DBM issues 2021 budget call
Credit to Author: Mayvelin U. Caraballo, TMT| Date: Tue, 03 Dec 2019 16:21:20 +0000
THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has started the process of crafting the 2021 government spending program by issuing a budget call that outlines the guidelines for the formulation and submission of agency proposals.
Released on Tuesday, the budget call, signed by Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado on November 29, told agencies that the government was still modernizing the national budgeting system to improve the efficiency of underlying processes, like planning, procurement, cash management and payment.
“These improvements in our public financial management systems are aimed at increasing the volume and enhancing the quality of public services,” it said.
The department also said there would be greater focus on ensuring the implementation-readiness of proposals through better procurement planning, programming of projects and activities, and coordination among agencies in the third year of the transition toward the cash budgeting system.
Agencies are also expected to anchor their budget proposals on more concrete program plans and designs that outline key procurement and implementation milestones, specific beneficiaries, and improvement in monitoring priority outputs and results.
Vertical (between regional and national plans) and horizontal (between various national plans affecting a region) linkages are being strengthened to ensure that the national budgeting process works for people across the country.
Agencies were told to consult and coordinate with local governments within the regional development councils to ensure that national priorities are responsive to regional and local needs in a way that local government development capacities are strengthened.
The department also emphasized that the 2021 budget should continue to reflect the policies of the Duterte administration. These include President Duterte’s 0+10-Point Socioeconomic Agenda, the Philippine Development Plan, and priority programs and projects in the 2017-2022 Public Investment Program.|
DBM data show that the government has a disbursement program of P4.70 trillion in 2021, 11.6 percent higher than the P4.21 trillion program for 2020.