Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. _______ 
INTRODUCED BY REP. PM VARGAS 
AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING THE PARTICIPATION OF CIVIL SOCIETY 
ORGANIZATIONS IN THE ANNUAL NATIONAL BUDGET PROCESS AND 
PROVIDING EFFECTIVE MECHANISMS THEREFOR 
The National Budget is the government's most important 
instrument in attaining its policy goals- it can enhance our economy, promote 
the business sector, and better the lives of marginalized people. Indeed, it 
serves as the lifeblood of the economy and a powerful tool for development. 
The budget includes all facets of governance, including, but not limited to, 
policies, political and social preferences, administrative reforms, and service 
provision. It exhibits the earnestness and political determination of the 
government to bring about social and economic change. There must be 
procedures in place to allow citizens to engage in the budget processes in 
order to rectify spending priorities since it is so crucial to the functioning of 
our government and, ultimately, to every Filipino's life. 
Through the ability to directly affect the social and economic 
priorities of his or her community, a person can exercise citizenship in the 
budget process. It is time to push our civil service organizations (CSOs) to 
concentrate their efforts on budget analysis and scrutiny in order to influence 
the government to foster significant progress that is felt by disadvantaged 
groups. The "People's Participation in Budget Deliberations Act," which 
enshrines the right of the public to engage directly in budget deliberations, 
upholds the values of true democracy by giving the public the ability to shape 
the priorities that inform the budget for social development.  
This measure specifically intends to institutionalize people's 
involvement in budget discussions in budget discussions at all levels of 
government, including the national, provincial, municipal, and even barangay 
levels. This bill provides full play to the people's right to participate in all levels 
of social, political, and economic decision-making without underestimating 
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and undermining the capacities of elected representatives in creating a budget 
that is needed by a particular locality. 
Now is the time for Congress to acknowledge the value of non-
governmental groups and people's organizations participating directly in 
budget discussions. In order to produce a people-oriented budget and ensure 
transparency and accountability in the budget process, we need to 
institutionalize the practice of legislature-civil society cooperation. 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is urgently sought. 
REP. PM VARGAS 
Fifth District, Quezon City 


Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. _______ 
INTRODUCED BY REP. PM VARGAS 
AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING THE PARTICIPATION OF CIVIL SOCIETY 
ORGANIZATIONS IN THE ANNUAL NATIONAL BUDGET PROCESS AND 
PROVIDING EFFECTIVE MECHANISMS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “People’s 
Participation in the National Budget Process Act ". 
SECTION. 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is hereby declared the policy of the 
State to facilitate the establishment of adequate consultation and feedback 
mechanisms to promote meaningful and effective participation of civil society 
organizations (CSOs) in the preparation and authorization of the annual 
national budget in order to ensure that the annual appropriations will be an 
instrument of development that is reflective of the national objectives, 
strategies, and plans beneﬁcial to the people. 
Furthermore, Section 16, Article XIII 0f the Constitution states 
that the right of the people and their organizations to effective and reasonable 
participation at all levels of social, political, and economic decision-making 
shall not be abridged. 
SECTION. 3. Deﬁnition of Terms. — As used in this Act: 
(a) Accreditation refers to the registration process undertaken by CSOs
with the national government agencies (NGAS) and government-owned
and controlled corporations ( GOCCs) in order for them to be authorized
to participate in the preparation of the annual national budget;
(b) Accredited civil society organization refers to an organization
described in paragraph (d) herein that has fulfilled the requirements set
forth in Section 5 of this Act;
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(c) Budget Call refers to the budget document issued by the Department 
of Budget and Management (DBM) and sent to all NGAs and GOCCs 
which contains the policy guidelines and procedures in the preparation 
of the annual budget, including the budget preparation calendar for any 
given year. The issuance of a budget call signals the beginning of the 
budget preparation phase; 
 
(d)  Civil society organization or CSO refers to a non-government 
organization [NGO), cause-oriented group, people’s organization, 
cooperative, 
trade 
union, 
professional 
association, 
faith-based 
organization, media group, indigenous people’s movement, which 
monitors government projects, engages in policy discussions, and 
actively participates in collaborative activities with the government; 
 
(e) Conﬂict of interest refers to a condition that occurs when a C80 or 
any of its key ofﬁcers are involved in multiple interests that prevent an 
impartial or unbiased consideration of their participation in the 
national budget process; 
 
