TIBURCIO TANCINCO MEMORIAL INSTITUTE

OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Calbayog City

GRADUATE SCHOOL AND TRAINING ACADEMY

Subject: Budget Preparation and Fiscal Management

Professor: Dr. Socorro O. Bohol

Student: Donald M. Patimo, MPM

Date: August 30, 2008

REACTION PAPER FOR MR. ARTEMIO MANCOL’S LECTURE

Last August 16, 2008, the TTMIST Budget Officer, Mr.

Artemio Mancol, delivered a 2-hour lecture in connection to

the topic government budgeting. Specifically, his

discussions involved national budget, importance of

budgeting, types of expenditures, financial sources, and

phases of budgeting for the national government.

According to Mr. Mancol, government budgeting is

important because it enables the government to plan and

manage its financial resources to support the implementation

of various programs and projects that best promote the

development of the country. Through the budget, the

government can prioritize and put into action its plans,

programs and policies within the constraints of its

financial capability as dictated by economic conditions. The

national budget is based on what the government thinks it

will spend during the year and the sources of what it hopes

to have as funds, either from revenues or from borrowing,

with which to finance such expenditure. These expenditures

can be classified into Maintenance and Other Operating

Expenses, Capital Outlays, Net Lending, Debt Amortization,

and other sectoral expenditures. Furthermore, the budgeting

for national government involves four (4) distinct processes

or phases such as preparation, authorization, execution, and

accountability.

Based on the discussion of Mr. Mancol, I found out that

there is a long process that must be followed in order to

enact the annual budget of the country. First, the

preparation of the national budget is to be conducted by the

Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) in

coordination with the different national departments and

agencies. Then, the proposed budget of the DBCC is to be

submitted to the President for approval and submission to

the Congress. Next, the House Committee summons the

different national agencies of the government to justify

their budget and presents the agreed budget to the House

body as General Appropriations Bill. After that, the bill is

to submitted to the Senate’s Finance Committee for further

amendments and justifications. Then, the House and the

Senate creates a Bicameral Committee that finalizes the

General Appropriations Bill. Once a common budget bill has

been approved by both Houses voting separately, it is

submitted to the President for signing into law known as a

General Appropriations Act (GAA). With this very long

process of budget preparation and authorization in the

country, I have no doubt about the possibility for the

national budget not to be approved and enacted as scheduled.

Like what being said by President Arroyo on her SONA, I am

also hoping for a more balance and realistic budget for the

country in spite of the present inflation, crisis, and

currency devaluation.