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Manila Bulletin devider Opinion devider SAFPB: Forging a sustainable future for Filipinos through participatory budgeting

SAFPB: Forging a sustainable future for Filipinos through participatory budgeting

Published Feb 27, 2024 04:07 pm

BEYOND BUDGET

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Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
 

Water is the embodiment of life flowing on Earth. It is both a source of power and energy. With the dry spell currently being experienced in different areas of the country, it is critical to improve water resource management to ensure sustainable water supply for generations to come. 


Thus, with great excitement, we in the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), in collaboration with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, launched on Feb. 21, 2024 the Support and Assistance Fund to Participatory Budgeting (SAFPB) program, with ₱1 billion allocated under the Local Government Support Fund in the FY 2024 General Appropriations Act.


The SAFPB is a brainchild program of the DBM that aims to expand access to safely managed and resilient water and sanitation services in lagging municipalities nationwide. It is our response to the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (PBBM) to assist our kababayans  in providing potable water and sanitation services.  As PBBM emphasized in his 2023 State of the Nation address, “Considering its fundamental importance, water security deserves our special focus. Our efforts must not be scattershot, but rather cohesive, centralized, and systematic.”


Hence, I believe that the SAFPB will contribute to our objective of achieving universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water, access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all, and ending open defecation, aligned with the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 on Clean Water and Sanitation, and in line with our Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028. Further, I’m convinced that this will empower local government units (LGUs), boosting the administration’s efforts to realize a responsive, accountable, and effective national budget.  


As beneficiaries for the program, we have identified 75 municipalities that belong to the fourth to sixth income classes, for upgrading water, sanitation, and hygiene projects. These LGUs have established LGU-managed water utilities; are project-ready, with a Municipal Water Supply Sanitation and Hygiene Master Plan duly endorsed by an accredited Civil Society Organization (CSO) and adopted by the LGU; and have identified feasible water sources. 
These municipalities include Pudtol, Apayao and Mayoyao, Ifugao in the Cordillera Administrative Region. In Region I, the municipalities of Adams, Carasi, Dumalneg, and Cervantes in Ilocos Norte; Suyo, Ilocos Sur; Caba, La Union; and Burgos, Pangasinan.  In Region 2: Iguig and Santa Teresita in Cagayan; Mallig and Santa Maria in Isabela; and Ambaguio, Nueva Vizcaya. In Region 3: Dinalungan, Aurora and Nampicuan, Nueva Ecija. In Region IV-A: General Luna, Padre Burgos, Panukulan, Pitogo, and Quezon in Quezon Province; Magallanes, Cavite; and Liliw, Laguna. In MIMAROPA: Buenavista, Marinduque; Looc, Occidental Mindoro; San Teodoro, Oriental Mindoro; Araceli and Cagayancillo in Palawan; Corcuera and Ferrol in Romblon. In Region 5: Jovellar and Malilipot in Albay; San Fernando, Camarines Sur; Panganiban (Payo), Catanduanes; Baleno, Masbate; and Bulusan and Juban in Sorsogon. 


For the Visayas, we have Region 6: Batan and Tangalan in Aklan; Libertad, Antique; Sapi-an in Capiz; San Lorenzo and Sibunag in Guimaras; and Salvador Benedicto, Negros Occidental. Region 7: Alburquerque, Bien Unido, Dagohoy, and San Miguel in Bohol; Tudela, Cebu; Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental; and Larena, Siquijor. In Region 8: Calubian, Julita, and San Isidro in Leyte; Mercedes, Eastern Samar; Bobon and San Antonio in Northern Samar; Calbiga, San Jorge, and San Sebastian in Samar. 


In Mindanao, Region 9 includes the municipalities of Bacungan (Leon T. Postigo) and Godod in Zamboanga del Norte; Dimataling and Dinas in Zamboanga del Sur; and Imelda, Zamboanga Sibugay. In Region 10: Sumilao, Bukidnon; Magsaysay, Matungao, Munai, and Salvador in Lanao del Norte; and Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental. And, in Region 13: Kitcharao and Magallanes in Agusan del Norte; Gigaquit, Surigao del Norte; and San Agustin, Surigao del Sur.  


The SAFPB is a product of DBM’s collaboration and discussions with the World Bank (WB) in the past year. Based on WB’s study, “Ensuring Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation Services and Building Climate Resiliency,” there is a dire need to create a national Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) program, through a strong partnership between the national government and LGUs. The study suggests prioritizing funding for LGUs with high poverty incidence, lagging LGUs with less than 50 percent WSS coverage, and projects with externalities or involve economies of scale, based on the Mandanas-Garcia ruling and Executive Order No. 138, devolving certain functions of the executive branch to LGUs.


As chair of the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP), I am proud that this program is being realized under our watch. With this project, we are recognizing the power of fiscal openness and participatory budgeting in public service delivery, a product of the PH-OGP, which was institutionalized through the issuance of President Bongbong Marcos of Executive Order No. 31. This truly encourages citizens to become co-creators in achieving action plans, to build trust with both government and citizens, and to value synergy in the successful delivery of basic social services even in far-flung areas of the country. By empowering LGUs, communities will be assured of sustainable water supply and sanitation services in their areas. Thus, it will be an important leap in assuring the people that they are heard and cared for — no one is left behind as the country lives out the values of Bagong Pilipinas.


Beyond budget, the administration of PBBM is determined to ensure sustainable water supply and sanitation services in LGUs through the SAFPB, a key to Philippine development, human development, public health, and poverty reduction. It encourages participatory budgeting using a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach, which is essential to truly responding to the needs of our fellow Filipinos. Let us celebrate this milestone that strengthens our connection as a people as we move forward to shape a better future for everyone.

(Amenah F. Pangandaman is the Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management.)

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BEYOND BUDGET Amenah Pangandaman DBM Secretary
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