REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Pangasinan Fifth District Representative 
HON. RAMON N. GUICO JR. 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Government assistance programs such as loans, grants, financial assistances, and donations among 
others are vital modes of spurring the growth and development of this country, its people, and economy. 
The people, being the lifeblood of these programs, through their invaluable contributions, whether through 
the taxes they pay or the various contributions they provide for this country, shall only be rightfully 
accorded a full accounting of how these contributions are administered. 
There is also a question of ease of access to many government assistance programs due to the 
obscurity of information regarding the eligibility requirements, the formulas governing the distribution 
of funds, the types of assistance, the uses and restrictions on the use of assistance and the obligations 
and duties of recipients under the program. These gaps often lead to delays over the delivery of such 
assistances and the misuse of public funds to accommodate vested interests. 
It is also of equal significance that records of these programs be indexed in a centralized 
database in order to expedite the auditing of government transactions insofar as it relates to the proper 
utilization of government funds. 
As such, this Act shall require the Secretary of Budget and Management to establish and 
maintain an online program information system which is capable of identifying all existing 
government assistance programs and publish a yearly catalog containing the same. 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this measure is earnestly sought. 
Rep. Ramon N. Guico Jr.
July 5, 2022
3:47 pm
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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Pangasinan Fifth District Representative 
HON. RAMON N. GUICO JR. 
AN ACT 
TO PROVIDE FOR THE EFFICIENT AND REGULAR DISTRIBUTION OF CURRENT 
INFORMATION ON GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Government Assistance Programs 
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Information Act.” 
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SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – As expressly provided for in Article 3, Section 7 of the 1987 
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Constitution, the State shall accord to the people its due right to information on matters of public 
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concern. In furtherance of this, it is hereby declared a policy of the State to require the Secretary of 
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Budget and Management to establish and maintain an online program information system which is 
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capable of identifying all existing government assistance programs. Under this Act the contents of 
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the Government Assistance Programs Database shall be specified, including the identity, description, 
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and eligibility requirements of each such assistance program. The Act further requires the Secretary 
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of Budget and Management to publish an annual catalog containing all information of government 
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assistance programs that is in the database of the system.  
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SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. – For the purposes of this Act: 
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1) Assistance refers to the transfer of money, property, services, or anything of value;
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the principal purpose of which is to accomplish a public purpose of support or
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stimulation authorized by statutes. Assistance includes, but is not limited to, grants,
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loans, loan guarantees, scholarships, mortgage loans, insurance or other types of
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financial assistance;  provision or donation of government facilities, goods, services,
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property, technical assistance, and counseling, statistical and other expert information,
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and service activities of regulatory agencies; but does not include provision of
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conventional public information services;
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2) Government assistance program means a function of a government agency which
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provides assistance or benefits for a province, territorial possession, city, other 
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political  
subdivision, grouping, or instrumentality thereof: any domestic profit 
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or non-profit corporation, institution, or individual; and 
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3) Administering office means the lowest subdivision of any government agency that 
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has direct operational responsibility for managing a domestic assistance program. 
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SEC. 4.  Duties of the Secretary. – The Secretary of Budget and Management (hereinafter 
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referred to as “Secretary”) shall identify all existing government assistance programs and provide 
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information on each such program to the general public through electronic media as authorized under 
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section (8) of this Act and through a printed catalog as authorized under section (9) of this Act. 
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SEC. 5. Information Requirements. –  
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a) The Secretary shall prepare and maintain a Government Assistance Information 
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Database (hereinafter referred to in this Act as the "database"). For each government 
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assistance program the data base shall—  
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1) identify each such program by title, by authorizing statute, by administering 
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office, and by an identifying number assigned by the Secretary; 
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2) describe the program, the objectives of the program, and the type of activities 
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which have been funded under the program; 
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3) describe the eligibility requirements, the formulas governing the distribution 
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of funds, the types of assistance, the uses and restrictions on the use of 
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assistance, and the obligations and duties of recipients under the program; 
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4) provide financial information, including the amount of funds appropriated 
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for the current fiscal year or, if unavailable, the amount of funds requested by 
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the President, and the amounts obligated, and the average amounts of awards 
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made in past years; 
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5) identify information contacts including the administering office and regional 
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and local offices and their addresses and telephone numbers; 
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6) provide a general description of any application requirements and 
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procedures and, to the extent practical, an estimate of the time required to 
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process the application. 
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b) 
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1) Each government agency shall furnish the Secretary, at such times as the 
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Secretary may determine, current information on all government assistance 
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programs administered by such government agency. 
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2) The Secretary shall on a regular basis incorporate into the database all 
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relevant information received under paragraph (1) of this subsection.  
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SEC. 6. Online Domestic Assistance Programs Information System – 
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a) The Secretary shall establish and maintain a computerized information system to 
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provide access to the database. 
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b) The Secretary, to the greatest extent practicable, shall provide for the widespread 
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availability of information contained in the database online. 
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c) The Secretary shall insure that the information available under this Act is made 
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available to the public. 
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d) The Secretary may develop information services to further assist national and local 
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government officials to identify or obtain sources of government assistance. 
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SEC. 7. Catalog of Government Assistance Programs. – 
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a) The Secretary shall prepare and publish annually a catalog of domestic assistance 
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programs (hereinafter referred to as the “catalog”). 
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b) The Secretary shall prepare and publish supplements to the catalog as necessary. 
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c) The Secretary may prepare and publish specialized compilations of the information 
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in the catalog by function as necessary. 
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d) The catalog shall contain, in such form as the Secretary determines— 
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1) all substantive information on domestic assistance programs that is in the 
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database at the time that the catalog is prepared; 
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2) any other information which the Secretary considers may be helpful to 
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potential applicants or beneficiaries under such programs; and 
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3) a detailed index 
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e) The Secretary shall make each catalog available to the public at a reasonable price. 
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f) There are authorized to be distributed, without cost, catalogs to Members of 
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Congress, delegates, resident commissioners, agencies, and general purpose units of 
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the local government, government recognized indigenous groups, national deposit 
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libraries, and other local repositories designated by the Secretary.  
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SEC. 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – The DBM shall promulgate the necessary 
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rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act. 
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SEC. 9. Appropriations. – The amount necessary to carry out the initial implementation of 
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this Act shall be charged against the Department of Budget and Management’s current appropriated 
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funding. 
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SEC. 10. Separability Clause. – If any provision, section or part of this Act shall be declared 
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unconstitutional or invalid, such judgment shall not affect, invalidate or impair any other provisions, 
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sections or parts thereof. 
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SEC. 11. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect immediately after approval. 
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Approved,