To the Association of Local Budget Officers in Region III (ALBO III), Inc. headed by President Heriberto Tomas; my colleagues from the Department of Budget and Management who are also joining us in today’s event; our local budget officers and public financial management (PFM) practitioners; and all our participants, magandang araw po.
Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
First, I thank ALBO III for inviting me to be your keynote speaker this morning. Earlier this month, I was also given the opportunity to speak at the General Assembly of the Regional Association of Local Budget Officers 12 in General Santos City. Mula Luzon hanggang Mindanao, ako po ay lubos na natutuwang makibahagi sa mga programa ng ating mga local budget officers because not only do I meet our dedicated public servants; I also get to witness first-hand the issues and concerns on the ground.
This week, we will present the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Proposed National Budget to the President and the Cabinet. Thus, your forum comes at a very opportune time. I trust that my colleagues from the Department will sufficiently answer your queries and concerns about preparing your budgets. For now, please allow me to share a few of our initiatives that we hope will assist you in performing your duties.
In anticipation of the challenges that our partners in the local governments will face in the implementation of the government’s budget and digitalization initiatives, the DBM has been continuously providing capacity building for our PFM practitioners across different regions, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The Department is also gearing up for the launch of its Digital Transformation Roadmap, which aims to promote data governance and digitalization in fiscal-related government processes. This roadmap has a dual transformation feature that will future-proof the entire bureaucracy by institutionalizing all the digital reforms spearheaded by the DBM.
In addition, we have enhanced the eBudget system for LGUs to strengthen the linkage between planning and budgeting and cover all facets of budgeting from the preparation to the accountability phase. Ito po ay maaari ninyo nang gamitin lalo na po sa paghahanda ng inyong annual budget at accountability reports. Last June 5, we implemented the merging of the eBudget system with the Online Submission of Budget Proposals which will facilitate easier data reconciliation, especially concerning the Classification of the Functions of Government, and the Expenditure Tagging for the Administration’s 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda, as well as Infrastructure, Climate Change, and Regional Allocation.
We are also updating the Budget Operations Manual for LGUs, which provides an enhanced framework for strengthening policy-based budgeting by specifying how to harmonize the linkage among policymaking, planning, and budgeting. We hope to publish this by the second half of the year.
At the national level, we have also been proactively lobbying for and working with Congress toward the enactment of the Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized Governance or the PBBM Governance Bill, which will modernize our budgeting system, and resolve the fragmented PFM legal framework. The PBBM Governance Bill also aims to secure the institutionalization of key PFM reforms such as the Treasury Single Account, Accounting and Auditing Reforms, and the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS); strengthen the implementation of the Cash Budgeting System; and promote public participation in the budget process once enacted.
The good news is that we have already made a huge step in the right direction as President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order No. 29, two weeks ago, directing the full adoption and implementation of IFMIS in government agencies and encouraging LGUs to follow suit. I hope that as we all use this, we achieve transparency and bureaucratic efficiency.
We also recognize that one of the most pressing concerns of our local governments is the implementation of the Supreme Court ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia case. Further, we are well aware that the differing levels of technical and financial capacities of LGUs affect the absorptive capacities of implementing such at the local level.
Hence, upon the President’s directive, the DBM, together with the Department of Finance, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the National Economic and Development Authority, is pursuing a review of the full devolution efforts to determine the extent and ways forward to assist LGUs in this endeavor. National Government Agencies shall also continue to provide capacity-building interventions appropriate and responsive to the development needs of local governments.
These are only a few of the initiatives of the Department to help our local governments, especially our local budget officers and PFM practitioners, in carrying out their mandate. Rest assured that, as we pursue these undertakings, we will continue to be your partner for inclusive development and support you in your efforts to achieve growth in your localities.
Likewise, we hope that you will also maintain your support for the DBM and join us in implementing reforms that improve not only our government systems but also our processes. I have said this before and will say this again—our Agenda for Prosperity will not be truly inclusive without our local governments.
Maraming salamat po. Mabuhay ang ALBO III!
Wabillahi Tawfiq Wal Hidaya, Wasalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.
