Pangandaman calls for passage of Budget Modernization Bill

DBM PRESS RELEASE

Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman urged lawmakers to pass the pending bill on Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized (PBBM) Governance during the second day of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) Briefing to the Senate Committee on Finance on August 14, 2024.

The PBBM Governance Bill aims to institutionalize and strengthen the government’s best practices on Public Financial Management (PFM) by strengthening cash management through the institutionalization of the Treasury Single Account; expediting the digitalization of PFM systems through the adoption of an Integrated Financial Management Information System; and promoting fiscal discipline through the institutionalization of the Cash Budgeting System.

This is in response to the call of Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III for his fellow lawmakers to practice fiscal discipline in scrutinizing the proposed Php 6.352 trillion budget for next year.

“The discipline should not only come from those preparing the budget like the Executive Branch…legislators should also observe the best practices (of the Executive branch) in crafting the budget,” Senator Pimentel said. 

The Budget Chief added that under the PBBM Governance Bill, “there’s a provision on limits on unprogrammed appropriations.” It also facilitates citizen participation throughout the budget process.

DBM is actively coordinating with the legislature to fast-track the passage of the bill. As of August 8, 2024, 12 house bills had already been filed in the House of Representatives, while Senate Bill Nos. 2045 and 1020 have been endorsed to the Committee on Finance.

The Budget Chief likewise echoed the statement of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) urging Congress to exercise prudence in evaluating the FY 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP).

In his third SONA, the President emphasized that “we look to the cooperation of our colleagues in the Legislature, not only that our proposed National Budget be approved in your usual timely manner, but that it be adhered to as closely as possible.”

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