Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno gave his keynote speech at the first Project DIME Forum at the Ayuntamiento de Manila on Thursday to express his support for the project’s implementation and further development.

He described it as a “game-changing project” intended to send a message to the implementing agencies that the budget agency is looking over their shoulder in the delivery of their projects.

Secretary Diokno also shared his optimism that Project DIME “will succeed and continue to be implemented in the future.”

Project DIME is one of the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) key reforms to implement the management side of its mandate to ensure that every dime of the people’s money is spent well and to assist the implementing agencies in their provision of programs, activities, and projects.

It monitors selected high-value government projects by comparing fund utilization with physical accomplishment using Digital Data for Imaging Technologies (DDIT) such as drones, Lidars, and satellites.

Documentary evidence is no longer enough, actual photographic evidence of physical accomplishments will be needed.

“Project DIME is especially necessary in overseeing projects in far-flung areas wherein in-person physical inspection would prove difficult” Diokno added.

The first Project DIME Forum was held for the implementing agencies to share their experiences in the delivery of public services, familiarize themselves with the latest DDIT, and to provide feedback on the performance of the monitoring project.

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