Anti-corruption action plan approved

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III approved a four-year good governance and anti-corruption plan during a Cabinet cluster meeting Tuesday, which will focus on transparency, accountability and citizen engagement, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said.

He said the government will adopt a national payroll system this year that will be piloted in the Budget and Finance Departments and the Audit Commission.

“Other departments such as Education, Public Works and Highways as well as the Armed Forces and the National Police will also adopt the national payroll system within the year,” Abad said.

Under a national payroll system, the Treasury will release salaries directly to the bank accounts of government employees instead of passing them through departments and agencies.

The government will issue purchase cards that agencies may use to buy supplies. This system, to be piloted in the Budget Department and the military, will prevent irregular deals like “conversions” while ensuring automatic liquidation, Abad said.

The Philippine Government e-Procurement System will be expanded to include e-bidding functions to move away from using bulletin boards for bid notices and awards.

The E-Transparency and Accountability Initiative will now include lump sum funds for projects such as school buildings and for internal revenue allocation.

On the punitive end of accountability, Abad said, the Justice Department will work to improve the annual resolution rate to 85 percent of the cases involving misuse of public funds.

The administration will also push for a stronger whistle-blower protection law while strengthening internal controls within the bureaucracy

Abad said a criminal database system will be set up in the National Bureau of Investigation, the National Prosecution Service and the Bureau of Immigration. The government will engage civil society organizations as part of the administration’s bottom-up planning and budgeting policy.

Abad said the President had approved a P250-million fund to develop local poverty reduction action plans for 300 cities and municipalities.

The Aquino administration will work to make all 24 government departments comply with budgetary disclosure requirements. Last year, only five departments published the required information on their budgets, Abad said.

The President also wants all local government units to move toward full disclosure of their budgets this year. The Official Gazette website (gov.ph) will be converted into a one-stop source of information and service delivery. –Joyce Pangco Pañares, Manila Standard Today