Finance Secretary and Public Financial Management (PFM) Committee Principal Ralph G. Recto has welcomed the results of the latest expenditure and financial management assessment, stressing the government’s cardinal duty to spend every peso wisely and not recklessly, especially amid the budget season.

The PFM Committee officially launched the results of the 2024 Philippines Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Reports on June 10, 2025, which provides a clear, evidence-based look at the strengths and weaknesses of the country’s PFM system.

The latest assessment found that the Philippines meets the basic requirements for public financial management, with superior performance across all areas, including gender, climate, child, and disaster responsiveness. This shows the country’s progress in improving public service delivery and maintaining macroeconomic stability to support long-term growth.

Having a robust PFM system is a strong foundation for sound fiscal policy and governance, which is crucial to ensuring the country achieves its development aspirations.

“I see these reports as part of the compelling literature that will remind those with the power to ordain public spending of their cardinal duty to spend wisely and never recklessly,” Secretary Recto said in his remarks.

The reports came out just in time for budget season, which the Finance Chief said should guide the government on how to craft one that is resilient to shocks, responsive to disasters, and receptive to national goals.

“And above all, resistant to the tinkering and the tampering that subvert national goals and derail our fiscal plan,” he stressed.

Secretary Recto also underscored the reports’ role in reinforcing the fundamental principles of responsible budgeting.

“That we only spend what we can sustainably raise. That revenues are the upstream of appropriations and not the other way around. That current expenditures should not bequeath a huge pasa load of debt to the generations that will come after us. Because if we flip the order, the future pays the price,” he said.

“For the national budget must live within the means of the people who fund it. This is how we will protect the future of our people and the next generations of Filipinos,” he added.

The 2024 PEFA Assessment is the first multi-framework, multi-stakeholder assessment of its kind in the Philippines, led by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), with support from development partners.

The Philippines is the first in the ASEAN to conduct a full-scale PFM Disaster Response and Recovery Assessment.

According to the report, the Philippines maintains a strong fiscal foundation, demonstrated by robust revenue and expenditure performance, effective debt and cash management, comprehensive performance monitoring, transparent intergovernmental transfers, and improved procurement oversight.

To sustain and build on these gains, Secretary Recto reiterated the government’s strong commitment to the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF), while continuously raising the bar for fiscal discipline and good governance.

“[I]t is papers and studies like the one we are launching today that make good become better, and better become best. More so if they are utilized not just as tabletop reading but to improve conditions on the ground, where they matter most,” he said.

“For it is this ethos of innovation that Bagong Pilipinas embraces — of making sure that every peso works for the Filipino people, and every promise will be delivered,” Secretary Recto added.

The event was led by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and was attended by around 120 participants from the executive and legislative branches of government, the PFM Committee, peer reviewers, and development partners, including the ADB, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNCF), and Agence Française de Développement (AFD).