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Accountable Public Management of Funds for Local Government Units

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Author: Rabby Q. Lavilles (Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology)

The transparency of budget allocation and utilization of public funds among local government units are indicators of good governance at the grassroots level.

The interactions of citizens and government, particularly local government units (LGU), create a connection that helps establish a mutual relationship for a forward-thinking development. One aspect that takes a major role in this healthy relationship is transparency and accountability. Transparency of government spending is based on the intended plans and allocated funds, and the accountability of the authorized government representative to justify the actions they made. These two important attributes helped established trust in government.

While the national government allocations for local funds have been defined by various policies, laws, and guidelines, data for reporting at the local level has a limited assessment of how it performs and is aligned with national priorities. Knowing these priorities and how local government units respond to aligned to national priorities matters in achieving various government programs. For example, the national government allocated local government funds for its priority programs like the Assistance to Disadvantaged Municipalities. The fund is intended to support the basic services for the implementation of their priority programs or projects. For example, in this case, providing basic services such as water systems projects, access roads, or disaster-related facilities. On the other hand, reporting for appropriation and projects of LGU is also reported.

Given the situation, it is imperative that a monitoring tool can be developed to provide alignment of the LGU fund appropriation and the national government spending. Moreover, this is also a proper way to examine if the allocated programs were spent based on their original allocation. Using published LGU data (e.g. https://www.iligan.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Annual-Budget-Report-2020.pdf), a structured data can be created to organize the uploaded data by the LGU. This activity can be done through volunteer programs such as in a university workshop for open data government. Using data and related analytics tools can be a good way to provide a summary and comparison of various government allocations and LGU’s actual implementation of the program. Although data collection and organization can be daunting, the resulting open data that can be generated will help evaluate citizens on how LGU has been performing in terms of its priorities or mandates. Moreover, this will also create an observing tool for government officials to be aware of government spending and priority.

The power of data and related platforms to establish transparent government spending can be a step toward more accountable local government officials. It is important that citizens will be able to see where their taxes go and how the elected government officials improve the community in relation to government priorities.

This article is the author’s reflection on the insight gained from the recently concluded OCDex 2022 Public Data Analytics Fellowship Trainings.

For more information about the article, please reach out to the author: rabby.lavilles@g.msuiit.edu.ph or Layertech labs support at learning@layertechlab.com

Reflections: Data Analytics for Social Development

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Author: Mary Joy Canon (Bicol University)

Exploiting data through machine learning and analytics has been a trend solution in helping the government and other organizations alleviate pain in terms of social and economic aspects. Tools and methodologies in data analytics are used to generate insights, to recommend actions and more importantly to assist authorities in policy-making and translating these analyses to sound programs which directly benefit the people.  Perhaps, different organizations through their projects have already contributed, through data science, to social development and welfare. Kaggle, for instance was able to predict poverty levels to identify where the highest need is for social welfare assistance. This kind of project wouldn’t have been possible without access to data.

In the Philippines, the aim of social development mandated under the Constitution is to enact measures to protect and enhance the right of the people to human dignity, reduce social and economic inequalities and remove cultural inequities. Open data and analytics offer significant contribution and opportunities for the government and other bodies to create social impact.

Humanitarian Data Exchange of OCHA publicly made available a consolidated dataset on social development from World Bank Open Data. Data covers child labor, refugees, gender issues and disparities with key topics on education, health, labor force participation and political participation. This compilation of data, once processed and analyzed can be utilized in projects for social impact. The analysis can serve as an aid to identify the social issues or concerns that need immediate action by making essential benefits and services more accessible to the people. Data scientists, government officials and social sector leaders can work together to come up with a data-driven solution to take a major step forward in providing social transformation.

This article is the author’s reflection on the insight gained from the recently concluded OCDex 2022 Public Data Analytics Fellowship Trainings.

For more information about the article, please reach out to the author: mjpcanon@bicol-u.edu.ph or Layertech labs support at learning@layertechlab.com

Reflections: The Importance of Analysis of Government Data

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Author: Jimson Ornido (National University)

The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness. Government exists for the interests of the governed, not for the governors.

