Government Gears Up to Prepare 2019 Budget

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) issued the Budget Call for 2019 under National Budget Memorandum No. 129 on January 3, 2018. The issuance outlined the budget preparation guidelines and procedures for the formulation and submission of agency budget proposals for 2019.

The Budget Call was based on the macroeconomic assumptions adopted by the Development Budget Coordination Committee in its meeting on December 22, 2017.

The agency budget proposals will continue to reflect administration policies such as the President’s 0+10-Point Socio-Economic Agenda, the Philippine Development Plan (PDP), and the priority programs and projects contained in the 2017-2022 Public Investment Program (PIP), and will incorporate the 2019-2021 Three-Year Rolling Infrastructure Program (TRIP).

Shift to annual cash-based budget

According to Memorandum No. 129, the FY 2019 budget will be an annual cash-based budget. With annual cash-based appropriations, agencies can only incur contractual obligations and disburse payments for goods delivered and services rendered and inspected within the fiscal year, with an extended payment period of three months. This will effectively limit agencies to submit budget proposals reflecting payment of goods and services that will “actually be delivered for the year”.

“The shift enforces the original intent of the appropriation law – for the budget, as it was planned and legislated, to be fully executed within the year,” DBM Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said.

This shift is expected to quicken program delivery, as well as strengthen the “focus and accountability of government” as target outputs of government programs become more clearly linked to their appropriated budget.

 Strengthening linkage between national and regional/ local government

Meanwhile, regional and local government plans and budgets will be streamlined to ensure consistency with the priority programs and projects of the national government. In support of the Local Government Code of 1991 and the localization of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022, only priority programs and projects that can directly contribute to the Results Matrices of the PDP 2017-2022 will be considered in the budgets of the Regional Line Agencies (RLAs). (DBM)