Pangandaman to local PFM practitioners: Improve budget utilization, fight corruption through digitalization

Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman encouraged local governments to fully utilize their budgets, fight corruption through digitalization, and explore the possibility of providing medical allowances to their employees during the last day of the Public Financial Management Competency Program (PFMCP) for Local Government Units (LGUs) held in Butuan City on August 30, 2024.

Improving budget utilization

In her keynote message, Secretary Pangandaman encouraged local governments to fully utilize their respective budgets, “para naman mas makita po natin ang kagandahan ng Bagong Pilipinas dito sa rehiyon at sa bawat LGU (so that we can truly see the beauty of Bagong Pilipinas here in the region and in each LGU).”

According to the Budget Chief, improving government spending will not only fast-track the delivery of public goods and services but also enable the country to maintain its standing as one of the best-performing economies in Asia. In the second quarter, the Philippine economy expanded by 6.3 percent, outpacing Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and China.

“Kaya po importanteng magastos ang inyong budget. Kaya nandito po kami… we are helping you, hand-holding you, para magabayan namin kayo kung paano tamang gastusin ang ating mga budget (That’s why it is important to spend your budget. That’s why we’re here… we are helping you, hand-holding you, so that we can guide you on how to spend your budget judiciously),” the Secretary told the local budget officers and PFM practitioners from Caraga who attended the program.

Under the proposed Php 6.352 trillion National Budget for next year, LGUs will be allocated Php 1.184 trillion to support the implementation of their respective local programs and projects. This already includes the statutory shares of LGUs from national taxes, such as the National Tax Allotment and the BARMM Annual Block Grant, among others.

Fighting corruption through NGPA, digital transformation

The Budget Chief also emphasized that, aside from regional development, digital transformation of the bureaucracy is one of the administration's top priorities in fighting graft and corruption. About  Php 70.6 billion