The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) will jointly issue a policy to guide the use of the Fiscal Year 2027 Gender and Development (GAD) budget and hold agencies accountable for how they spend it.
In a news release on Wednesday, the PCW said Executive Director Nharleen Santos-Millar and DBM acting Secretary Kim Robert De Leon reviewed the 2024 GAD budget reports of national government agencies to assess how funds were used and identify gaps in implementation.
“We cannot address the problem if we do not acknowledge that there is a problem,” De Leon said.
The joint policy will clarify which expenses qualify under the GAD budget and guide agencies in directing funds toward priority gender issues and measuring the results.
The agencies also agreed to streamline the preparation of GAD plans and budgets and expand the use of the Harmonized Gender and Development Guidelines in designing and assessing regular government programs, activities and projects, including those in Fiscal Year 2028 Tier 2 budget proposals.
The DBM is also set to launch its Gender Accountability Dashboard to track whether agencies comply with requirements on the use of their GAD budgets.
“DBM is a critical partner in ensuring that gender equality priorities are reflected in government budget decisions, adequately resourced, and translated into effective implementation,” Santos-Millar said.
“We value its role in strengthening GAD Budget preparation, execution, and accountability so that public spending delivers meaningful results.” (PNA)