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Legislating Fiscal Responsibility


House Bill No. 2807 or the “Budget Reform Bill” (BRB), filed in the 18th Congress, aims to institutionalize fiscal responsibility by enshrining principles and requiring a set of reports from the Executive Branch to regularly inform Congress about the goals, targets, and conduct of fiscal policy. The principles go beyond deficit and debt targets as ultimate measures of fiscal responsibility, and make macroeconomic stability as just one of several fiscal policy objectives. By identifying inclusive economic development as a principle, the BRB ensures that the quality of expenditures, and not just its level, is given emphasis. In addition, the reportorial requirement is an accountability mechanism to strengthen the power of Congress to hold the President to account for the conduct of fiscal policy. The sections regarding the Statement of Fiscal Policy, Medium-term Fiscal Strategy, Mid-year and Annual Fiscal Reports, and the report explaining deviations from the target provide clear guidance on the information that the President needs to disclose to Congress. Worth noting is that the bill mandates the President to report to Congress any deviation from the target and the means to address fiscal issues. In effect, the President is directly subjected to Congressional scrutiny for actions that result in deviations from the target.


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May 15, 2020