REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

House Bill No. 6900

Introduced by MAGDALO Party-List Representative
HON. GARY

EXPLANATORY NOTE

It is the government’s desire as stewards of the people to uphold and protect its constituents
trust, thus its newfound enthusiasm for greater government transparency in all its levels. While it
cannot be denied that a long road awaits before the glut of corruption and obscurantism is drained
from many governmental institutions, it should still be recognized that there have been incremental
steps taken to promote the ideal of good and transparent govemance—this Act is one such step.

Government assistance programs such as loans, grants, financial assistances, and donations
among others are vital modes of spurring the growth and development of this county, 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.

It is also of equally significant importance 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.
J

Gary C. Alejano


REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bit No. 8900

Introduced by MAGDALO Party-List Representative
HON. GARY C. ALEJANO

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
Information Act.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — As expressly provided for in Article 3, Section 7 of the 1987
Constitution, the State shall accord to the people its due right to information on matters of public concern.
In furtherance of this, it is hereby declared a policy of the State to 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. Under this Act the contents of the Government
Assistance Programs Database shall be specified, including the identity, description, and eligibility
requirements of each such assistance program. The Act further requires the Secretary of Budget and
Management to publish an annual catalog containing all information of government assistance programs
that is in the database of the system.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. — For the purposes of this Act:

1) Assistance refers to the transfer of money, property, services, or anything of value; the
principal purpose of which is to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation
authorized by statutes. Assistance includes, but is not limited to, grants, loans, loan
guarantees, scholarships, mortgage loans, insurance or other types of financial assistance;
provision or donation of government facilities, goods, services, property, technical assistance,
and counseling, statistical and other expert information, and service of regulatory
agencies; but does not include provision of conventional public information services



2) Government assistance program means a function of a government agency which
provides assistance or benefits for a province, territorial possession, city, other political
subdivision, grouping, or instrumentality thereof: any domestic profit or non-profit corporation,
institution, or individual; and

3) Administering office the lowest subdivision of any government agency that has
direct operational responsibility for managing a domestic assistance program.

SEC. 4. Duties of the Secretary. — The Secretary of Budget and Management (hereinafter
referred to as “Sccretary”) shall identify all existing government assistance programs and provide
information on each such program to the general public through electronic media as authorized under
section (8) of this Act and through a printed catalog as authorized under section (9) of this Act.

‘SEC. 7. Information Requirements. —

a) The Secretary shall prepare and maintain a Government Assistance Information
Database (hereinafter referred to in this Act as the "database”). For cach government assistance
program the data base shall —

1) identify each such program by title, by authorizing statute, by administering
office, and by an identifying number assigned by the Secretary;

2) describe the program, the objectives of the program, and the type of activities
which have been funded under the program;

3) describe 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;

4) provide financial information, including the amount of funds appropriated for
the current fiscal year or, if unavailable, the amount of fiunds requested by the
President, and the amounts obligated, and the average amounts of awards made

im past years;

5) identify information contacts including the administering office and regional
and local offices and their addresses and telephone numbers;

6) provide a general description of any application requirements and procedures

and, to the extent practical, an estimate of the time required to process the
application.


b) (1) Each government agency shall furnish the Secretary, at such times as the Secretary
may determine, current information on all government assistance programs
administered by such government agency.

2) The Secretary shall on a regular basis incorporate into the database all relevant
information received under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
SEC. 8. Online Domestic Assistance Programs Information System —

a) The Secretary shall establish and maintain a computerized information system to
provide access to the database.

b) The Secretary, to the greatest extent practicable, shall provide for the widespread
availability of information contained in the database online.

c) The Secretary shall insure that the information available under this Act is made
available to the public.

4) The Secretary may develop information services to further assist national and local
government officials to identify or obtain sources of government assistance.

SEC. 9. Catalog of Government Assistance Programs. —

a) The Secretary shall prepare and publish annually a catalog of domestic assistance
programs (hereinafter referred to as the “catalog”).

b) The Secretary shall prepare and publish supplements to the catalog as necessary.

) The Secretary may prepare and publish specialized compilations of the information in
the catalog by function as necessary.

) The catalog shall contain, in such form as the Secretary determines —

1) all substantive information on domestic assistance programs that i
database at the time that the catalog is prepared;

2) any other information which the Secretary considers may be helpful to potential
applicants or beneficiaries under such programs; and

3) a detailed index


) The Secretary shall make each catalog available to the public at a reasonable price.

) There are authorized to be distributed, without cost, catalogs to Members of Congress,
delegates, resident commissioners, agencies, and general purpose units of the local government,
government recognized indigenous groups, national deposit libraries, and other local repositories
designated by the Secretary.

SEC. 10, Implementing Rules and Regulations. — The DBM shall promulgate the necessary
rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 11. Appropriations. — The amount necessary to carry out the initial implementation of this
‘Act shall be charged against the Department of Budget and Management's current appropriated funding.

SEC. 12. Separability Clause. —\f any provision, section or part of this Act shall be declared
unconstitutional or invalid, such judgment shall not affect, invalidate or impair any other provisions,
sections or parts thereof.

SEC. 13. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect immediately after approval.

Approved,