Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman is scheduled to attend the annual conference of local budget officers in Mindanao on Monday.

In a press statement Sunday, DBM said Pangandaman will be the guest of honor of the three-day annual conference and seminar of the Mindanao League of Local Budget Officers (MLLBO) which will be held in Zamboanga City.

Pangandaman, a staunch reformist and champion for the digitalization of the bureaucracy, will deliver a keynote message to the participants on the first day of the event. She is also expected to administer the oath-taking ceremony of the newly-elected officials of MLLBO.

She will also grace the celebration of the 45th anniversary of the DBM Region 9 Office.

With the theme, “Strengthening Local Government Public Financial Management (PFM) thru Digitalization,” the three-day conference from Nov. 21 to 23, 2022, will bring together local government unit (LGU) officials and employees from different provinces, cities, and municipalities in Mindanao.

Last Wednesday, Pangandaman attended the Visayas leg of the annual conference of local budget officers in Tacloban City, Leyte, and vowed to help them as the national government pushes for the full implementation of devolution.

She described local budget officers and public financial managers as “transformational leaders” that embody accountability, transparency, integrity, and fiscal responsibility.

To facilitate the devolution of functions to the localities, Pangandaman said the national government’s proposed PHP5.268 trillion national budget for 2023 provides allocations to empower LGUs in delivering the services that have been devolved to them.

She said this includes the PHP28.9 billion Local Government Support Fund (LGSF), on top of the PHP820.3 billion indicative just share of the LGUs from the 2023 national tax collections. (PNA)