MANILA — National government agencies will now be required to regularly disclose the financial and implementation status of government projects under a centralized digital monitoring system designed to allow the public to track where taxpayers’ money goes and what it actually delivers.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. institutionalized the Centralized Open Monitoring Platform for Appropriations and Spending Statistics (COMPASS) through Executive Order No. 126, which he signed on September 28.
Unlike systems that primarily show how much money has been allocated, COMPASS will provide information on actual government spending, project implementation, procurement activities, financial performance and project completion throughout the national budget cycle.
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said the platform is intended to make it easier for citizens to scrutinize the use of public funds and determine whether government spending translates into actual results.
“Kapag pera ng bayan ang pinag-uusapan, dapat malinaw kung saan ito napupunta. Hindi dapat mahirap alamin kung magkano ang inilaan, saan ginastos, at ano ang naging resulta. COMPASS lets the public follow every peso,” Recto said.
Under the executive order, national government agencies are required to provide and regularly update information covered by COMPASS, effectively creating a centralized source through which the public can follow projects from funding to implementation and completion.
Local government units will also be encouraged to adopt and use the platform.
COMPASS will be integrated with existing government digital systems to consolidate information on appropriations, expenditures, procurement and project implementation.
These include the integrated Financial Management Information System, Budget and Treasury Management System, Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System, Digital Information for Monitoring and Evaluation, and the E-Gov PH App.
The platform will be administered by the COMPASS Council, chaired by the Department of Budget and Management, with the Department of Information and Communications Technology serving as co-chair.
The Department of Finance and the Department of the Interior and Local Government will also sit on the council.
The institutionalization of COMPASS is part of the government’s broader effort to strengthen transparency in public expenditures by giving citizens greater access not only to information on how much government allocates but also where funds are spent, how projects are progressing and whether they are ultimately completed./PN
