NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
First Regular Session
SENATE 
S. B. NO. 1040
Senate
of the
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RECEIVED S'!’:
Introduced by SENATOR JOEL VILLANUEVA
AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING THE PARTICIPATION OF CIVIL 
SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS (CSOs) IN THE PREPARATION 
AND AUTHORIZATION PROCESS OF THE ANNUAL 
NATIONAL BUDGET, PROVIDING EFFECTIVE MECHANISMS 
THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Based on the 2021 Open Budget Survey, an independent and 
comparative survey conducted by the International Budget Partnership (IBP), 
while the Philippines scored 35 points over 100, it is still higher than the global 
average of 14 points in terms of “public participation” or “formal opportunities 
offered to the public for meaningful participation in the different stage of the 
budget process.”1
Findings of the survey reveal that while the Philippines scored high in 
the audit phase of the budget (78 points out of 100), there are minimal 
opportunities for participatory budgeting during the formulation (33 points out of 
100), approval (22 points out of 100), and implementation (17 points out of 
100).2
Overall, the Philippines ranked 8th in the world in terms of Public 
Participation 3 but there is always room for growth and improvement. 
Strengthening the government’s efforts to promote participatory budgeting and 
inclusion of stakeholders in the process of allocating state resources will ensure 
transparency and accountability. A people-oriented process of allocating
1 Open Budget Survey 2021, accessible at httos://internationalbudaet.orq/si-es/defauit/fiies/countrv-survev^- 
pdfs/2021/open-budaet-survev-PhiiiPDines-2021-en.pdf (last accessed; August 2, 2022)
2 Id.
3 
Open Budget Survey 2021 Rankings, accessible at 
content/uoloads/2021 OBS rankings.odf Oast accessed: August 2, 2022).
h EDs://internationa Ibudaet. oro/wo-


resources will also ensure that it will be more responsive to the needs of the 
citizens and will lead to a more effective delivery of services.
Thus, this bill contains the following features for the promotion of 
participatory budgeting:
a) Establishes mechanisms for CSO participation in the preparation and 
authorization of the annual General Appropriations Act, such as 
participating as resource persons during hearings and other similar 
events, observing during budget deliberations, among others;
b) Ensures access to budget-related documents, such as budget 
proposals, issuances, and committee reports;
c) Provides opportunities to present proposed budget proposals and 
positions on budgetary items, including during the budget 
deliberations; and
d) Enumerates the benefits and privileges of accredited CSOs 
participating in the budgetary process, but guarantees that non- 
accredited CSOs shall still participate in the budgetary process 
through the submission of position papers and observance of public 
meetings, hearings, conferences, or other similar dialogues in the 
preparation of the budget.
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly 
sought.
SENATOR JOEL VILLANUEVA^


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
First Regular Session
SENATE 
S. B. Noi040
Senate
of tl)o ^'Crrtari’
72 AUG-4 P6 72
RECEIVED BY:
Introduced by SENATOR JOEL VILLANUEVA
AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING THE PARTICIPATION OF CIVIL 
SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS (CSOs) IN THE PREPARATION AND 
AUTHORIZATION PROCESS OF THE ANNUAL NATIONAL BUDGET, 
PROVIDING EFFECTIVE MECHANISMS THEREFOR, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
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SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the ltPeople’s 
Participation in the National Budget Process Act of 2022.”
SEC. 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.
SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the following 
terms are defined as follows:
a) Accreditation refers to the registration process of CSOs with the 
National Government Agencies (NGAs) and Government Owned 
and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), in order to allow them to 
participate in the preparation and authorization of the annual 
national budget;
b) Accredited CSC refers to CSOs 
requirements in Section 5 of this Act;
that have fulfilled the


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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 Organizations (CSOs) include, but is not limited to, 
non-government organizations (NGOs), cause-oriented groups, 
people’s organizations, cooperatives, trade unions, professional 
associations, faith-based organizations, media groups, indigenous 
peoples’ movements, foundations, and other citizen groups formed 
primarily for social and economic development, which monitor 
government projects, engage in policy discussions, and actively 
participate in collaborative activities with Government;
e) 
Conflict of Interest refers to a situation where it may be 
reasonably deduced that a CSO or any of its key officers may not 
act in the public interest due to some private, pecuniary, or other 
personal considerations which prevent an impartial or unbiased 
attitude towards their participation in the national budget process;
f) 
Government-Owned or Controlled Corporation refers to any 
agency organized as a stock or non-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; and
g) 
National Government Agency (NGA) refers to a unit of the 
National Government, including the Judiciary, both Houses of 
Congress, and Constitutional Offices.
SEC. 4. Coverage. - This Act shall apply to all NGAs and GOCCs 
whose budget is included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
SEC. 5. Accreditation. - The application for accreditation for the 
Senate, the House of Representatives, the Judiciary, and the Constitutional 
Offices shall be filed at the Office of the Secretary, the Secretary-General, the 
Supreme Court Clerk of Court, and the Office of the Chairman, respectively. 
The application for accreditation for other NGAs and GOCCs may be filed at 
their respective regional or central office. 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;


