Government budget reform takes one step further

MANILA, Philippines - The government is taking its budget reform a step further by institutionalizing Bottom-up Budgeting (BuB) in 2016 to make public expenditure more transparent, accountable and responsive to the needs of the Filipino people.

Based on the Budget Call for FY 2016, which details the guidelines and procedures to be followed by government agencies and corporations in crafting their budget proposal,  the implementation of BuB will be scaled up via greater involvement and responsibility of local government units (LGUS) in anti-poverty and basic public projects in their localities.

National agencies, on the other hand, will focus on accelerating the overall execution of programs and projects on  poverty alleviation as well as those that fuel economic growth.

“Ultimately, the objective of BuB is to develop the overall capacity of LGUs. Aside from delivering basic social services, they will also become income-generating hubs for growth that develop industries to provide jobs and livelihood for their people,” Department of Budget and  Management (DBM) Secretary  Florencio Abad said.

DBM BuB focal person Patrick Lim, for his part, said: “We want to realize a legacy of transforming a culture of patronage into a culture of empowerment, where people have a stake in the budget process. LGUs and communities have a better grasp of local needs and BuB provides them an opportunity to propose projects that are oriented towards filling these gaps at the community level.”

According to the DBM, the program yielded concrete results in communities’ relationship with their LGUs, especially in the poorer and less privileged municipalities of the country. One of the projects that illustrates this is the coco coir twining project in Asuncion, Davao Del Norte.

Through the BuB, this project was able to develop the industry, thereby contributing to the livelihood and employment of the people in the area.

With an approved budget of P621,500 coursed through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the LGU was able to consult with stakeholders, conduct trainings, and carry out monitoring and evaluation activities for the whole project.

Through the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the municipality of Asuncion has also implemented a water supply project that transformed the lives of its people by improving the health and sanitation of communities. Before the project, people were forced to fetch water from far and secluded areas. Now, water is accessible in their community.

Anchored on the principle that LGUs and communities should take a more participatory role in the budget process, BuB has expanded this year to include 14,300 poverty-reduction projects to cover for different social services in 1,590 cities and municipalities nationwide in the 2015 national budget.