THE Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) is pushing for a digital system that allows the public to track government money from the time it is appropriated to when it is actually spent, as scrutiny over the use of public funds intensifies ahead of the 2027 national budget.
The business group said the Executive, Congress and government agencies involved in preparing, approving and implementing the 2027 National Budget should adopt end-to-end digital transparency measures, including reforms embodied in the proposed Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (Cadena).
Cadena and similar measures seek to make government spending more transparent, traceable and resistant to tampering, MAP said.
‘The technology to do this already exists. What is required is the political will to make transparency the rule rather than the exception,’ the group said.
MAP said the push comes as public trust in government has been weakened by allegations of corruption, questionable projects, irregularities in public spending and the misuse of government resources.
These concerns, it said, go beyond ordinary political disputes because they affect confidence in government institutions and their management of public resources.
‘The government therefore has an obligation to account for how every peso is allocated, spent, and translated into actual benefits for the Filipino people,’ MAP said.
The group also called for greater scrutiny of the budget even before it is enacted, particularly during congressional deliberations and the bicameral conference. Material amendments and insertions should be publicly identified along with their proponents, amounts and purposes, it said.
‘The complexity of the budget process must never become a shield against public scrutiny or accountability,’ MAP said.
Yet, transparency should continue after the General Appropriations Act is signed, with taxpayers able to track the movement of funds through procurement, contract awards, project implementation, completion and audit.
‘Filipinos should be able to follow public money from appropriation and release to procurement, award, implementation, completion, and audit,’ it said.
For major infrastructure and government projects, MAP said the public should be able to determine how much was appropriated, who received the contract, how much was actually disbursed, what was delivered and whether the project achieved its intended purpose.
The group also called for zero tolerance for hidden insertions, questionable appropriations, favored contractors, ghost or substandard projects, unexplained realignments and the use of public funds for political accommodation or personal gain.
‘These practices have no place in a government that claims to uphold good governance and fiscal responsibility,’ MAP said.
The 2027 National Budget, it added, allows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the current administration and the 20th Congress to strengthen accountability in public spending.
MAP said accountability should apply regardless of political affiliation, position or influence, and that no expenditure involving taxpayers’ money should be beyond reasonable public scrutiny.
‘The 2027 National Budget should mark a decisive break from opacity and business as usual,’ the group said.