Budget chief tells underperformers to prep catch-up plan

Manila, Philippines – State universities and government agencies that scored poorly in an annual performance review by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) would have to prepare a catch-up plan or face budget cuts, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said on Wednesday.

The DBM’s 2024 Annual Performance Review results released on Wednesday showed 4.92 percent, or about 15, of the 308 covered national government agencies and public colleges received an “unsatisfactory” score – at the lower end of a ratings scale that runs from “outstanding,” “very satisfactory,” “satisfactory,” “unsatisfactory,” to “poor.”

The score was based on three metrics: financial performance, physical performance, and the timelines and quality of report submissions.

Nearly all central agencies, including the Office of the President and the Department of Education, were rated “very satisfactory.”

The Department of Education’s score of 4.38 and a rating of “very satisfactory” reflected “its effective budget utilization and robust program implementation,” the report read, citing gains in the computerization program and the “timely hiring of teachers, which greatly improved education service delivery.”

But several state universities across Luzon received “unsatisfactory” ratings.

The DBM had blamed procurement issues for the poor showing of underperformers.

“More than penalizing them, maybe better if we can first sit down with them and then ask them to prepare a catch-up plan,” Pangandaman told a press briefing.

“Tingnan natin saan ba nagkamali? Siguro baka sa pagpaplano pa lang ng mga proyekto na prinopose ay may mali na doon kaya hindi nila magawa yung… hindi magastos,” she added.

[TRANSLATION: Let us assess what went wrong? Maybe the mistake was made even from the planning stage for their proposed projects so that they were not able to deliver and spend as programmed.]

The Budget chief did not rule out financing cuts, taking into account agencies’ absorptive capacity.

“Kung hindi talaga kaya siguro tanggalin na lang yung mga proyekto na yun,” Pangandaman said.

[TRANSLATION: If agencies cannot deliver, maybe it will be better to just cancel the project.]

NewsWatch Plus Business News Anchor Lois Calderon contributed to this story.