The National Budget is the financial blueprint of a country’s development plan. Cognizant of its vital role in national development, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) under the Aquino Administration has sought to ensure that public resources are managed more efficiently and with the greatest degree of discipline.

The Aquino Administration’s commitment to promote inclusive development necessitated reforms in the way that the DBM must carry out its mandate. It is crucial not only to channel resources on programs that accelerate economic growth, but more importantly, to re-direct funds to programs that would be responsive to the needs of the people especially those in regions beset by poverty.

Thus, in the preparation of the proposed National Budget for fiscal year 2014, the DBM pushed for the adoption of a new approach to budgeting. Through National Budget Memorandum (NBM) No. 117, the DBM introduced performance-informed budgeting

(PIB) which required government agencies to strengthen the link between planning and budgeting and to simplify the presentation of the budget.

As the administration pledges to promote people-centred growth, the DBM likewise seeks to bring the budget closer to the people.

With the adoption of the PIB as a budgeting scheme, the government is changing the face of the budget. Previously a mass of numbers and line items without a clear story on where funds are going, the National Expenditure Plan and the General Appropriations Act beginning in FY2014 will show the link between the funds allocated for government programs and the projected results and outcomes of these.

The new face of the Budget therefore represents the continuing shift away from the dominance of patronage politics and clientelistic relationships towards a more responsive, transparent and accountable public expenditure management system.

Introduction

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What is the Performance-Informed Budgeting?

Performance-informed budgeting (PIB)1 is a budgeting approach that uses performance information to assist in deciding where the funds will go. Performance information—both financial and non-financial information—are presented in the appropriations document, which provides the context for the programs, activities and projects pursued by the different agencies of government.

TYPES OF PERFORMANCE BUDGETING

TypeLink Between

Performance Indicatorsand Funding

Main Purpose inBudgeting Process

PRESENTATIONAL

DIRECT OR FORMULAPERFORMANCE BUDGETING

PERFORMANCE-INFORMEDBUDGETING

Accountability

Resource allocation and accountability

Planning and/or accountabilty;Resource allocation

No Link

Tight, direct link

Loose, indirect link

• Inputs – amount of resources used to produce outputs; usually expressed in terms of money or people • Outputs – products or services delivered by a program or an organizational entity; usually expressed in terms of quantity, quality and cost• Outcomes – events, occurrences or changes in conditions related to the achievement of policy objectives, usually expressed in general society terms or at a level more immediate to the organization in question

Performance information typically include the following: • The purpose for the funds required• The outputs that would be produced or the services that would be rendered• The outcomes that would be achieved by the outputs and/or services • The cost of the programs and activities proposed to achieve the objectives

Performance information can be used as a signalling device. Low performance or a decline in performance can serve as an alarm bell that ought to trigger a closer look into the reasons behind low performance. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the most common response to low performance is holding constant the level of future funding and/or subjecting future allocations conditional to improved performance.

Performance-informed budgeting differs from the traditional line item-based budgeting in that it focuses more on outputs and outcomes and places less emphasis on the inputs. It links funding to results, and provides a framework for more informed resource allocation and management.2

1 Robinson, Marc and Duncan Last, A Basic Model of Performance-Based Budgeting.2 Saxena, Sandeep, Bruce Stacey and Martin Bowen. The Philippines: A StrengtheningPerformance Budgeting. International Monetary Fund Fiscal Affairs Department. April 2013.

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Changing the Face of the Budget

The new face of the National Budget will no longer contain an excessively detailed line item document, but a budget that presents performance information aligned to planned resources that promises to be understandable and accessible to the people.

Traditionally, the GAA contains all the appropriation assigned to different components, projects, programs

3An appropriation is an authorization made by law or other legislative enactment, directing the payment of goods and services out of government funds under specified conditions or for specified purposes. COA-DBM Joint Circular No. 2013-14The major current operating expenditures a) Personal Services (PS) like salaries and wages, social security contributions, overtime pay, etc. b) Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures (MOOE) such as traveling expenses, supplies and materials, water, illumination and power services, rent, etc.; c) Interest payments; d) Allotments to Local Government Units (ALGU); e) Subsidies to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs)

The GAA then:

and activities of the National Government. These are divided into New Appropriations3 and Current Operating Expenditures4 of the various agencies and units. The appropriations are further divided into three components:

• Personnel Services;• Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses; and• Capital Outlays.

