Philippines soars to great heights in budget transparency

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has been cited for open and transparent budget management by the 2015 Open Budget Survey.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the country received the highest score for budget transparency in Southeast Asia, the second highest in Asia and 21st in the world.

The Philippines’ score went up to 64 (out of 100), up from 48 in 2012, surpassing the government’s own target of 60 and well above the average score of 48 among the countries surveyed.

“We’re elated that the International Budget Partnership has recognized the tremendous improvement in budgetary transparency and participation under the Aquino administration,” Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said in a statement. 

Spearheaded by the IBP, the OBS is a biennial survey of budget transparency, participation and oversight in countries around the world.

“The independent nature of the survey and thoroughness of its methodology make the OBS a highly credible standard for budget transparency,” Abad said. “Sometimes the DBM receives criticism for its openness initiatives, including Bottom-Up Budgeting. We believe the IBP’s positive assessment of the Philippines will balance out that criticism.”

The OBS gauges budget transparency on the basis of public availability and comprehensiveness of the eight Essential Budget Documents, including the budget proposal, budget enactment, citizen’s budget, mid-year review and audit report, among others.

The survey also measures the country’s budget oversight by he legislature and the supreme audit institution, as well as the extent of public participation in the country’s budget process.