By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos | Philippine News Agency
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday endorsed the updated Philippine Public Financial Management (PFM) Roadmap 2024-2028 and launched an open, real-time monitoring platform for government spending.
The new blueprint which contains the 18 priority fiscal reforms was presented to the President in a ceremony at Malacañan Palace, a day after its official launch.
In a keynote speech, President Marcos Jr. emphasized that strengthening the country’s fiscal systems would ensure that “every peso is carefully spent and accounted for.”
“Many of our citizens see government budgets as complex, inaccessible and removed from their daily lives. This should not be the case. We need to make government budget and spending easily accessible and understandable for any Filipino who has any interest whatsoever in finding out where their money is going,” Marcos Jr. said.
“By 2028, we must be able to say that government has become more open, more disciplined, more responsive, and more trusted by the Filipino people,” he added.
The Midterm Update of the PFM Roadmap streamlines the original 41 reform interventions to 18 priority measures to improve fiscal discipline and operational efficiency.
Of the 18 on the priority list, 14 are considered mission-critical reforms while the remaining four are viewed as “quick wins,” with all targeted for completion by 2028.
The 23 long-term interventions included in the old roadmap will still be carried out, based on institutional readiness, available resources and support from development partners.
The roadmap aims to develop an integrated financial management information system and synchronize planning and budgeting across government levels, ensuring that reforms translate into improved public services and greater public trust.
Marcos Jr. also underscored the importance of launching a digital platform that would allow the Filipino people to track where their hard-earned money goes.
“Reform is not a destination. It is not the end of our efforts but it is a continuing process. As circumstances evolve, as new challenges emerge, our systems must also become more adaptive,” he said.
The DBM’s Centralized Open Monitoring Platform for Appropriations and Spending Statistics (COMPASS) is an online tracker to enhance transparency, accountability, and access to data on government expenditures and appropriations.
The platform provides the public with timely updates on budget allocation and utilization, facilitating accurate reporting and promoting prudent use of public funds.
COMPASS consolidates thousands of budget release records and trillions of pesos in government spending data into a single platform, making information on budget more accessible and understandable to the public.
DBM acting Secretary Kim Robert de Leon affirmed his commitment to building a government that is “open, accountable, and worthy of the trust of the Filipino people.”
“Good governance does not happen by accident. It requires sound systems, clear rules, capable institutions, and the resolve to continuously improve,” De Leon said.
De Leon also acknowledged that making budget information more accessible and understandable empowers citizens as active partners in governance.
“Transparency is among the strongest safeguards against corruption. When information is open, accountability becomes stronger. When actions can be seen and scrutinized, public resources are better protected and public trust is reinforced,” he said.
The DBM COMPASS can be accessed through the link: https://compass.dbm.gov.ph/.
