PEFA assessment reports: Strengthening PH’s PFM system

Assalamualaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. Iam pleased to share that our country launched the Public Expenditure and Financial Account-ability (PEFA) Assessment Reports on June 10, 2025.

- DBM SECRETARY AMENAH F. PANGANDAMAN

For those unfamiliar with this diagnostic tool, the PEFA program provides a framework for assessing and reporting on the strengths and weaknesses of public financial management (PFM), using quantitative indicators to measure performance.

In adherence to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s Executive Order No. 29, dated June 2023, directing us, in the PFM Committee, to digitalize and streamline PFM processes through the full adoption of the Integrated Financial Management Information System, and with support from development partners, including the Asian Development Bank, Agence Francaise de Développement, The Global Fund, UN Development Programme, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Regional Coordinator in the Philippines, World Bank, and International Fund for Agricultural Development, we conducted the PEFA assessment from October 2024 to April 2025, covering the period from 2021 to Oct. 31, 2024, to gain a comprehensive and objective evaluation of the country’s PFM systems and processes vis-a-vis international standards and best practices.

Through its multi-framework and multi-stakeholder approach, the assessment resulted in five reports, with the primary PEFA assessment supplemented by a gender-, climateand child-responsive PFM framework, and an assessment of disaster resilience and responsiveness. This provides a nearly 360-degree view of our PFM landscape to identify gaps and create a path toward meaningful progress.