To my dearest colleagues and fellow public servants from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), a pleasant morning to all of you!  

Bagong taon na naman so let me greet you all, Happy New Year, Happy Chinese New Year and for all of us, “Happy New Budget Cycle!” 

As you know, in the first week of January, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 National Budget. 

We are grateful to the President for passing a people-centered budget and to the Legislature for their efforts towards greater transparency in the crafting of the General Appropriations Act (GAA), especially by livestreaming the Bicameral Conference Committee meetings for the first time.  

But of course, I would like to especially, thank all of you, for your dedication to fulfilling the Philippine budgeting process. Palakpakan po natin ang ating mga sarili! Through your careful analysis, discipline, and commitment to public service, this year’s budget was crafted with purpose and precision, ensuring that priority sectors received record-high allocations. As you know, our budget for Education this year reached Php 1.34 trillion, which meets the UNESCO’s global benchmark for education spending for the first time. The FY 2026 GAA also allocates Php 448.125 billion for the health sector and  Php 297 billion for the agriculture sector—their largest budgets in history. 

These investments will truly pave the way toward the Bagong Pilipinas we all aspire to achieve. 

But as the cycle goes, even as we implement the 2026 budget, we also start the budget preparations for next year. Not only that, we are also accounting for the 2025 budget. 

So today, we reaffirm our commitment to good governance and genuine public service by convening this forum as the budget preparation season once again begins. Let me remind you that this is not just a procedural kickoff; this is a chance to engage in meaningful discussions, align our priorities and regulations, and address emerging challenges together. 

For 2027, we will continue to accelerate inclusive and sustainable goals by promoting nationwide development, empowering local government, sustaining digitalization, strengthening our climate resilience, and remaining adaptable to risks and opportunities. 

But more than business as usual, we shall also do our best to respond to the President's clear marching order: to ensure the proper execution and true accountability in the use of public funds. While this call should resonate with implementing agencies, let us also take this as a challenge for us at the DBM, especially because we are the lead agency for the country’s public expenditure management. 

Bilang tagapamahala ng budget ng bayan, mahalaga ang tungkulin na ating ginagampanan hindi lamang sa paglalaan ng pondo para sa pangangailangan ng iba’t ibang ahensya at mga sektor ng ating lipunan, kundi para rin sa tunay na pangangalaga sa pondo ng bayan. 

Paano natin ito isasagawa? 

First, as you may have noticed, we conduct not just one, not two, but three budget fora every year when we begin our budget preparation—because safeguarding the budget starts with rigorous and strategic planning.  

Second, we strengthen our budget preparation by ensuring that every proposal is evidence-based, aligned with national priorities, and supported by clear, attainable objectives. By doing so, we are better equipped to address the perennial challenge of underspending and staying on course despite limited fiscal space and external pressures.

Third, we rigorously assess how agencies utilized previous budgets and evaluate the progress of their mandated programs and projects. We require that proposals are supported by data, previous performance metrics, and detailed program plans with clear procurement and implementation milestones. This ensures that only implementation-ready and high-impact proposals receive funding, reinforcing both equity and effective use of public resources, given our limited fiscal space. 

Fourth, we are guided by the Public Financial Management (PFM) Reforms Roadmap 2024-2028, which aims to fully digitalize PFM processes for transparency and efficiency through the full adoption of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) across all government agencies. 

Last year, we began rolling out the Budget and Treasury Management System (BTMS) to support real-time online accounting, monitoring, and oversight of obligations and disbursements. The initial phase included seven pilot agencies with the highest budget allocations. In 2026, we will expand its implementation to 155 agencies, further integrating digital tools to improve the accuracy, timeliness, and transparency of budget preparation, execution, and reporting across the government. 

In line with this, we are also empowering our citizens to uphold accountability through the Project DIME, or the Digital Information for Monitoring and Evaluation, whose flood control project component was launched last year. This is a very important tool launched by the DBM as we respond to the amplified call of our citizens for a comprehensive investigation of irregular flood control projects. With its transparency features, it enables public participation, so even ordinary citizens can now monitor major infrastructure projects, helping ensure effective use of public funds. 

Fifth, we will ensure compliance with the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA), which our very own PS-DBM and GPPB, with our Legal Service, crafted and which we are very proud of as it is now being globally recognized as one of the biggest anti-corruption measures of the government. 

Under this law, we now practice open contracting and require the disclosure of beneficial ownership information before allowing companies to participate in public procurement. This allows us to identify the real individuals behind corporations and prevent collusion, fraud, and conflict of interest. Most importantly, the law also institutionalized citizen participation by formally inviting civil society and private sector representatives as observers in procurement proceedings. 

These efforts reflect our commitment to managing public resources responsibly and advancing the economic objectives set out in the Philippine Development Plan 2023–2028. We aim to fulfill this mission by sustaining our reforms anchored on the principles of Open Government Partnership (OGP): enhancing budget transparency, deepening participation, and strengthening our anti-corruption reforms—all of which reinforce our strong leadership in the global open governance space.  

With all of these in mind, let us move forward together with integrity and a shared sense of purpose.  

I hope that this forum may refresh and prepare us—both in heart and in mind—for the work ahead as we formally begin the budget cycle for FY 2027. I encourage everyone to actively participate in our discussions today, so that we may craft a National Budget that truly serves the interests of the Filipino people in our Bagong Pilipinas, including and especially the next generations. 

With that, let’s get the ball rolling for the budget forum and budget preparation for 2027! Maraming salamat po. 

END