PHL enjoys ‘growing reputation’ for fiscal transparency — survey

THE PHILIPPINES emerged as a top performer in Southeast Asia for fiscal transparency, according to a survey conducted by the International Budget Partnership (IBP), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.

In a statement on Thursday, the DBM said the Philippines scored 76 out of 100 in fiscal transparency in the 2025 Open Budget Survey (OBS) “reaffirming the country’s growing reputation as a regional leader in open governance and public financial accountability.”

The survey, using data from 2024, measures three pillars — transparency, public participation, and oversight.

“For transparency, what was measured was the public access to information on how the central government raises and spends public resources,” IBP Independent Researcher Zy-za Nadine N. Suzara said at the OBS 2025 Results Forum.

The Philippines’ score of 76 indicates that the country is “publishing a sufficient volume of budget information,” according to the survey. This was slightly higher than the score of 75 recorded in 2023.

Within East Asia and the Pacific, the Philippines posted the highest score in fiscal transparency, ahead of Indonesia (71), Mongolia (64), Cambodia (54), Vietnam (51), Malaysia (51), Papua New Guinea (46), and China (19).

To further improve budget transparency, the IBP recommended the inclusion of more comprehensive multi-year projections and disclosures on fiscal risks.

It also urged the government to provide more comprehensive data on debt, policy and performance information, and improve disclosure of revenue categories and individual revenue sources.

However, the Philippines continued to post low scores in public participation, which measures the extent to which governments provide formal and meaningful opportunities for public involvement in the budget process.

The Philippines scored 37 out of 100 in public participation in 2025, higher than the 33 recorded in 2023.

“That’s a four-point increase … but in terms of the OBS survey and methodology, that number even if you see an improvement is still inadequate,” Ms. Suzara said.

The Philippines outperformed its regional peers Indonesia (33), Thailand (28), Malaysia (20), Vietnam (17), and Cambodia (2) in the category.

To improve public participation, the IBP recommended that the government actively engage underrepresented communities, publish clear documentation of public inputs received during budget formulation and implementation, and provide more information on public engagement processes.

The group also urged Congress to allow members of the public to testify during budget deliberations and hearings on audit reports, as well as establish a task force on people’s participation.

Meanwhile, the Philippines scored 68 out of 100 on oversight, lower than the 83 recorded in 2023. The indicator measures the role of legislatures and supreme audit institutions in overseeing the budget process.

“The figures for oversight have actually been fluctuating over the years. There were years when oversight scores were quite good, some years we went down,” Ms. Suzara said.

Legislative oversight posted a score of 58 out of 100, while audit oversight was scored 89.

To strengthen legislative oversight, the IBP said the legislature should debate budget policy before the Executive’s Budget Proposal is tabled and create a committee that will examine in-year budget implementation and the audit report.

Meanwhile, it said that audit processes should be reviewed by an independent agency on an annual basis to strengthen independence and improve audit oversight of the Commission on Audit. — Justine Irish D. Tabile