Query: Budgeting in the Philippines

title: Participatory Budgeting in the Philippines
abstract: Participatory budgeting has been adopted and adapted by governments around the world. Existing literature points to a variety of desired outcomes from these efforts, but does not clearly distinguish the impacts on individuals, groups, and society. This study uses the case of the Philippines to explore the differences in impacts of participatory budgeting within and across the three levels. Reforms in the Philippines were similar to efforts in other countries, but there were adaptations, including a national mandate for the decentralization of participatory budgeting to local governments and the required representation of civil society organizations in local resource allocation processes. Some gains in individual education and efficacy, representation of marginalized groups and social justice, and government accountability were seen in the Philippines, but they seem to be idiosyncratic to the local context. Civil society and democratic legitimacy advances, though, were weaker, at least partly due to challenges in involving third party intermediaries in the process, and continued issues with elitism and corruption. Like other participatory budgeting cases, the outcomes have not been uniform, and transitions in national leadership hinder institutionalization.

title: The Long History of Performance Budgeting in the Philippines

title: Budgeting in the Philippines
abstract: This profile offers a general overview of the Philippine system of budgeting at national level. Special characteristics of the Philippine budget process are examined, such as a commitment to fiscal discipline and the national planning function. The three steps of the annual budget formulation cycle are described: the development of economic assumptions and revenue forecasts; the use of a medium term expenditure framework to assess the continuing costs of existing programmes; and identifying the resultant "fiscal space" through the Paper on Budget Strategy. The process for allocating resources is then described, including the "Budget Call" the submission and review of proposals, the role of the central ministry and the line ministries, and finally the role of Congress, constitutional restrictions, and the nature of executive legislative relations.

title: Performance Budgeting in the Philippines
abstract: E ARLY in 1956 the leading daily newspaper of the Philippines published an editorial cartoon depicting President Ramon Magsaysay as an animal trainer brandishing a whip at a large elephant. The elephant, labelled "Performance Budget," seemed to be standing somewhat precariously on a noticeably small platform labelled "Taxes." Members of Congress in the background were shown exchanging skeptical glances; the caption was their comment: "The same animalonly bigger." The budget was many millions of pesos bigger than it had ever been before, and scant attention was directed at the perennial problem of an inadequate and inequitable tax base. But, notwithstanding these elements of truth in the cartoonist's observation, it was not really "the same animal." Ostensibly, this was a "performance budget," the first such governmentwide budget in the Philippines and a striking example of American success in peddling abroad a management device having substantially less than general acceptance in governmental practice at home. It seems appropriate to examine performance budgeting in the Philippines with an eye to determining its effectiveness in that setting,

title: PERFORMANCE BUDGETING IN THE PHILIPPINES

title: Reply to Comments on "Performance Budgeting in the Philippines"

title: Comments on "Performance Budgeting in the Philippines"

title: Carbon Budgets of Forest Ecosystems in the Philippines
abstract: Forest ecosystems can both be sources and sinks of carbon. Here, we review the state of knowledge on carbon budgets of Philippine forests types. The following are the main findings of the review: Carbon (C) density in aboveground biomass (AGB) declines by about 50% after logging, deforested areas covered with grasses and annual crops have C density less than 15 MgC/ha, conversion of natural forests to tree plantations and perennial crops reduce C density by about 50% reforestation activities in degraded areas increase C density with a mean annual accumulation of up to about 10 MgC/ha/yr for fast growing species and 3 MgC/ha/yr for slow growing species, and silvicultural treatments such as mycorrhizal inoculation can increase C accumulation. In spite of the new information generated in the last few years, there is still a great need to quantify carbon stocks and rate of sequestration of the various forest types in the country.  carbon credits, carbon sequestration and forest ecosystems

title: Prospect of performance budget in the Philippines

title: The Philippines in 2007: Ballots, Budgets, and Bribes
abstract: The year 2007 was typically turbulent for the Philippines. Violence plagued mid term elections produced a stinging defeat for President Arroyo9s Senate team, while corruption scandals spurred another impeachment attempt. The economy was relatively robust, but concerns remain about the country9s fiscal health and the long term effects of a strong peso.