Watchdog, House speaker agree to work on budget transparency

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The People’s Budget Coalition (PBC) commended House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III who expressed commitment to "greater transparency" in the national budget process

This comes after the PBC met with Dy to discuss areas where the House could enhance its processes for scrutinizing and disclosing government projects.

“Thank you, Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy III, for meeting with the People’s Budget Coalition... acknowledging the points for improvement in the House process, and committing to working with us budget watchdogs and civil society groups to open up these documents and deliberations so that every taxpayer can verify where our taxes go,” Abante said in a Facebook post.

His statement came after Dy said that the House was ready to disclose supporting documents for government projects and promote greater transparency in budget deliberations.

According to the civil society group, the development points to a significant shift toward constructive engagement between lawmakers and civil society organizations that have raised concerns about project documentation, technical descriptions and amendments in the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2027.

The PBC said that instead of dismissing concerns raised by independent budget monitors, the House leadership has opened channels for dialogue and cooperation to reinforce public scrutiny of government expenditures.

To recall, Dy said the House of Representatives is open to disclosing supporting documents for government projects and make budget deliberations more accessible to the public, in order that proposed appropriations can be examined against their supporting studies, technical specifications, project locations and implementing agencies’ validation.

“Such disclosures would help distinguish properly documented and justified budget amendments from questionable allocations that require further scrutiny,” the PBC said.

The PBC added the House Speaker’s approach also backs the principle that government projects should be evaluated on their merits, supporting documentation and benefits to the public, instead of allegations alone. —VAL, GMA News