Long line description of activities, inputs

Focus on numbers, financial data

5A BRIEFER ON THE PERFORMANCE-INFORMED BUDGET STRUCTURE

The GAA after adopting the PIB Structure:

Each agency’sstrategic objectives

defined upfront

Summary offinancials presented

in the GAA

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The new, revamped GAA will present non-financial performance information together with the allocated resources for the different programs, activities and projects (PAPs). These information were used by the DBM to evaluate department and agency proposals during the budget preparation process.

Instead of being immediately confronted with line-item after line-item, PAPs will be grouped according to the Major Final Outputs (MFOs) that department/agencies seek to achieve. This way the budget that goes into a particular PAP is linked directly to the output it intends to achieve.

Performanceinformation presented

with the financials

Budget for operationsby Major Final Output

presented

Additional program/project details in a separate volume

Clarification: The sample DSWD budget used in this brochure is not yet the final budget entry in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted to Congress. In the final NEP, the targets of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program have been updated as follows: • Regular CCT: 4.3 M Households• Modified CCT: 131,963 Households • Expanded CCT: 4.3 M Children

7A BRIEFER ON THE PERFORMANCE-INFORMED BUDGET STRUCTURE

The New Structure of theNational Expenditure Program

For each department and agency:

OVERVIEW:Strategic Objectives

Department or Agency Mandate, Vision and Mission

As set by law or executive fiat and by therespective agencies’ Citizen’s Charters.

Key Result AreasIdentification of the Key Result Areas (KRAs)of the Aquino Social Contract (as defined byExecutive Order No. 43) that the departmentor agency contributes to.

Sector Outcome Longer-term benefits for the sector from theinitiatives or the department or agency. Thesehave been defined through the PhilippineDevelopment Plan and the OrganizationalPerformance Indicator Framework (OPIF).

Organizational Outcome Short- to medium-term benefits to clients andcommunity as a result of the department’s oragency’s delivery of MFOs. These have beendefined through the OPIF.

SECTION 1:Expenditure Program

Presentation of Agency Budget According to:

• General Administration and Support• Support to Operations• Operations• ProjectsPresented for fiscal years 2012, 2013 and 2014;and disaggregated into allotment classes (PS,MOOE, FE, CO).

Staffing Summary Total authorized and filled positions for fiscalyears 2012, 2013 and 2014

Operations by MFO for 2014Divided into allotment classes (PS, MOOE, FEand CO)

Projects• Aggregate presentation of locally-funded andforeign assisted projects• Divided into allotment classes (PS, MOOE, FEand CO)Note: The detailed listing of PAPs is stillpresented but in a separate volume.

SECTION 2:Expenditure Program by Central and Regional Allocation

Divided into allotment classes (PS, MOOE, FE and CO)

SECTION 3:Special Provisions

SECTION 4:Performance Information

Identification of Performance Indicators under each MFO, with corresponding Targets for 2014

Definitions of Expense Categories (PS, MOOE, FinEX & CO)Personnel Services (PS) – for the payment of salaries, wages and other compensation of permanent, temporary, contractual and casual employees of the government.Maintenance & Other Operating Expenditures (MOOE) – expenditures to support the operations of government agencies such as expenses for supplies, utilities, etc. Financial Expenses (FinEx) – a new expense category, this is for management supervision/trusteeship fees, interest expenses, bank charges, and other financial charges.Capital Outlays (CO) – for the purchase of goods and services, the benefits of which extend beyond the fiscal year and which add to the assets of the government.

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The new PIB structure follows the Results Framework or Logical Framework (LogFrame) established for each department and agency through the OPIF.

PUBLIC EXPENDITURE MANAGEMENT REFORM

Public expenditure management (PEM) should achieve aggregate fiscal discipline, or spending within government’s means; allocative efficiency, or spending on the right priorities; and operational efficiency, or spending withmaximum impact.

The ongoing PEM reforms led by DBM aims to strengthen the links between planning,budgeting and implementation. Aside from performance informed budgeting (PIB), the following budgeting schemes served as the tools for crafting the new National Budget.

Organizational Performance Indicator Framework (OPIF)

• Defines the outputs and outcomes thatdepartments and agencies are supposedto achieve for the budgets they get. • Sets the appropriate indicators andtargets to measure performance.

Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF)• Facilitates the determination of availablefunds for allocation to the key programs ofgovernment.

Zero-based Budgeting (ZBB)• Involves the periodic review/evaluation ofagencies’ major ongoing programs andprojects in order to assess the relevanceof these programs and projects and todetermine whether the level of resourcesallocated should be kept, adjusted ordiscontinued.

