Civil society groups are urging stronger participatory budget planning to close persistent gaps between national development plans and actual public spending, warning that limited citizen involvement weakens the impact of government investments.
This was emphasized by Mr. Kenneth Abante, member of the People’s Budget Coalition and president of the WeSolve Foundation, during the 11th Socioeconomic Research Portal for the Philippines (SERP-P) Knowledge-Sharing Forum hosted by the òòò½´«Ã½.
“We see how important the participation of ordinary citizens is in the government’s budgeting process. People matter because we are the ones who experience the effects of every budget,” Abante emphasized.
Abante noted that participatory mechanisms can help ensure that budget allocations are better aligned with approved development plans and measurable outcomes across the budget cycle—from preparation and legislation to execution and accountability.
He pointed to flood control as a clear example of how misalignment between planning and budgeting can undermine public investment.
“Over the past 10 years, the government has allocated PHP 1.7 trillion for flood control projects,” he said.
By contrast, estimates cited from former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Babes Singson showed that comprehensive master plans for the country’s 18 major river basins would have cost only PHP 800 to 900 billion.
Abante said clearer integration of long-term planning, technical studies, and citizen inputs into budget decisions could have significantly improved the effectiveness of these investments.
Transparency and participation in the budget process
Abante also emphasized that participatory budgeting depends on transparent and well-documented processes, particularly during the legislative stage of the budget.
Simply livestreaming bicameral proceedings, he argued, is not enough.
“There should be documented minutes, and amendments should only be made in open plenary sessions, so the public can clearly see who proposed changes and why,” he said.
“Greater transparency—such as an easily searchable database of contractors, beneficial owners, and financial records—could have prevented firms with limited capacity from securing multibillion-peso government contracts,” he added.
Evidence that citizen engagement can shift budgets
Abante shared examples showing that organized, evidence-based participation can affect budget outcomes.
In 2021, the People’s Budget Coalition proposed realigning around PHP 1.2 trillion of the national budget toward health, social protection, education, labor support, and humane public transport in response to the pandemic.
While the proposal was ambitious, Abante said sustained engagement with reform-oriented legislators helped secure about Php 69 billion in realignments in the 2022 General Appropriations Act.
“It showed us that it’s possible,” he said, noting that the experience demonstrated how shared research and lived experience can translate into concrete budget decisions.
Monitoring efforts by civil society groups were also cited alongside reductions in estimated pork-related allocations between House and Senate versions of the budget during the same period.
Local reforms as proof of concept
While national-level reforms remain difficult, Abante also highlighted local-level experiences showing how participatory budgeting can work in practice.
He shared the case of Naga City, where participatory budgeting has been institutionalized through the People’s Budget Ordinance of 2017.
In 2023, proposals developed through their workshops involving more than 10 sectors resulted in PHP 45 million of PHP 55 million worth of citizen-led proposals being incorporated into the city’s Annual Investment Program.
Participatory inputs have since fed into outcomes-based budgeting reforms under the city’s current administration, including initiatives such as car-free streets and streamlined budget deliberations that group agencies into clusters rather than dozens of separate offices.
“These experiences show that participatory budgeting does not have to be tokenistic,” Abante said. “Local institutions, plus citizen tools, can turn workshop ideas into real reform,” he added.
Strengthening the budget system
Abante said that expanding participatory budget planning requires sustained institutional support, including accessible data, clear feedback mechanisms, and spaces for engagement throughout the budget cycle.
He noted that tools such as WeSolve’s Budget Natin guidebook can support these efforts by providing practical guidance on how communities and stakeholders can engage in the budget process—from understanding technical documents to developing proposals that can be incorporated into local and national plans.
He emphasized that empowering citizens, local councils, researchers, and media can help ensure that public resources are used more effectively and in line with development priorities.
“Poverty, corruption are all wicked problems, but with empowered communities, we can make things happen,” Abante concluded.
More information on the guidebook is available at . A recording of the forum discussion is available at . ### — MJCG
