MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Francis Pangilinan on Wednesday urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to establish an online public accountability dashboard to track government spending and monitor the delivery of interventions as the country braces for the potentially devastating effects of a strong El Niño.
The chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform said the proposed platform should provide Filipinos with timely information on how public funds are allocated and spent, what government agencies are doing to mitigate the effects of the weather phenomenon, and whether these interventions are producing results.
“I call on the President to direct the NDRRMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council), through OCD (Office of Civil Defense) and the concerned agencies, to maintain a single, coordinated El Niño action plan with named leads, measurable targets, and regular public reporting,” Pangilinan said in his eight-point action plan.
“The backbone of all these efforts is the proper use of taxpayers’ money. The public must know clearly where the funds are going, what the government is doing, and what results these measures are achieving,” he added.
The proposed dashboard would consolidate critical information, including weather forecasts, damage assessments, water conditions, priority needs, funding allocations, relief supply inventories and price-control advisories.
Pangilinan proposed requiring government agencies to submit updates every 24 hours, 48 hours or weekly, depending on the urgency and nature of the information.
The platform should go beyond reporting available resources and track the actual release and utilization of funds, delivery of relief supplies, number of households assisted, completion of farm and water-system interventions, resolution of price complaints, and filing of cases against violators.
