Manila: Several senators are pushing for a comprehensive Philippine budgeting code integrating key fiscal principles and processes to strengthen transparency in government spending. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, during the Senate Committee on Finance hearing on Tuesday, said the measure aims to consolidate various budgeting rules currently scattered across laws, executive issuances and court decisions.

According to Philippines News Agency, Gatchalian emphasized the importance of integrating different themes into a single, comprehensive budgeting code for the Philippines. He highlighted the need to expand and detail some concepts in the consolidated bill to ensure a more cohesive approach to government budgeting.

Meanwhile, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson stressed the necessity of maintaining the Unified Accounts Code Structure (UACS) throughout the entire budget process. UACS is a standardized coding framework for government financial transactions that allows efficient tracking, consolidation, and reporting across agencies.

Lacson pointed out the inconsistency in using UACS during the authorization phase in Congress, which complicates the monitoring of changes in proposed projects. He suggested that retaining UACS at every stage of the budget cycle would improve transparency and accountability, as it currently only reappears during the implementation phase on the website.