– Thomas Jefferson

Local government units play an essential role in the lives of their constituents and the community. In the National Capital Region alone, there are 16 cities and one municipality, consisting of 1710 barangays. Some of the functions performed by LGUs are as follows: taxation, law enforcement, administration, maintaining peace and order, providing public works, overseeing the local police force, and disaster management.

All of the mentioned functions involve a vast amount of data. Hence, data analysis is a crucial step in progressing the level of governance for LGUs. For example, disaster management will significantly benefit from the insights extracted from previous records. Contingency and emergency plans can be improved as a result.

This article is the author’s reflection on the insight gained from the recently concluded OCDex 2022 Public Data Analytics Fellowship Trainings.

For more information about the article, please reach out to the author: jvornido@national-u.edu.ph or Layertech labs support at learning@layertechlab.com


        	

        	        
        	        

    

	





    

                    
            

    	        
			
							

		            

                
        

        	

        		        	
        		
Maragondon and Ternate Tourism: Managing Riders and Businesses
        		                

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Author: Mark Emmanuel Malimban (National University)





Maragondon and Ternate are municipalities located in the southern part of Cavite. These rural areas are rich in history and culture: Ancestral houses, Churches, and Historical sites can be found here. Mountains and many types of bodies of water are also enjoyed by the locals and tourists.





Bikers and motorists were commonly seen roaming around the vicinity. These groups come in small to big groups mostly coming from other areas and cities. Popular destinations of these riders are the Kaybiang Tunnel and the stretch road of Maragondon-Ternate-Nasugbu with the scenic beaches; with these, a lot of businesses have sprouted in the area which helps the local and LGU.





The increase in riders in the area doesn’t only come with advantages, some unfavorable circumstances were also identified. LGU placed some necessary steps to reduce some of these inconveniences and concerns.





Data analytics can help in developing the policy for government efficiency and resiliency. Bikers’ regulations for compliance with national directives; peace and order structure for tourists especially riders; and management of businesses in terms of investment and promotion. Analysis can also be used as a reference in devising the Disaster Risk Reduction Plan and Local Risk Assessment.





Opportunities should not be wasted, they should be managed well to increase their potential. LGU Policies and regulations should be data-driven to ensure that all perspectives and opinions were considered. Managing and establishing appropriate directives for these bikers and motorists will ensure not just safety but also the progress of the community.





This article is the author’s reflection on the insight gained from the recently concluded OCDex 2022 Public Data Analytics Fellowship Trainings.





For more information about the article, please reach out to the author: memalimban@gmail.com or Layertech labs support at learning@layertechlab.com

        	

        	        
        	        

    

	





    

                    
            

    	        
			
							

		            

                
        

        	

        		        	
        		
Reflections: Data-driven Paradigm Shift in Philippine LGUs
        		                

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Author: Ramon Gian A. Bron (Bicol University)





In a decision-driven world, data plays an irreplaceable role not only for individuals but also for businesses and governments. Data allows decision-makers to smartly plan and make informed decisions from the insights gathered from the analysis of data. These decisions in turn impact how individuals, businesses, and governments deliver and enhance services as well as formulate policies that cascade down to the lowest level of operation.





Local Government Units (LGUs) may take advantage of data to create a paradigm shift in the way LGUs operate. LGUs should gather and consolidate data and process them so that insights can be generated. There are many available tools and systems that can be utilized by LGUs to process gathered data. These tools and systems range from simple spreadsheets to sophisticated applications. Based on the need of the LGU, different use-cases may then be identified.





It is a matter of expansion and exploration of data to enhance, if not change, the way we understand things around us. If LGUs can transition to ICT-driven systems that allow for the management of data, most, if not all, decisions will be data-driven. LGUs can even look ahead by analyzing historical data. From the insights determined through data analytics, the conclusions can be made ready for general human consumption through reports and visualizations.





All of these may become possible through the introduction of varying ICT solutions in the LGU. From simple to complex implementations, different ICT needs will be needed to cover the different niches that these will create. Therefore, staffing will be crucial to the success of any implementation. Different units within the LGU can then be identified to handle different problems, issues, and concerns. Ultimately, all of these will only be truly possible if people embrace the importance of data and analytics.





This article is the author’s reflection on the insight gained from the recently concluded OCDex 2022 Public Data Analytics Fellowship Trainings.