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b) Certificate of Registration and/or other similar documents, issued by 
an appropriate government agency tasked to register civil society 
organizations, such as, but not limited to, the Securities and 
Exchange Commission, Bureau of Labor Relations, Housing and 
Land Use Regulatory Board, Insurance Commission, and the 
Cooperative Development Authority;
c)
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The list of officer/s, 
members;
director/s, trustees, beneficial owner/s, and
Duly audited financial statements for the past three (3) years showing 
the assets and liabilities of the organization;
e) Full disclosure of the sources of funds; and
f) 
Full disclosure of service contracts with other NGAs, CSC, private 
corporations, other CSOs, 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. This shall be valid for three 
(3) years following its issuance, except for the certificate of accreditation issued 
by the Senate and the House of Representatives, which shall be valid for the 
entire term of the Congress under which such certificate of accreditation was 
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 the filing of 
the application. Failure to act on the application shall be deemed an automatic 
approval of the application for accreditation of the concerned CSO, and the 
issuance of a certificate of accreditation shall necessarily ensue.
SEC. 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 mechanism for the accreditation and active 
participation of the CSOs in the preparation and authorization of the annual 
national budget.
The DBM shall ensure that the NGA or GOCC has complied with the 
abovementioned requirement. For this purpose, the DBM shall establish 
capacity-building mechanisms for NGAs and GOCCs and other initiatives for 
the effective implementation of participatory budgeting involving CSOs with a 
view to improving fiscal transparency and accountability in the budget process.
Accredited CSOs, through their duly authorized representatives, shall, 
as far as practicable, be allowed to participate as resource persons in the 
budget hearings to be conducted by the appropriate Committees of the Senate


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and the House of Representatives, subject to the guidelines to be issued by 
both Houses of Congress.
Notwithstanding their participation in the budget hearings to be 
conducted by the appropriate Committees of the Senate and the House of 
Representatives as provided in the preceding paragraph, the Committee on 
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance 
of the Senate shall schedule one (1) hearing day for the presentation of the 
positions of accredited CSOs on the budget.
SEC. 7. Privileges and incentives. - An accredited CSC shall enjoy 
the following privileges and incentives:
a) To have the same participation rights accorded to NGOs in the Local 
Development Councils pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act 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 and participate as resource persons, through its 
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, subject to the guidelines as may be issued by each House of 
Congress:
c) To be allowed to attend and observe the budget deliberations;
d) To have access to copies of the budget proposals submitted by the 
NGAs or GOCCs to the DBM, subject to applicable guidelines on 
privilege information and/or freedom of information;
e) To provide position papers to the DBM on the budget proposal of 
NGAs or GOCCs submitted pursuant to the budget call;
f) To present and submit its own alternative or proposed budget or 
position paper;
g) To have access to issuances such as, but not limited to, policy 
orders, circulars and memoranda that are related to the budget;
h)
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To have access to the documents prepared by the DBM for 
submission to Congress as a basis for the General Appropriations 
Bill required under Article VII, Section 22 of the Constitution;
To present written proposals on projects and activities of the 
government entities whose budget is under deliberation; and
To have immediate access to stenographic notes and committee 
reports released by both Houses, including the bicameral conference


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committee report, subject to such guidelines as may be set by each 
House of Congress.
SEC. 8. Notice to CSOs. - Notice to accredited CSOs under Sections 
7(a) and (b) of this Act may be sent through electronic mail, facsimile 
transmission, postal mail, and by posting at the website of the NGA or GOCC 
concerned.
SEC. 9. Conflict of Interest. - It is the responsibility of the CSO to 
inform the NGA or GOCC of a conflict of interest in their work with the 
concerned agency, if and when such situation arises.
However, if the NGA or GOCC deems that the CSO has a conflict of 
interest with the work of such NGA or GOCC, the latter shall give the applicant- 
CSO an opportunity to explain and prove that the conflict of interest does not 
exist, in compliance with Section 5 of this Act.
SEC. 10. Cancellation of Accreditation. - Upon receipt of a verified 
complaint in writing, which charges the holder of a certificate of accreditation of 
having procured their certificate of accreditation by fraud or deceit, or in view of 
undisclosed conflict of interest, the head of the NGA or GOCC shall notify and 
serve a copy of the complaint to the CSO concerned, who shall be given an 
opportunity to be heard.
Inaction by the NGA or GOCC on the said complaint within twenty (20) 
working days from the receipt of such complaint shall be deemed a dismissal 
of the complaint against the CSO involved.
SEC. 11. Non-Accredited CSOs. - Non-accredited CSOs shall still 
have the option to participate in the budget process by submitting position 
papers for the consideration of the NGA or GOCC, and by attending and 
observing in any regular and consultative public meetings, hearings, 
conferences, and dialogues on matters related to the preparation and 
authorization of the annual national budget. If necessary, non-accredited CSOs 
may be invited to expound on their critique or proposals.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to deprive non-accredited CSOs 
the rights, privileges and incentives accorded to them by the Constitution, 
existing laws, executive orders, rules and regulations and other issuances.
SEC. 12. Public and Timely Disclosure of Budget Documents and 
Other Related Data. - In order for CSOs to participate in an informed manner, 
the NGA or GOCC shall post on their websites or other public posting areas, 
budget documents to which CSOs shall have access pursuant to Section 7 of 
this Act.
SEC. 13. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held 
invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not 
otherwise affected shall remain valid and subsisting.


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SEC. 14. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, 
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation 
contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, 
modified or amended accordingly.
SEC. 15. Effectivity Clause.-This Act shalltake effect fifteen (15) days 
after its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of 
general circulation.
Approved,