Gov’t allots P20.9B for bottom-up budgeting
MANILA, Philippines–The government has allotted P20.9 billion for the implementation of bottom-up budgeting in local governments, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said on Wednesday.
Up to 14,300 bottom-up budgeting projects were identified as beneficiaries of the funding, the bulk of which was infused through government agencies such as the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Health, Social Welfare and Development, and Interior and Local Government, the DBM said.
The bottom-up approach engages grassroots communities when allocating resources under the national budget.
“The DBM is always intensifying its campaign for citizen participation in public spending. While the national government has the mandate to deliver public services, we want to develop the capacity of LGUs and civil service organizations (CSOs). Through bottom-up budgeting, local governments and CSOs can effectively respond to the different needs of their communities,” Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said.
“Bottom-up budgeting in the Philippines is a landmark reform, because we are the first country in the world that has implemented participatory budgeting at the national level,” Abad added.
LGUs will directly receive P2.83 billion from the DBM via the local government support fund, but only if they did not receive an adverse report from the Commission on Audit; they complied with the full disclosure policy, and they submitted their respective LGU public financial management improvement plans.
According to the DBM, 1,017 cities and municipalities are compliant with the three governance conditions, but 573 are lacking.
“Political affiliation does not play any role in the allocation and release of bottom-up budgeting funds for priority local projects. Our only criterion is that LGUs comply with set governance conditions. We urge local government officials to prioritize their compliance with these conditions. Otherwise, their allocated bottom-up budgeting funding will be forfeited,” Abad said.