(f)  Constructive engagement refers to a partnership between the 
government counterpart CSOs marked by sustained dialogue towards 
problem-solving while respecting and retaining the freedom to assert 
and advocate for reforms; 
 
(g) Government-owned or controlled corporation (GOCC) refers to any 
agency   organized as a stock or none stock corporation, vested with 
functions relating to public needs whether governmental or proprietary 
in nature, and owned by the Government of the Republic of the 
Philippines directly or through its instrumentalities either wholly, or 
where applicable as in the case of stock corporations, to the extent of 
at least a majority of its outstanding capital stock; 
 
(h) National government agency (NGA) refers to a unit of the National 
Government, including the Judiciary, both Houses of Congress, and 
Constitutional Ofﬁces; 
 
(i) Participatory mechanisms refer to the means by which CSOs can 
participate meaningfully and effectively in the government process of 
formulating and authorizing an annual national budget that is 
responsive to the needs of the different sectors of our society. 
  
SECTION. 4. Coverage. — This Act shall apply to all NGAs and GOCCs whose 
budgets are included in the annual General Appropriations Act. 
 
SECTION. 5. Accreditation. — The application for accreditation for the 
Senate, the House of Representatives, the Judiciary, and the Constitutional 
Ofﬁces shall be ﬁled with the Senate Secretary, the Secretary-General, the 
Supreme Court Clerk of Court, and the Ofﬁce of the Chairpersons of the 
different Constitutional Ofﬁces, respectively. The application for accreditation 


for other NGAs and GOCCs may be ﬁled at their respective central or regional 
ofﬁces. The application form shall be prescribed by each ofﬁce and the 
application for accreditation shall be accompanied by the following 
documents: 
  
a. Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws of the applicant CSO; 
b. Certiﬁcate of Registration and other such similar documents, issued by 
an appropriate government agency tasked to register civil society 
organizations, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, 
Bureau of Relations, Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, 
Insurance Commission, and the Cooperative Deve10pment Authority; 
c. The list of officers, directors, trustees, and members; 
d. Duly audited ﬁnancial statements for the past three (3} years and duly 
stamped received by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Securities 
and Exchange Commission or the government registering agencies 
showing the assets, liabilities, sources of revenues, and expenditures of 
the organization; and 
e. Full disclosure of service contracts with other NGAs, CSOs, private 
corporations and other engagements which may result in conﬂict of 
interest. 
  
Upon approval of the application, the head of the concerned NGA or GOCC 
shall issue the certiﬁcate of accreditation which shall be valid for three [3) 
years from the date of issuance. However, the certiﬁcate of accreditation 
issued by the Senate and the House of Representatives shall be valid for the 
entire term of the Congress under which such certiﬁcate of accreditation has 
been issued. 
  
No application for accreditation shall be disapproved, except upon due 
notice and hearing. The decision of the head of the concerned NGA or GOCC 
shall be rendered within twenty (20) working days from the time of ﬁling of 
the application. Upon the lapse of ﬁfteen (15) working days from the ﬁling of 
application for accreditation, the certiﬁcate of accreditation shall be deemed 
automatically issued even if the application had not been acted upon. 
  
SECTION 6. CSO Participation. — In the interest of transparency, CSO 
participation shall be a component in the preparation and authorization of 
the annual national budget. All NGAs and GOCCs shall be required to 
formulate and adopt guidelines outlining the mechanisms for the 
accreditation and active participation of the CSOs in the preparation of the 
annual national budget. The DBM shall ensure that all NGAs and GOCCs 
comply with the above-mentioned requirement. 
 
Accredited CSOS, through their duly authorized representatives, shall 
be allowed to participate as resource persons in the budget hearings to be 
conducted by the appropriate Committees of each House of Congress, 
provided that they comply with the guidelines to be issued by both Houses. 
 


Notwithstanding their participation in the budget hearings to be 
conducted by each House of Congress, the Committee on Appropriations of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate 
shall schedule one hearing day for the presentation of the positions of 
accredited CSOs on the budget. 
  
