DBM opens budget prep stage to observers for first time

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has opened for the first time its preparation stage for next year’s national budget to make the process of crafting the government’s spending program more transparent and accessible to civil society organization (CSO) observers and the public.

In a statement on Sunday, budget watchdog Social Watch Philippines (SWP) lauded the DBM’s move to open its technical budget hearings (TBHs) for the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP), which will be the basis for next year’s national budget law.

This is in light of controversies surrounding questionable allocations and misuse in recent years, as well as a follow-up to efforts of Congress last year to introduce transparency in the national budget deliberation.

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“Opening the technical budget hearings on a pilot basis is a commendable and necessary first step toward genuine budget transparency,” SWP coconvener Ma. Victoria Raquiza said.

“We thank [the] DBM for listening to the growing public clamor for accountability in how the national budget is crafted,” added Raquiza, a professor of the University of the Philippines’ National College of Public Administration.

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Critical stages

Government agencies defend their proposed budget before a technical panel from the DBM during the TBHs.

The DBM opened the TBHs for the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on May 7.

It will similarly open the TBHs for the Department of Justice (May 11), the Department of Health (May 12), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (May 13).

According to SWP, critical stages of budget preparation, particularly DBM deliberations on agency proposals, had been conducted behind closed doors for years.

This was despite the impact that secrecy in budget decisions had on the strategic allocation and adequacy of budget provisions for public services, infrastructure, health, education and social protection.

Transparency at the outset

The group said greater transparency during the preparation stage should allow CSOs to better understand how agency ceilings are determined, how priorities are set, and how public funds are allocated before the budget reaches Congress.

“This is an important opportunity to rebuild public confidence in the budget process after the controversies surrounding flood control spending and other questionable allocations,” Raquiza said.

“Transparency should not begin only when the budget reaches Congress. It should start from the very beginning,” she added.

SWP also noted that public access to budget deliberations is consistent with Article III, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution, which guarantees the people’s right to information on matters of public concern.

Make practice permanent

Budget Secretary Rolando Toledo earlier said he expected government agencies to submit lower funding proposals for 2027, below the P11-trillion plan last year, due to stricter vetting guidelines triggered by the flood control corruption scandal.

Under the government’s two-tier budget process, ongoing spending is considered in Tier 1, and proposals for new and expanded spending are evaluated in Tier 2. TBHs are conducted from February to March for Tier 1, and from April to May for Tier 2.

Watchdogs’ clamor

While welcoming the move, SWP urged the DBM to make the practice permanent and to strengthen transparency measures, including publishing budget documents in machine-readable formats throughout the process.

The group also welcomed upcoming discussions between the DBM and CSO observers on improving and sustaining open TBHs in future budget cycles.

In August last year, Congress heeded the clamor of watchdogs by opening budget proceedings of the 2026 national budget to several CSOs, including the bicameral conference committee hearings.

This was an effort by the Marcos administration to rebuild public trust in the budgeting process which has been riddled with allegations of corruption and secretive last-minute manipulation.

During the hearings, budget watchdogs flagged pork-barrel-like provisions in the unprogrammed appropriations and bloated allocations for financial assistance programs, which they said perpetuated patronage politics.

The President signed in January the P6.793-trillion 2026 budget law, which the administration claimed to be free of pork and had safeguards against corruption. /cb /atm