City adopts new gov't. budget plan process

STREAMLINING City Government budget planning operations has finally come to this: adoption of a new process for fiscal year 2007. The new process is the adoption of the Public Governance System (PGS) Scorecard introduced by the Institute for Solidarity in Asia. The innovation was recently introduced to department heads in a workshop. The workshop then aimed to formulate the City Government budget for 2007 via a transparent, accountable and participatory (TAP) process.

Mayor Dan Neri Lim, Vice Mayor Nuevas Tirol-Montes, and City Councilors Leonides Borja, Jose Antonio Veloso, Edgar Bompat, Lucio Balbin, Arcadio Sarmiento, and George Olario attended the proceedings. To achieve the workshop goal, each department was made to generate a second level scorecard in line with the four (4) perspectives and corresponding objectives contained in the Road Map drawn by the City Government for Public Governance System (PGS). This was also derived from the Executive-Legislative Agenda (ELA).

The participants then identified their programs, projects and activities (PPAs) in reference to the Road Map. Identifying the PPAs in relation to the road map perspectives and objectives make the next year's budget more relevant. Despite the tedious process, the participants were enthusiastic in identifying their respective PPAs in line with the objectives that their departments committed to undertake. Ms. Josephine T. Cemine of the HNU Research Center facilitated the whole day activity. She also facilitated the workshop on the generation of second level scorecard for the civil society held in August. A series of activities were lined up after the workshop in connection with the 2007 Annual Budget Development.

As the city crawls on to the process, participants would also continue to get mentoring assistance from City Budget Officer Rose Palma, City Planning and Development Officer Eduardo Macalandag and Office of the City Vice Mayor. Leading the coaching team are technical staff from the Vice Mayor's Office headed by Mr. Kurt Adolf Bungabong, a Certified Public Accountant. The undertaking is part of the City's continuing effort to install reforms in public expenditures' management through an effective planning, programming and budgeting systems.

l