Diokno eyes academe role in macro econ assumptions setting

FILE: “Maybe we can involve economic organizations on deliberations on the macroeconomic assumptions. We’ll involve academic institutions,” he said. (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA— Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin Diokno is considering to include the academe in budget deliberations on macro economic assumptions to make discussions more transparent.

In an interview by journalists after the forum entitled “2017 Open Budget Survey: How Did the Philippines Fares?” at De La Salle University in Manila Tuesday, Diokno said they plan to include members of the academe in the deliberations starting this year.

“Maybe we can involve economic organizations on deliberations on the macroeconomic assumptions. We’ll involve academic institutions,” he said.

The plan is part of the measures to ensure transparency in governance.

To date, the country has a 67 Open Budget Index (OBI) in terms of budget transparency, based on the biennial Open Budget Survey (OBS) last conducted by the International Budget Partnership (IBP) in 2017.

Last year, the country got the highest score in OBS among Asian countries and was followed by Indonesia, 64; Jordan, 63; Japan, 60, and and South Korea, 60.

The Philippines ranks 19th in the world, with the OBI average now at 42.

OBS uses 109 equally-weighted indicators to determine a country’s budget transparency based on the amount and timeliness that a government discloses budget information to the public.

In last year’s survey, the country got a score of 41 for public participation, one of the four countries that include New Zealand, Australia, and United Kingdom that are above the global average of 12.

Asked for the ideal participation level for civil society organizations (CSOs) on government’s budgetary discussions, Diokno said there is no ideal rate because this depends on opportunities.

“In fact we are expanding it down to the local governments because to me this has greater appeal. They would really get involve in their local budgets,” he added.

During the forum, Diokno said the government was committed to ensure fiscal openness as it continue to push for the approval of the proposed budget reform bill.

He explained that the focus to ensure accountability of government is among the topics during the regional dialogues on budget transparency.

“We want to make sure that citizens have a seat in the policy table and have a legitimate vote and voice,” he said.

Davao City 1st District Representative Karlo Alexei Nograles, during the forum, said results of last year’s OBS “is very encouraging to us in Congress and the entire government.”

“It reflects that enough supervision is prioritized by the legislature,” he said.

It was suggested during the forum that the Executive department submit the proposed medium-term budget strategy not later by March 15 of the current year to enable legislators to examine and provide their own input, to which Diokno  agrees to to “satisfy the recommendation.”

To date, the President submits the proposed budget of the following year on the fourth Monday of July or the day when the Chief Executive delivers the State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Meanwhile, Nograles said the budget reform bill is “a very aggressive bill” that he and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez are “pushing aggressively.”

“It’s a work in progress. Hopefully it sees the light of day,” he added.