To ensure the national budget’s alignment with the Philippine Development Plan and President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (PBBM)’s priorities, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has conducted one of its most rigorous reviews in recent years of agency budget proposals for next year’ s National Expenditure Program (NEP).
In a statement, budget secretary Kim Robert De Leon disclosed that the reviews they conducted included assessing submissions not only for completeness but also for implementation readiness, strategic relevance, measurable outcomes and fiscal sustainability.
De Leon announced that they are targeting to submit the proposed 2027 NEP to Congress before August 14, 2026.
“Among the key reforms is a new requirement for priority regional projects to obtain endorsements from Regional Development Councils before they can be included in agency budget proposals,” he cited.
The budget chief noted that the measure aims to improve coordination with local governments while ensuring that spending reflects regional development priorities.
To strengthen transparency during budget implementation, De Leon highlighted the rollout of the DBM Centralized Open Monitoring Platform for Appropriations and Spending Statistics (DBM Compass) portal which allows the public to track government spending from budget allocation through disbursement.
“More than just another government website, DBM Compass is the country’s first integrated digital platform that enables every Filipino to trace the movement of public funds,” he cited.
Aside from establishing the portal, the DBM is also expanding Project DIME, which uses satellite imagery, drones, geotagging and other digital technologies to independently verify the progress of major infrastructure projects, including flood control and mitigation initiatives.
“These reforms are intended to prevent questionable projects from entering the national budget in the first place. As stewards of the national budget, we at the Department of Budget and Management believe that the strongest safeguard against corruption is not merely detection but prevention. That is why our reforms begin long before a single peso is released,” he highlighted.