Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad today asserted that the pursuit of greater public access to information is an integral element of the Aquino Administration’s Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Plan for 2012 to 2016.

With budget preparations already at full speed, Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad announced plans to set a one-year validity limit for 2013 appropriations, adding that lapsed allotments for government agencies will no longer be carried over to the next fiscal year.

In a bid to strengthen the Aquino administration’s drive for transparency and accountability, Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad said that some releases will be withheld from agencies if they fail to submit their budgetary reports for fiscal year 2012.