PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday promised a more open, disciplined, responsive and trusted government by the end of his term in 2028.
The president made the promise as he led the endorsement of the updated Philippine Public Financial Management (PFM) Reform Roadmap 2024–2028.
In his speech during a ceremony in Malacañang, Marcos said strengthening the country’s fiscal systems would ensure that “every peso is carefully spent and accounted for.”
“Many of our citizens see government budgets as complex, inaccessible and removed from their daily lives. This should not be the case. We need to make the government budget and spending easily accessible and understandable for any Filipino who has any interest whatsoever in finding out where their money is going,” he said.
“By 2028, we must be able to say that the government has become more open, more disciplined, more responsive and more trusted by the Filipino people,” he added.
Prepared by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) under the leadership of Acting Secretary Kim Robert de Leon, the updated PFM Roadmap streamlines the original 41 reform interventions into 18 priority measures.
Fourteen of the 18 are considered mission-critical reforms, while the remaining four are viewed as “quick wins,” with all targeted for completion by 2028.
The road map aims to develop an integrated financial management information system, and synchronize planning and budgeting across government levels, ensuring improved public services and greater public trust.
During the ceremony, the DBM also introduced its Centralized Open Monitoring Platform for Appropriations and Spending Statistics (Compass), an online tracker to enhance transparency, accountability and access to data on government expenditures and appropriations.
Compass consolidates thousands of budget release records and trillions of pesos in government spending data into a single platform, making budget information more accessible and understandable to the public.
The president said a digital platform will allow the people to track where their hard-earned money goes.
“By making budget and financial information more accessible, understandable and actionable, we invite citizens to become active partners in governance,” he said.
Marcos said accountability must be integrated into every stage of governance, from planning and budgeting, to procurement, implementation and the eventual evaluation.
“Every public office must be prepared to show where the funds went, and what they have achieved in improving the lives of every Filipino family,” he said.
De Leon said that making budget information more accessible and understandable empowers citizens as active partners in governance.
“Transparency is among the strongest safeguards against corruption. When information is open, accountability becomes stronger. When actions can be seen and scrutinized, public resources are better protected and public trust is reinforced,” he said.