SECTION 7. Privileges and Incentives. — An accredited (380 shall enjoy the 
following privileges and incentives: 
  
a) To have similar participation rights accorded to NGOs in the Local 
Development Councils pursuant to the provisions of RA No. 7160 
otherwise known as the "Local Government Code of 1991” in setting the 
direction of economic, social and other coordinating development efforts 
in the national level; 
b) To receive notices of meetings and participate as resource persons 
through duly authorized representatives in any regular and 
consultative public meetings, hearings, conferences, and dialogues on 
matters related to the preparation and authorization of the annual 
national budget; 
c) To be allowed to observe bicameral meetings on the budget; 
d)  To have access to copies of the budget proposals submitted by NGAs 
or GOCCs to the DBM; 
e)  To provide position papers to the DEM on the budget proposal of NGAS 
or GOCCS submitted pursuant to the budget call; 
f)  To submit its own alternative or proposed budget or position paper to 
both Houses of Congress; 
g)  To have access to issuances such as policy orders, circulars, and 
memoranda that are related to the budget; 
h)  To have access to the documents prepared by the DBM for submission 
to Congress by the President as a basis for the General Appropriations 
Bill required under Article VII, Section 22 of the Constitution; 
i)  To present written proposals on projects and activities of the 
government entities whose budgets are under deliberation; and 
j) To have access to stenographic notes and committee reports of both 
Houses including the conference committee report, subject to their 
respective Rules and related guidelines. The conference committee 
meetings and all other meetings related or associated thereto shall be 
recorded and be made accessible immediately to promote transparency. 
  
SECTION 8. Notice to CSOs. — Notice to CSOs may be sent through 
electronic mail, facsimile machine, postal mail, and the website of the NGA or 
GOCC concerned. Any of said modes of sending notices shall be deemed 
compliant with the requirements under Section 7 (b) of this Act. 
  
SECTION 9. Conﬂict of Interest. — It is the responsibility of the CSC) to 
inform the NGA or GOCC of a conﬂict of interest in their work with the 
concerned agency, if and when such a situation arises. However, if the NGA 
or GOCC deems that the CSO has a conﬂict of interest with its work or 


activity, the latter shall give the applicant—CSO an opportunity to explain 
and prove that the conﬂict of interest does not exist. 
 
SECTION 10. Cancellation of Accreditation. — Upon receipt of a veriﬁed 
and written complaint that charges the holder of a certiﬁcate of accreditation 
of having procured their certiﬁcate of accreditation by fraud or deceit, the 
head of the NGA or GOCC shall notify and serve a copy of the complaint to 
the C80 concerned, who shall be given an opportunity to be heard. Inaction 
on the complaint shall be deemed a dismissal thereof. 
 
SECTION 11. Non-Accredited CSOs. — Non—accredited CSOS may still 
participate in the budget process by submitting position papers for the 
consideration of the NGA or GOCC and by attending and observing public 
consultations. They may be invited to expound on their critique or proposals 
when said institutions deem it ﬁt. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to 
deprive non—accredited CSOs of the rights, privileges, and incentives 
accorded to them by the Constitution, existing laws, executive orders, rules, 
regulations, and other issuances. 
 
SECTION 12. Public and Timely Disclosure of Budget Documents and 
Other Related Data. — In order for CSOs to participate in an informed 
manner, the NGAs or GOCCs shall post on their websites or other public 
posting areas, budget documents to which CSOs shall have access, as 
provided for under Section 7 of this Act. 
 
SECTION 13. Penal Provisions. — Any private person who shall willfully 
restrain or prevent a representative of a C80 from exercising rights granted 
under this Act, or violate any provision hereof, shall suffer a penalty of 
suspension of one (1) month to three ( 3) months, or a ﬁne of not less than 
Thirty thousand pesos (P 30,000 ) but not more than Fifty thousand pesos 
(P50,000), or both at the discretion of the court. 
 
Any agency head or staff concerned who shall willfully restrain or 
prevent a CS0, as well as academics and experts, and other individuals and 
organized stakeholders from involvement in participatory budgeting 
mechanisms stipulated under this Act, or violate the provisions hereof, shall 
suffer a penalty of suspension of three (3) months to six (6) months if such 
person is a government office or employee, whether elected or appointed, or a 
ﬁne of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000] but not more than One 
hundred thousand pesos (P100,000), or both at the discretion of the court. 
  
SECTION 14. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act shall be 
declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining part or provisions not 
otherwise affected shall remain in force. 
 
SECTION 15. Repealing Clause. — Any law, decree, ordinance, or 
administrative circular not consistent with any provision of this Act is hereby 
amended, repealed, or modiﬁed accordingly. 
 


SECTION 16. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after 
its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
  
Approved,