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Budgets in plain words: Philippines.

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Budgets in plain words: Philippines

Handout · moraph.org/commons/sessions/voice/budgets-in-plain-words

A local budget shows what your local government plans to spend, and where the money comes from. It is public, and residents can usually comment before it is adopted.

Find it

  • Look on your local government’s website, under finance, budget or meetings.
  • Ask at a library or public office for a printed copy.
  • Staff can usually tell you where to find a line you are looking for.

Read it

  • Start with the summary: money in, money out.
  • Compare this year with last year. What grew, shrank or is new?
  • Look up only the services you care about in the detail pages.

Have a say

  • Find the budget calendar: proposal, hearings or consultation, vote.
  • Comment early, while the proposal can still change.
  • Name the line, say how it affects you, and say what you would like to happen.

Stay with official sources

  • Use the published budget and meeting papers, not summaries shared online.
  • Ask staff if a line is unclear; that is part of their job.

In the Philippines

  • The budget cycle. The Department of Budget and Management describes four phases in the budget cycle: preparation, legislation, execution and accountability.
  • From proposal to law. In the ideal schedule, the proposed National Budget goes to Congress in July, the House of Representatives and Senate deliberate on it from August to November, and the General Appropriations Act is enacted in December. Citizen engagement and Regional Development Council consultations are set for January and February.
  • The People’s Budget. The DBM publishes a People’s Proposed Budget and a People’s Enacted Budget, plus a Budget at a Glance that has been available in Filipino, Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Cebuano and Maguindanaon as well as English.
  • Tracking spending. The DBM OpenBudget portal brings together the National Expenditure Program, the General Appropriations Act, allotments, obligations and disbursements, so you can follow government spending by department, agency and year.

Official places to check:

  • Department of Budget and Management: www.dbm.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/Our%20Budget/2026/2026-People%27s-Enacted-Budget.pdf
  • Department of Budget and Management: www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/2026/2026-peoples-budget
  • Department of Budget and Management: www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/dbm-open-budget-portal

More free official help in the Philippines: moraph.org/commons/help/civic-engagement/ph

General information, not advice about your own situation. Checked 20 October 2026. If an official source says something different, it is right. Free to copy and adapt. moraph.org/commons/sessions/voice/budgets-in-plain-words