Philippines budget transparency ranking improves in 2023

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ ranking in budget transparency improved by seven notches last year, moving up to first place in Asia and 15th place globally out of the 125 countries surveyed.

Based on the 2023 Open Budget Survey (OBS), the Philippines scored 75 out of 100 in terms of budget transparency, above the global average of 45. It also beat the government’s target score of 71 under the Philippine Development Plan 2023 to 2028.

This is an improvement from the country’s score of 68 and ranking of 19th during the previous round of the OBS in 2021.

According to the International Budget Partnership, which conducted the survey, the improvement was due to the government publishing the mid-year review online in a timely manner.

But to improve budget transparency, the nonprofit organization recommended that the Philippines should prioritize sustaining and institutionalizing the practice of publishing the mid-year review online and on time.

The country should also improve the comprehensiveness of the mid-year review by including updated expenditure estimates.

The transparency index measures public access to information on how the government raises and spends public resources. It assesses the online availability, timeliness and comprehensiveness of budget documents.

A transparency score of 61 or above indicates that a country is likely publishing enough material to support informed public debate on the budget.

The Philippines climbed by nine points to 83 in budget oversight, which reflects that the legislature and supreme audit institution in the country provide adequate oversight during the budget process.

However, the country scored lowest in public participation, slipping to 33 from the 2021 score of 35. This assesses the formal opportunities offered to the public for meaningful participation in the different stages of the budget process.

Budget chief Amenah Pangandaman said this is the result of the timely and comprehensive publication by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) of all key budget documents.

It is also in line with the DBM’s commitment to have an open government and ensuring accessibility of budget documents to the public.

“Rest assured that the DBM will continue its best practices in ensuring a transparent, participatory, and accountable People’s Budget,” Pangandaman said.

The OBS is the world’s only independent, comparative and fact-based research instrument that uses internationally accepted criteria to assess public access to central government budget information; formal opportunities for the public to participate in the national budget process; and the role of budget oversight institutions, such as legislatures and national audit offices, in the budget process.

The survey helps local civil society assess and confer with their government on the reporting and use of public funds.