Abad says less lump sum in 2016 budget

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Tuesday assured the public that the national budget for 2016 will have “less lump sums” and more safeguards against corruption.

“As we have pushed for disaggregating lump sum funds in the past, we are taking it further in the 2016 national budget. In addition to our commitment for greater transparency, credibility, and accountability, this is in response to the clamor of civil society organizations (CSOs) and other stakeholders,” Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad said in a statement.

The statement came a week after the release of 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 documents.

Abad said the new format of the budget proposal will involve (1) disaggregation of lump sum funds; (2) total resource budget; (3) use of performance-based approaches; (4) support for private public partnership (PPP) projects; and (5) program horizontal/convergence budgeting.

“The UACS (Unified Accounts Code Structure for tracking), together with a stronger monitoring and evaluation system, will ensure better tracking of financial information that will result in improved government spending,” he said.

The presence of lump sum funds in the national budget has long been criticized by civil society groups and some lawmakers. Because of the nature of the funds, it is said to be prone to abuse or misuse.

The now defunct Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) is also a form of lump sum. It was abolished in 2013 after whistle-blowers alleged that senators and congressmen were getting large commissions from PDAF projects.

However, critics of the Aquino administration claim that the pork barrel system is still in play with various lump sum funds included in the national budget. Malacañang, on the other hand, said it is impossible to completely do away with lump sum funds because of contingency and emergency measures, as in the case of calamities.