The Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) is making history as it now prepares the first regional budget under the Bangsamoro Organic Law. Just like any other bill filed in the Parliament, the proposed budget has to go through a process before turning into law.
A budget is a financial plan that reflects the objectives, strategies, and programs of a government. This is also their way of estimating their income and expenditures for every fiscal year.
All levels and branches of our government are required to prepare their respective budgets. The Bangsamoro Government is no different because of its vested authority to allocate and spend funds for its programs and administrative operations given by the Bangsamoro Organic Law. Our budget for FY2020 is particularly special as it is our region’s first appropriation under this landmark law.
But what exactly is a budget process and how ours is different from the budget processes of the national and local governments?
The budget cycle is comprised of four processes: budget preparation, budget legislation, budget execution, and budget accountability. At the national and local levels, there is a clear delineation of functions between the executive and legislative branches of government.
The Bangsamoro Government is unique in this aspect. The region has a parliamentary form of government, which means that the powers of the legislative and executive branches are entwined as opposed to being held separate just like in our national and local governments.
Budget preparation, as first step, begins with the Bangsamoro Government setting budgetary parameters and financial or economic indicators. The executive authorities, through the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Management, issues a budget call. All Bangsamoro ministries and agencies then respond by submitting their budget proposals. The Ministry then reviews these proposals before submitting it altogether to the Chief Minister and the Cabinet for approval.
Now called the Bangsamoro Expenditure Program, this document is presented by the Chief Minister before the Parliament. This is where the Parliament activates its committee on finance, budget and management to deliberate on the proposed expenditure program. The committee-approved budget will be then deliberated in the plenary. Once approved, the bill will need the Chief Minister’s signature before it becomes a law.
This video forms part of the #AllAboutBOL Series of the Office of the Minority Leader – BTA as an effort to explain and raise awareness on the Bangsamoro Organic Law (RA No. 11054). For questions or comments on the Series, contact us through this link.
This video’s content is sourced from various reports and resource materials from the Department of Budget and Management and Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office of the Senate of the Philippines.
Voiceover: Zhulfa Ayob
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
