Only 14 of 308 agencies earn high DBM rating

MANILA, Philippines — Only 14 government departments and agencies received a high rating of ’outstanding’ from the Department of Budget and Management’s agency performance review for 2024.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the rating intends to make government offices efficient in utilizing its budget to provide public service.

“This one is we are looking more closely at their implementation of the programs, more than the numbers. We want to dig deeper,” Pangandaman said in response to the difference with the quarterly issuance of national cash allotment utilization.

The agencies that received an outstanding rating, or a score of five, include the Civil Service Commission, Public Attorney’s Office, Foreign Service Institute, Games and Amusement Board and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.

It also includes the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, National Labor Relations Commission, National Wages and Productivity Commission, News and Information Bureau and Philippine Information Agency.

State universities and colleges are also included and deemed as ‘outstanding’ such as Biliran Province State University, Cagayan State University, Davao del Sur State College and President Ramon Magsaysay State University.

According to the DBM, the review evaluates how government offices deliver public goods and services.

This includes measurement of agencies’ physical outcomes, outputs, actual spending and revenue collection against their targets and allocated budgets for the same period.

Only 4.6 percent of government offices posted ‘outstanding’ rating from 308 departments and agencies included in the DBM’s report. The bulk, or 59.3 percent or 181 offices received a ’very satisfactory’ rating from the budget department.

Meanwhile, a total of 94 agencies or 30.8 percent got a satisfactory remark.

About five percent of the agencies, however, received low marks from the DBM, with 15 rated as ‘unsatisfactory’ and one given a ‘poor performance’ rating.

Included in the offices that received unsatisfactory ratings were the Department of Finance’s Office of the Secretary, Bureau of Customs, National Nutrition Council, Department of Tourism’s Office of the Secretary and Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving.

The DBM received a very satisfactory rating.

Only Romblon State University received a ‘poor’ rating.

Meanwhile, three agencies received ‘no APR’ ratings.

Budget Assistant Secretary Romeo Balanquit said the department’s review serves a report card to other government agencies as it provides a score on the office’s fiscal performance.