Even before the enrolled copy of the 2019 budget bill has reached the desk of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has already released the 2020 Budget Call, a document which sets the parameters and procedures to guide government agencies in preparing their budget proposals for FY 2020.

Under the Constitution, the President has 30 days after his State of the Nation Address to submit the President’s Budget for the ensuing year.

As in previous years, the agencies are required to align their budget proposals with the policies of the Duterte Administration, particularly with the 0+10-Point Socioeconomic Agenda and the Philippine Development Plan.

Likewise, agencies are enjoined to ensure that strategic regional needs are considered in national plans and that the regional plans are aligned with national priorities. This is to ensure stronger linkage between national and regional plans and budgets.

To achieve this, agencies should undertake consultations and coordination with the Local Government Units (LGUs) within the Regional Development Councils (RDCs) to ensure that the national priorities are responsive to regional and local needs. Budget proposals of agency regional offices should respond to local needs and at the same time should be consistent with national priorities.

“Next year will be the first full year implementation of the Annual Cash Budgeting. Thus for 2020, there will be greater focus on ensuring the implementation-readiness of agency budget proposals to ensure that programs and projects will be implemented as planned,” Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin Diokno said.

“We expect agencies to anchor their budget proposals on more concrete plans and designs that outline key procurement and implementation milestones,” the Budget Chief added.

Prior to the issuance of the 2020 Budget Call, the DBM held budget fora, both at the national and regional levels, to discuss with the agencies the guidelines in the preparation of the Tier 1 (existing programs and projects) and Tier 2 proposals (new or expanded programs and projects).

The 2020 Budget Call document may be accessed through this link: https://www.dbm.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/Issuances/2019/National-Budget-Memorandum/NBM-No-131-26Feb2019.pdf

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