Budget watchdog calls for passing of transparency measure

MANILA, Philippines — A budget watchdog and transparency advocacy group welcomed President Marcos’ executive order on government spending monitoring, but warned that it should not be taken as a substitute for more permanent legislative reform.

Marcos last week signed Executive Order (EO) No. 126, which institutionalized the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) spending monitoring platform as the government’s unified, publicly accessible platform for budget spending, procurement and program implementation performance.

It also authorized the DBM’s Centralized Open Monitoring Platform for Appropriations and Spending Statistics (Compass) to use blockchain and other emerging technology to boost state spending transparency.

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“We support Compass one-hundred percent, but we emphasize that this portal cannot replace the push for the Cadena Act, which has been languishing in the House,” said Kenneth Abante, coconvener of watchdog People’s Budget Coalition, on Sunday. He was referring to the bill championed by advocates to combat corruption by tracking public spending.

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The proposed Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (Cadena) Act is viewed as a key safeguard against corruption by enhancing transparency on state spending through a digital ledger.

“The EO could not be a substitute for a statutory framework that is Cadena,” said Patrick Acupan, convener of FOI Youth Initiative, in a separate interview also on Sunday. “Maybe as a temporary administrative measure, yes; but not as an executive policy to replace legislation.”

Broad support

Efforts to record national budget transactions on an immutable blockchain ledger have gained broad support in Congress and from Marcos, as his administration seeks to restore trust following a massive corruption scandal over flood control works.

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“To show that the government is serious about ending corruption, it must prioritize measures that strengthen oversight, transparency, and accountability,” Acupan said.

Though while the Senate passed its version of the transparency measure last year, counterpart bills in the House of Representatives have remained stalled at the committee level since being introduced as early as last year, according to records on the congressional website.

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A representative for Camarines Sur Rep. Miguel Luis Villafuerte, who heads the House committee on information and communications technology, said the panel already came up with a substitute bill similar to the Senate version.

The panel, where the bills were initially referred, had submitted the consolidated measure to the House committee on appropriations for its action, Villafuerte’s representative said.

“The delay may be connected to the reluctance of some key actors to pass a reform measure meant to address vulnerabilities in the budgeting and expenditure of public funds,” Arjan Aguirre, an assistant professor of political science at Ateneo de Manila University, said.

He said the bill’s postponement in the House “raises questions about the sincerity of the leadership’s commitment to genuine budget reform and transparency.”

Critical

Enacting the proposed Cadena Act is critical to ensure that transparent spending policies endure future political leadership transitions, Abante said.

“Passing the Cadena Act is critical because it is not as easily reversed as an EO by the next President,” he said. “It also compels Congress to proactively disclose budget information and amendments.”

“An EO cannot compel Congress to do its part of the bargain,” he added.

For now, Abante said, they were working with the government and other civil groups to improve Compass, “so that its features are truly user-centered.”

For Acupan, expanding state transparency extends beyond making budget allocation records accessible and depends on enacting a Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation, which is pending before a joint congressional committee.

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“FOI and Cadena are things that advocates have been watching out for,” he said. “A law could provide things an EO cannot, such as permanence and enforcement mechanisms.” /cb