proposed budgets and ensure that they are able to implement the programs that will be funded within the 12- month period,” she added. “Underspend- ing simply means missed opportunities. It means denying our people the services they deserve.”

Congress hopes to address the problem on underspending through the Budget Reform Act or Senate Bill 1450, which Legarda authored.

“This will institutionalize budgetary reforms that have already been established by the administration in the last two years to improve the budgetary process, increase spending, and most importantly, accelerate the delivery of government services to the people,” she said.

She noted that the budgetary reforms introduced by the administration have contributed to the country’s rise in the 2017 Open Budget Survey, making the Philippines the highest in Asia for budget transparency.

These budgetary reforms include limiting to one year the validity of appropriations and the efforts of the Department of Budget and Management ( DBM) to make the budget more understandable to the people and make information readily accessible through their website.

According to Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, the Philippines ranks first in Asia and 19th in the world, among 115 countries, in the 2016- 2017 Open Budget Index ( OBI). In the previous OBI 2014- 2015, the Philippines was 4th in Asia.

The Philippines’ 2017 OBI rose by three points, higher than its score in 2015 OBI, from 64 to 67.

Through the Budget Reform Act, the DBM sees the Philippines reaching the score of 75 in the next OBI.

“The Budget Reform Bill aims to modernize the country’s legal framework for public financial management ( PFM) by institutionalizing reforms in budgeting and strengthening oversight functions of Congress over the budgeting process,” Legarda said.

It will establish a PFM system that is transparent and fully accountable to the public, she added.