DBM releases 2016 budget call

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Budget and Management has released the budget call for 2016 which prescribes specific guidelines and procedures for government agencies and departments as well as government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) as they craft their budget proposal documents.

The government wants agencies and departments to focus on the following principles — aiming for the five key areas of the social contract; the disaggregation of lump sum funds in the agency budget; total resource budget; use of performance-based approaches; provision of strategic support for Private-Public Partnership (PPP) projects and activities; and program or horizontal/convergence budgeting.

“We are constantly building on the strengths of previous budgetary reforms so as to create a national budget that is truly responsive to the needs of our countrymen. And more than deepening the budget reforms, we are aiming to make these reforms an integral part of the national budget process,” Budget Secretary Florencio Abad.

To aid the government in piecing together the 2016 national budget, the DBM is implementing a two-tier budgeting approach (2TBA) introducing separate reviews for on-going/approved programs vis-à-vis new or expanded ones to give better focus on each type of program.

The 2016 budget preparation also aims for a lesser number and magnitude of special purpose funds (SPFs) by incorporating these lump sums into the agency budgets (e.g. provisions for new positions, pensions and gratuities).

“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,” Abad said.

To help keep track of the new budget, the use of the Unified Accounts Code Structure (UACS) will be strictly enforced this year, especially for the actual expenditures of 2014.