Legarda Wants Monitoring System of Gov’t Performance

Senator Loren Legarda today said that a system of performance planning and reporting by every government agency should be established to strengthen the accountability of government managers and motivate them to improve program efficiency and effectiveness.

Legarda said that there should be a measure of efficiency of each government agency to avert corruption and ensure that national goals are achieved through effective and well-achieved programs by the various agencies of government.

“Our government agencies should create a plan of action covering the agencies’ major functions and operations and in relation to the national agenda. The plan should describe how the agency will pursue its objectives. This will be the basis of rating the performance of each government agency, which must always aim to achieve the goals it has set,” said Legarda.

“Waste and inefficiency in government programs undermine the confidence of the people in government and reduce the government’s ability to adequately address vital public needs,” she added.

It is in this light that the Senator filed Senate Bill 352, the proposed Government Performance Act, which seeks to institutionalize a system of performance planning and reporting by government agencies.

The bill proposes a system wherein every government agency shall submit to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and to Congress a strategic plan for the agency’s activities and projects that will cover a period of at least five years, and an annual performance plan.

The strategic plan should contain the following:

1. A comprehensive mission statement covering the major functions and operations of the agency;

2. General goals and objectives including outcome-related goals and objectives for the major functions and operations of the agency;

3. A description of how the goals and objectives are to be achieved including a description of the operational processes, skills and technology and the human, capital, information and other resources required to meet those goals and objectives;

4. A description of how the performance goals included in the plan required by Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) shall be related to the general goals and objectives in the strategic plan;

5. An identification of key factors external to the agency and beyond its control that could significantly affect the achievement of the general goals and objectives; and

6. A description of the program evaluations used in establishing or revising general goals and objectives, with a schedule for future program evaluations.

Agencies will also submit an “Annual Performance Plan” to DBM and Congress and “Program Performance Reports” to the President and Congress.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), in consultation with the DBM and the Commission on Audit (COA), will develop a management training program to orient the government’s managers with planning and program performance measurement.

“With performance planning and reporting, congressional policymaking, spending decisions and program oversight will be better informed and focused on program performance and results,” said Legarda.