On 2 September, the House Committee on Revision of Laws approved a substitute bill to House Bill No. 8520 on the Philippine Budgeting Code.

The measure seeks to consolidate the country’s existing budgeting laws into a single framework governing how public funds are planned, spent, monitored and accounted for. According to the House of Representatives, one of the key objectives of the reform is to combat corruption and so-called “ghost projects” – projects for which public funds are allocated despite no work actually being carried out.

In particular, the bill provides for the establishment of the Philippine Cash Budgeting System, under which the government may pay only for goods, services and projects that have been delivered, completed and formally accepted. Unspent funds and unpaid obligations for unfinished or nonexistent projects would revert to the National Treasury after the prescribed period.

The bill also proposes the creation of a government-wide digital system that would allow public funds to be tracked at every stage – from appropriation to actual payment. Key budget documents and performance information would be made available in searchable, machine-readable formats.

The bill also provides for:

• tighter rules on savings to prevent agencies from using unspent funds for projects not authorized in the budget;
• stronger congressional oversight of the use of public funds;
• direct accountability of agency heads for the proper use of allocated funds;
• greater public participation in the budget process through consultations with regional and local development councils and civil society organizations.

As Committee Chair King Collantes stressed, the proposed changes are intended to address conditions that enable ghost projects, padded contracts and other abuses in the use of public funds.

The original House Bill No. 8520 was filed in the House of Representatives on 16 March 2026. The version approved by the Committee is a substitute bill based on the original measure and must now proceed through the subsequent stages of the legislative process.