MANILA – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has institutionalized the Department of Budget and Management’s Centralized Open Monitoring Platform for Appropriations and Spending Statistics (COMPASS), making it the government’s unified digital platform for tracking public funds.
Under Executive Order No. 126, signed on Sept. 28, COMPASS will consolidate information covering the national budget cycle, including appropriations, fund releases, procurement, project implementation and completion, and program performance.
The order requires covered national government agencies and instrumentalities, including government-owned or -controlled corporations and government financial institutions, to submit, disclose, update and publish information required by the DBM through the portal. Agencies will be responsible for ensuring that submitted data are accurate, complete and timely.
The platform, first launched in June, allows the public to search and monitor government spending by agency, funding source, purpose and fiscal year.
EO 126 also created a COMPASS Council, chaired by the DBM with the Department of Information and Communications Technology as co-chair, to oversee implementation, establish data standards and monitor agency compliance.
The order provides that failure by public officers or employees to comply with its requirements may be grounds for administrative or disciplinary sanctions under existing laws and regulations.
The government said COMPASS is intended to give citizens greater access to information on how public money moves from budget allocation to the actual delivery of programs and projects.
