The Public Financial Management (PFM) Reforms Roadmap 2024-2028 is crucial in sustaining the Philippines’ growth momentum and eradicating poverty, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Tuesday.

During the ceremonial endorsement of the PFM Reforms Roadmap 2023-2028 at Malacañan Palace in Manila, Marcos said the new blueprint will allow the synchronization of planning and budgeting at local, regional, and national levels, as well as the streamlining of institutional frameworks to reduce the time spent on bureaucratic processes.

He said this roadmap gives the government a clear mandate of ensuring that public funds “serve a purpose that truly matters [and] will make a difference.”

“Of course, with the strong support of our partners, especially with the ADB, I am confident that the PFM Reforms Roadmap — anchored on the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 — will lead the nation to a higher growth trajectory, and ultimately, to reducing poverty and achieving genuine prosperity,” he said.
“It is not just a mere endorsement of policy—it is a reaffirmation of our collective resolve to build a system that serves not just the present, but the future of every Filipino,” Marcos added.

Marcos expressed confidence that with the new roadmap, the government can now act faster and deliver better services to the Filipino people.

During the event, the PFM Committee presented to Marcos the PFM Reforms Roadmap 2024-2028, which will serve as a blueprint for modernizing fiscal governance to meet the evolving needs of the nation.

The PFM Committee is composed of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Commission on Audit, Bureau of Treasury, Department of Finance, Department of Information and Communications Technology, and the National Economic and Development Authority.

Created under Executive Order (EO) 29 issued on June 1, 2023, the roadmap brings together initiatives designed to foster coordinated collaboration across all levels of government.

The PFM Reforms Roadmap 2024-2028 also seeks to harmonize policies across government agencies and promotes transparency in the use of public funds, in line with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028.

It addresses 11 strategic focus areas that cover all PFM aspects, including planning and budgeting linkage; cash management; public asset management; accounting and auditing; PFM capacity development; digital PFM; PFM policy and legal framework; public procurement; disaster risk reduction and management; PFM for Local Government Units (LGUs); and monitoring and evaluation for public expenditure.

Marcos stressed that for cash management policies and processes, the Monthly Disbursement Program schedule will be revisited and the payment systems for public expenditures will be modernized.

“There will be assessment of non-compliant agencies with the preparation of asset management plans. We will also conduct measures to address their issues,” he said.

“Moreover, capacity-building programs for lagging agencies will also be implemented. And so, that we adopt these new systems together and that there is a common, shall we say, language between all of the agencies,” Marcos added.

Marcos said the government would also standardize internal audit guidance by consolidating existing manuals and standards across agencies.

He also bared a plan to create a PFM institute that offers expert practitioners and dynamic training courses for all of those who are working within the system.

He said the government, under the Digital PFM, would also implement map data systems for the Budget and Treasury Management System, revisit the Unified Accounts Code Structure, and create a policy framework for PFM data sharing.

“My colleagues in the national and local governments as well as our development partners, this roadmap is not just about figures and systems, and structures, and plans, and charts. It is about embracing innovation and using that to our advantage in order to provide more efficient [and] more streamlined services to the public,” Marcos said.

“Because true progress is about moving beyond what we have always done and questioning how much we can be; true progress is about how we find ways to flourish in this ever-changing world.”

DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the ceremonial endorsement underscores the government’s commitment to addressing challenges by improving cash management, streamlining manual processes, and fixing fragmented systems.

“We are not just improving processes, but driving a profound transformation in how we manage public resources to ensure better service delivery and national development,” she said. (PNA)