Program Budgeting (PB)

• Focuses the allocation of the fiscal spaceor uncommitted resources on thekeyprograms of the Aquino administrationfor a coordinated and holistic approach inprogramming of funds across departmentsand agencies.

Bottom-Up Budgeting (BuB)• Local poverty reduction plans areformulated with strong participation ofbasic sector organizations and other civilsociety organizations to ensure that theservices of departments/agencies/GOCCsare responsive to the needs of LGUs andcommunities.

What is an MFO? A Major Final Output or MFO is a good or service that a department or agency is mandated to deliver to external clients through the implementation of programs, activities and projects.

What is a Performance Indicator? A performance indicator is a characteristic of performance such as quality, quantity, timeliness and cost that measures how efficiently a department or agency has delivered its MFOs.

9A BRIEFER ON THE PERFORMANCE-INFORMED BUDGET STRUCTURE

Integrating PIB and Strategic Planning:The Budget Priorities Framework

In a performance-informed budgeting system, there is a need to integrate performance information with strategic planning. As such, together with NBM 117, the DBM issued NBM 118 which sets the budget priorities for FY 2014 in line with the five Priority Areas (PAs) of President Aquino’s Social Contract with the Filipino People5.

The continued expansion of the Philippine economy comes with the challenge of achieving inclusive growth: to create more job opportunities and deliver direct, immediate and substantial benefits to the people, especially to the poor and marginalized. Effective public expenditure management should help address this challenge by ensuring that government spends within its means , with maximum impact , and lastly, on the right priorities.

In line with our commitment to further optimize the allocation of public resources, the DBM adopted the Budget Priorities Framework (BPF) to identify key priority programs and areas that should guide departments and agencies in strategically planning their respective activities for the year 2014.

5Executive Order No. 43, issued by President Aquino on May 13, 2011, defines the five KRAs of his Social Contract with the Filipino People. In this issuance, he also organized his Cabinet into five Cabinet Clusters along these KRAs.

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With the new face of the Budget, Congress can now exercise its oversight function over the Budget more effectively. Legislators can now have better

information that they can use in evaluating the proposals of each department and agency. And after the Budget is approved, it is our hope that the PIB enables them to check each department and agency if these are delivering the results that they had committed to.

Ultimately, the new face of the Budget seeks to empower the people—directly and through civil society organizations, grassroots communities, business groups, the media, and other citizen’s groups. Now with the information available to them, the people can be in a better position to demand a Budget that truly serves their needs. With the PIB, we seek to strengthen the voice of the people in the allocation and use of scarce government resources.

With the new face of the Budget and with other public financial management reforms, DBM hopes to help transform the face and character of the government itself: towards a government that accurately reflects and truly serves the people’s interests.

The New Face of the Budget:Transforming the Face and Character of the Government

It is the hope of the DBM under the current administration that the ongoing public expenditure management reforms—specifically, the implementation of the Performance Informed Budget (PIB) structure—would bring about positive change through greater transparency, accountability and citizen’s participation in budgeting.

By introducing the PIB, the Aquino Government seeks to reinforce the meaning of accountability as a commitment to perform. In striving to identify direct connections between the resources allocated to a government agency and the outputs and outcomes they intend on delivering, the DBM seeks to enable the public to hold the government accountable for how they spend public funds.

The new face of the Budget allows the Executive to ensure that each peso to be spent is tightly linked with its priority outcomes. It enables individual agencies to see more clearly how their activities

fit in the broader development plan, and how they can collaborate with other agencies in achieving common goals. It likewise enables the Executive to reduce overlaps and eliminate duplicative or inefficient spending.

The New Face of the National Budget:A Briefer on the Performance-Informed Budget Structure

Produced by the PhilippineDepartment of Budget and Management

Some Rights Reserved underCreative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 License

23 July 2013

Production Team:Office of the Secretary –

Technical Staff and Public Information UnitZy-za Nadine Suzara

Nicholas PriceKurt Dale Tordesillas

Francis Capistrano

Design and Layout:Gianne Karla Gaoiran (OSEC)

Lance Andrew Viado (OSEC)Infographics by Flux Design Labs

With Support From:Public Financial Management (PFM) Project Management Unit

Training and Information ServiceBudget Technical Service

Fiscal Planning Bureau

A People’s Budget Publication

Paggugol na Matuwid sa Budget ng Bayan:Daan Tungo sa Kasaganaan Para sa Lahat