DBM Press Release
23 March 2023

Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman called for a responsible and efficient implementation of the 2023 national budget while attending the Philippine League of Local Budget Officers (PHILLBO) Inc. Annual Convention on 23 March 2023, in Boracay, Aklan.

The three-day event, with the theme “Digital Transformation to Strengthen LGU Public Financial Management,” gathered Local Government Unit (LGU) officials, Local Budget and Finance officers, and Public Financial Management (PFM) practitioners nationwide. Some 2,500 delegates attended the event.

“Today, I am proud to share that our 2023 National Budget is the fastest to be enacted in recent history, having been signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. last December 16, or merely five months from when I took my oath of office. Now we must carry the responsibility of efficiently implementing this budget for programs and projects that truly respond to every need of every Filipino and improve their quality of life,” Secretary Pangandaman said.

She also noted the important role of digital transformation as one of the top priorities of the Marcos Jr. administration and key strategy to achieve the government’s Agenda for Prosperity.

“In crafting the P5.268 trillion National Budget for 2023, digital transformation was established as one of our key government reforms because this translates to more efficient public service delivery, as well as more transparent, credible, and clean governance. It will also help the government build robust data systems that will create better programs, such as targeted social protection and more efficient employment opportunity linking systems,” Secretary Pangandaman pointed out.

Under the 2023 national budget, a total of P24.13 billion was allocated for Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-related expenditures. From this budget, some P3.56 billion was given to the Department of Finance and its attached agencies, the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs, to improve their revenue collection.

Meanwhile, P2.06 billion was allotted for the Philippine Identification System. Secretary Pangandaman said a portion of the P7.24 billion financial assistance allocated to LGUs can be used for the ICT systems and infrastructure development, such as the establishment of an Integrated Business Permit and Licensing System, and digitalization of payments for collections and disbursements.

These budgetary allocations, Secretary Pangandaman said, will also complement the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Executive Order No. 170, which mandates the adoption of digital payments for government disbursements and collections to ultimately promote financial inclusion.

Moreover, the Budget Secretary emphasized that digital transformation is also a vital tool in strengthening PFM at the local level. Thus, the DBM continues to push for the enactment of the Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized Governance (PBBM Governance) Bill. This initiative will institutionalize the Integrated Financial Management Information System and strengthen implementation of the Cash Budgeting System.

“We hope that through the PBBM Governance Bill, we will finally truly modernize our budgeting system, resolve the fragmented PFM legal framework, and promote public participation in the budget process,” Secretary Pangandaman said.

As the Release of the Notice of Cash Allocation through the Action Document Releasing System (ADRS) goes online, the DBM initiative following the agreement signing with three Government Servicing Banks on December 2022, Secretary Pangandaman said the agency will soon launch the 2022-2026 Digital Transformation Roadmap, which focuses on building a convergent hub by establishing Application Programming Interfaces, utilizing GovTech, enabling Digital Tax Bypass, and leveraging Data Engineering and System Integration.

"The bureaucracy is never easy. Change is never easy. But progress is never possible without change. And having this opportunity to be part of this change — for the better — will be one of our legacies as public servants,” Secretary Pangandaman said.

“So I call on every local budget officer and PFM practitioner, for all of us to work together in making our vision of digital transformation a reality — so that we can deliver a sound, systematic, transparent, and accountable form of governance that the Filipino people deserve and desire,” she concluded.

Among the resource speakers in the event include other DBM officials, such as Undersecretary Maria Franchesca del Rosario, who talked on the DBM's recent updates on Digitalization of Government Transactions, Systems, and Processes; Government Procurement Policy Board-Technical Support Office (GPPB-TSO) Executive Director Rowena Candice Ruiz, who discussed the GPPB updates and latest issuances; and DBM Region VIII Director Imelda Laceras.

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