MANILA, Philippines — FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-list Representative Brian Poe has introduced two legislative measures aimed at broadening public engagement in the formulation and allocation of the national budget.
Poe filed House Bill No. 11781, known as the proposed Bantay Budget Act, and House Bill No. 11782, or the proposed Grassroots Participatory Budgeting Act. These proposals serve as the House counterparts to Senate Bill Nos. 2576 and 2577, which were earlier filed in the Senate by Senior Majority Leader JV Ejercito.
The twin bills seek to enhance transparency and accountability in public spending by establishing formalized roles for civil society organizations (CSOs) and local communities.
Under HB No. 11781, proper consultation and feedback frameworks would be established to ensure the substantive participation of CSOs during the drafting and approval stages of the annual national budget. This measure provides civil society groups with structured channels to join budget deliberations and submit recommendations regarding spending priorities.
Meanwhile, HB No. 11782 seeks to institutionalize a permanent bottom-up planning strategy across both local and national levels. The proposed Grassroots Participatory Budgeting Act aims to empower communities to identify their own localized needs and directly influence development programs affecting their daily lives.
These legislative initiatives complement ongoing discussions within the House Committee on People’s Participation regarding broader citizen involvement in fiscal policies. Highlighting the importance of these groups, Poe emphasized the crucial role of CSOs in keeping public institutions accountable and responsive to the citizenry.
The filing coincides with ongoing congressional deliberations on the proposed ₱7.2-trillion national budget for 2027 under the General Appropriations Bill (GAB), which passed the House on third and final reading last month and is currently under review in the Senate.
Poe noted that the measures are designed to ensure that public resource allocation remains a transparent process, allowing communities a genuine voice in decisions that impact their livelihood and community development.