The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The Philippines received an Open Budget Index (OBI) of 67, effectively securing the top spot in Asia for budget transparency, results of the recently released biennial Open Budget Survey (OBS) 2017 showed.
“We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished to date. In surpassing our Asian neighbors, we have further cemented our position as a global leader in Open Government. It encourages us to persevere, to do even better, in the years ahead.” Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said.
The Philippines’ 2017 OBI (67) is three points higher than its score in 2015 (64). We are now first in Asia, followed by Indonesia (64), Jordan (63), Japan (60), and South Korea (60).
The Philippines ranks 19th worldwide. The Global Average for the OBI in 2017 is 42.
In 2015, the Philippines ranked first in the ASEAN region, second in Asia after South Korea (65), and 22nd worldwide.
The Open Budget Survey (OBS) is a biennial survey conducted by the International Budget Partnership (IBP) which assesses budget transparency based on the amount and timeliness of budget information governments make available to the public. After being evaluated against 109 equally weighted indicators, each country receives a composite score (out of 100) that determines its ranking on the OBI.
The survey also measures the extent of public participation in the country’s budget process and budget oversight by the legislature and the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI).
The Philippines’ boasts a score of 41 for Public Participation, more than three times the global average at 12. It is one of only four countries to achieve a moderate score in the category, sharing this distinction with New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the Philippines got a score of 65 for Budget Oversight, with the legislature and the Commission on Audit providing adequate oversight over the budget.
“The Department of Budget and Management will continue to work with the legislature, our constitutional bodies, and our citizens to further enhance budget openness in the public sector,” Diokno said.
The Open Budget Survey uses internationally-accepted criteria developed by multilateral organizations from sources such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT).
The Open Budget Survey 2017 findings on the systems and practices that countries have in place to inform and engage citizens — or not — in decisions about how to raise and spend public resources, and on the institutions that are responsible for holding government to account, come at a critical juncture.
Around the world, there has been a decline in public trust in government, in part due to instances of corruption but also because of dramatic increases in inequality. In a number of countries, leaders who have disguised their intolerant and reactionary agendas with populist rhetoric have been swept into power by those who’ve been left behind.
These political shifts have driven out many government champions of transparency and accountability — especially those from countries in the global south. More broadly across countries, there has been shrinking of civic space, rollbacks of media freedoms, and a crackdown on those who seek to hold government to account, including individual activists, civil society organizations, and journalists.
Because open and accountable public budgeting is at the center of democratic practice and equity, it is the first place we should look for ways to strengthen the interaction between governments and citizens. Ensuring that the budgeting process is characterized by high levels of transparency, appropriate checks and balances, and opportunities for public participation is key to stemming the decline in confidence in government and representative democracy.
In the face of the spread of profound threats to active, informed public participation, and thus the ability of citizens to ensure their governments will pursue policies that improve their lives, the Open Budget Survey 2017 will provide essential data on the state of budget transparency and accountability around the world.
To answer these questions the Open Budget Survey (OBS) assesses whether national governments produce and disseminate to the public key budget documents in a timely, comprehensive, and accessible manner. In addition, the 2017 survey includes a newly enhanced evaluation of whether governments are providing formal opportunities for citizens and their organizations to participate in budget decisions and oversight, as well as emerging models for public engagement from a number of country innovators. It also examines the role and effectiveness of legislatures and supreme audit institutions in the budget process.