By SAMMY JULIAN
Manila News Bureau Chief
MANILA — Datasets on the proposed P2.606-trillion national budget for 2015 are now available in open format.
Aside from the current portable document format (.pdf), the proposed 2015 National Expenditure Program can now also be accessed in comma separated values (.csv) format, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.
Putting up the 2015 budget in open format is consistent with the government’s strong bid for data and information openness, especially when it comes to how public funds are managed, said the DBM.
With the open format, online users will have easier time searching for specific items within the proposed budget and navigating its sections, given that the national budget is made up of six bulky books, the DBM explained.
Having the datasets in open format is also consistent with internationally recognized open data standards. Furthermore, it is in compliance with the government’s concrete commitments to the Open Government Partnership (OGP), said the agency.
The Philippines is a member of the OGP, a global multilateral initiative that supports governments to promote transparency, accountability and citizen empowerment, among others.
The DBM said the 2015 budget proposal contains a provision on Open Government Data, which specifically mandates a policy of openness for government datasets.
The specific provision requires all national government agencies, including constitutional offices, state universities and colleges, and government-owned and -controlled corporations to “adopt a policy of openness for all datasets created, collected, processed, disseminated, or disposed through the use of public funds to the extent permitted by applicable laws and subject to individual privacy, confidentiality, national security, or other legally mandated restrictions.”
The provision also defines “openness” as having the datasets published by agencies machine-readable, in open formats and released with open licenses./PN
