The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) led a briefing session on the proposed bill on Tuesday to strengthen its partnership with Congress in passing the Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized (PBBM) Governance bill.
The activity aimed to discuss and deliberate on the legislature's questions and concerns about the implementation of the PBBM Governance Bill, which the DBM is spearheading.
The bill is one of the Marcos administration's priority legislative measures, and it is consistent with the administration's 8-point socioeconomic agenda, which identifies bureaucratic efficiency as one of its key components.
DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman stated in a message that modernizing the country's budgeting process has been long overdue since the last comprehensive policy on public financial management (PFM) was enacted in 1987.
The PBBM Governance Bill will serve as the framework for modernizing the PFM.
Once enacted, it will implement key budget cycle reforms and modernize the budgeting system; resolve the fragmented PFM legal framework; secure the institutionalization of key PFM reforms such as the Treasury Single Account, accounting and auditing reforms, and the Integrated Financial Management Information System; and strengthen the implementation of the Cash Budgeting System.
In addition, the measure aims to establish, promote, and embed public participation in the budget process while upholding fiscal responsibility principles in the bureaucracy.
According to the DBM, the bill will provide the government with a strong foundational legal framework on PFM that will guide all branches of government in budget creation and execution.
To the extent permitted, it shall apply to the management of revenues, expenditures, financing arrangements, and assets and liabilities of national government agencies, government-owned or controlled corporations, and local government units.
The briefing was also attended by DBM Undersecretary Wilford Will Wong, as well as DBM Undersecretary and Functional Group Head of the Budget Policy and Strategy Group Joselito Basilio, DBM Director for Fiscal Planning and Reforms Mary Joy de Leon, and DBM Chief Budget Management Specialist Mark James Evangelista.
DBM Undersecretaries Janet Abuel and Maria Francesca Del Rosario, as well as Acting Undersecretary Cristina Clasara, were also present at the briefing.
