Senate proposes measures to increase transparency in national budget process

All 24 senators have signed and filed a concurrent resolution seeking to establish transparency and accountability measures in the passage of the national budget.

Under Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4, the following documents, including all annexes and attachments, as may be applicable, shall be uploaded to both the websites of the Senate and the House of Representatives:

• BP 201 forms prepared by government agencies;
• GAB passed on third reading by the House of Representatives and transmitted to the Senate; and
• Bicameral Conference Committee Report and Joint Explanation of the Disagreeing Votes of the Senate and House versions. 

Transcripts of House budget briefings, public hearings, and technical working group meetings, as well as the Committee on Appropriations Report on the General Appropriations Act (GAA) and the journal records of House plenary deliberations, will be uploaded on the lower house’s website.

The Senate will upload the same on its website, including the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) it passed on third reading. 

Senate finance committee chairman Sherwin Gatchalian said that such transparency reform will enable an informed public to push for accountability on the use of public funds. 

“This will be the ‘golden age of transparency and accountability.’ Bilang [as the] Finance Committee chairman, hindi ako papayag ng anumang insertion sa budget [I will not allow any budget insertions]. I will also make sure that we will be very strict when it comes to confidential funds,” Gatchalian said.

“Existing technological innovations now allow for centralized, accessible, and searchable platforms for budget data that are responsive to the principles of open government and digital governance,” he added. 

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said that the concurrent resolution will allow the tracing of possible amendments or insertions in the budget and identify the lawmakers behind it. 

“It may not be a foolproof mechanism para maging insertion-free at mawala ang komisyunan sa mga proyekto, pero at least maaring malaking kabawasan sa katiwalian pag naipatupad talaga nang maayos,” Lacson said.

(It may not be a foolproof mechanism to make the budget insertion-free and to remove the commission scheme in government projects, but at least it can greatly reduce corruption if this is implemented properly.) 

Senate Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said that their bloc will call for open bicameral conference committee meetings.

In the House of Representatives, Speaker Martin Romualdez said last week that watchdogs and other civil society observers will be allowed at all levels of budget deliberations—from the committee level to the bicameral conference. 

''Aside from opening the process to the watchdogs, the public can keep abreast of the budget process by watching it on television and other social media platforms,” he said. —VBL, GMA Integrated News