DBM clears paperwork to speed up spending

The Department of Budget and Management will phase out documentary requirements for the release of funds to help speed up spending and implementation of programs and projects.

Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said that the DBM would do away with the need for documents, such as the special allotment release orders (SAROs) and agency budget matrices (ABMs) over the next two years.

Currently, all state agencies are required to secure ABMs—a disaggregated record of an agency’s programmed funds—before they can receive their respective fund releases.

For projects that require further clearance, the agency must submit a special budget request to the DBM.

Once the project and its required funding are approved, the DBM will issue a special allotment release order to the implementing agency.

“These documents are supposed to aid in record-keeping and budget transparency,” Abad said. “We noted, however, that fulfilling these documentary requirements can take considerable time for agencies—time that could otherwise have been spent in implementing crucial projects.”

He said phasing out of the SAROs and ABMs would begin with the 2013 national budget and should be completed by the time the 2014 budget is ready for spending.

But he said the phase-out would depend on the full disaggregation of agency lump sums in the ongoing preparation for the 2013 budget.

The DBM intends to do away with lump-sum funds for government departments and agencies in the proposed 2013 budget in an effort to achieve greater transparency in managing public funds.

“Once the (national budget law) can act as the release document, appropriations for all departments and agencies will have a one-year validity period,” Abad said. “Lapsed allotments will not automatically carry over into the next fiscal year.”

He added that under the proposed expenditure plan, only a few budgetary items would require the clearance of the DBM before the corresponding releases can be made.

Earlier, Abad said the DBM had released around 90.5 percent of all agency budgets in the first two weeks of January alone.

“We are very optimistic about our performance in 2012, and are confident that fund releases will be quicker and more efficient this year,” Abad said.