Improvement sought in ‘very rotten’ budget process

MANILA, Philippines — Congress should exercise greater transparency in its budget process, according to Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, who called the process “very rotten.”

He made the appeal as he recalled the senators questioning the allocation by the House of Representatives of P26.7 billion for the Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The senators argued the allocation was not included in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

But some congressmen maintained that the senators, including Sen. Imee Marcos, knew about the DSWD-AKAP as 21 of the 24 senators signed the bicameral conference committee report when the Senate approved the 2024 national budget.

Marcos, who defended the DSWD budget for 2024 in the Senate, said she did not notice the item as she pointed out that her signature on the document was electronic, and there was no proper discussion about AKAP during the bicameral conference.

She noted that the bicameral conference committee meeting turned out to be only a photo opportunity.

Under the budget process, the President submits the annual budget, including the NEP, to Congress with his message outlining policy thrusts and priorities.

In the House, the appropriations committee initially reviews the proposed budget, conducting hearings and scrutinizing departmental programs/projects. The amended budget is presented to the House as the General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

Simultaneously, the Senate finance committee conducts its review, proposing amendments to the House version of the budget bill.

A bicameral conference committee is formed to reconcile differences and finalize a GAB.

After the bicam, the Senate and House versions were ratified separately and then submitted to the President for signing.

The Chief Executive may make some line-item vetoes on the budget upon the recommendation of the lawmakers.

Pimentel said the entire budget process should be improved and suggested the involvement of the people in the process.

“The NEP preparation all the way to bicam (should be improved), then improve transparency at all stages. The people must be involved. All expense items must be sufficiently described as to purpose, objective and scope of coverage,” he pointed out.