Civil society participation in the Philippines' national budget process could strengthen transparency and accountability, but analysts said the effort must be institutionalized and backed by adequate information tools and resources.

Dennis C. Coronacion, chairman of the University of Santo Tomas' Political Science Department, said including civil society organizations and government watchdogs introduces critical third-party oversight that can deter corruption, detect technical irregularities and flag unvetted project insertions before a budget becomes law.

"It's important to include civil society organizations and government watchdogs in the budget process because it introduces critical third-party oversight that can potentially deter corruption, spot technical irregularities and flag unvetted project insertions before the budget becomes law," Mr. Coronacion told BusinessWorld via Facebook Messenger.

His remarks came after Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito, who heads the Senate Finance committee, filed bills that would formalize civil society organization participation in the budget process and confirmed that such groups would be allowed to observe bicameral conference committee (bicam) deliberations on the 2027 national budget.

Under the proposed measures, accredited groups would gain access to budget records, reports and hearings, while local governments would be required to consult them annually on spending plans.

Mr. Coronacion said civil society groups could help connect budget allocations with community needs, but warned that participation must be treated as a right rather than a privilege. He said a merit-based accreditation system could reduce political gatekeeping and should be complemented by procedural reforms, including dedicated congressional hearing days for these groups' budget proposals, digital transparency tools and greater scrutiny of bicameral deliberations.

Jose Enrique "Sonny" A. Africa, executive director of IBON Foundation, said opening bicameral proceedings to public scrutiny is a crucial step because budget changes often occur during the final stages of discussions.

"Worst case is we have the appearance of transparency because of completely divulged information, but because there's so much information, we might not be able to keep up with those who have malicious intent," he told BusinessWorld in a Viber call.

Mr. Africa said the volume of budget documents could overwhelm civil society and media groups, academics and ordinary citizens unless the government also provides mechanisms that help users review and analyze the information.

The People's Budget Coalition earlier identified more than P1 trillion worth of allocations in the proposed 2027 national budget that it considered potential red flags.

Mr. Coronacion said broader participation also carries risks, including political capture, delays and competing priorities, but these could be addressed through transparency standards, automated vetting systems and firm timelines.

Mr. Ejercito said the Senate's transparency measures include livestreamed budget hearings, a dedicated hearing day for civil society and the integration of watchdog-developed digital tools into the Senate's budget transparency portal.

"We are continuing to build on our best practices," he said in a statement. "Having more eyes on the budget will help us spot any unvetted projects or last-minute insertions that may be introduced during the bicam."

The senator's measures include the Bantay Budget bill, which will institutionalize civil society participation in national budget deliberations, and the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting bill, which seeks to incorporate community planning into local and national spending programs. As filed proposals, both bills would still need to clear the legislative process before any of these safeguards take effect.

Mr. Africa said the consultation process has already shown that civil society groups could help defend public interests when given access to information.

"Let's actually use the space that's been created because the more people use those mechanisms, the harder it will be for the government to stifle them, to cut them, roll them back or bypass them," he said.