For more information about the article, please reach out to the author: rgabron@bicol-u.edu.ph or Layertech labs support at learning@layertechlab.com

        	

        	        
        	        

    

	





    

                    
            

    	        
			
							

		            

                
        

        	

        		        	
        		
Reflections: Policymakers and informed decision-making
        		                

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Author: Pee Jay N. Gealone (Bicol University)





Culturally, Philippines has been reliant to tradition in many of our practices and behavior. These traditions play vital role in how we see our world, sometimes however, these traditions are the ones that hold us back. In the advent of information technology and new technologies in general, the decision-makers are struggling how to push forward reforms that are often in contrast to the perceived norms and tradition. This is more true in a local government than in the national government because they are closer to the people. With the proper use of data, the policy makers will be able to tailor fit policies that are needed and supported by the general public.





The LGU may institutionalize the use of data to determine the right policies to be implemented in their localities. By passing resolution that institutionalizes these practices, there will be a creation of system where local policy makers can have the tool to push through programs and policies that may be in conflict with the perceived traditions and norms. I am convinced that it is now the time to bring down data-driven policies to the local level. 





This article is the author’s reflection on the insight gained from the recently concluded OCDex 2022 Public Data Analytics Fellowship Trainings.





 For more information about the article, please reach out to the author: pjngealone@bicol-u.edu.ph or Layertech labs support at learning@layertechlab.com 

        	

        	        
        	        

    

	





    

                    
            

    	        
			
							

		            

                
        

        	

        		        	
        		
Reflections: How the Academe can Leverage Data and Analytics to Help LGUs
        		                

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Author: Mia Amor C. Tinam-isan  (Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology) 





Data analytics has been the talk of the town. It finds its way across agencies (government or private), businesses, or various institutions in discovering valuable information about the existing and overwhelming amount of data. Data in these times exponentially increase and extracting valuable information from these data is essential. Information from the analysis can be used for decision making, coming up with a good marketing strategy, or even in establishing policies and guidelines from a broad test base. However, local government units per se in various parts of the Philippines, have not yet maximized the impact of data analytics. Varying factors might contribute to this such as unorganized data and non-computerized processes.





As part of the academic community, we can implement programs, webinars, and workshops that will empower our LGU to exploit their available data. It is imperative to partner with NGAs, and LGUs, and develop a working strategy for local government digitization. We can propose a simple initiative and start from the automation of LGU processes to organize and ensure the quality and the integrity of data for analysis. We can also venture into partnering with private agencies such as OCDex which has experienced in partnering with LGUs and had already developed numerous government data analytics applications. As of the moment, the College is continuously having a dialog with different offices of LGU-Iligan in crafting MOA for the digitization of the city government.





This article is the author’s reflection on the insight gained from the recently concluded OCDex 2022 Public Data Analytics Fellowship Trainings.





For more information about the article, please reach out to the author: miaamor.catindig@g.msuiit.edu.ph or Layertech labs support at learning@layertechlab.com

        	

        	        
        	        

    

	





    

                    
            

    	        
			
							

		            

                
        

        	

        		        	
        		
Educated Spending: An Insight on SUCs Utilization of MOOE
        		                

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Author: Sittie NB Pasandalanb (Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology)





Despite the reality of reduced budgets of the education sector especially of state universities and colleges (SUCs), institutions of learning have a good share of the annual National Expenditure Plan of the government. Generally, appropriations of SUCs can be categorized into three: Personnel Services (PS), Capital Outlay (CO), and Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE). Of these three categories, the MOOE should be of great interest as this gives insight to how a higher education institution (HEI) of the government utilizes government funds, ergo tax payers’ money.





MOOE is funds to be used for necessities (such as electricity and water) and for activities. HEIs are institutions expected to promote conservation of energy, it is worthy to look into the electricity and water bills of HEIs as these would speak of how HEIs are walking the talk. As employees of HEIs are taxpayers themselves, spending for activities should be examined to determine judiciousness in utilizing government funds, ergo taxpayers’ money. 





There is the disconnect between spending from one’s own pocket to spending from another’s pocket. Most likely, one finds it easier to spend from another’s pocket than one’s own. This begs the question of whether employees in HEIs (taxpayers in HEIs) can connect with the funds allocated to HEIs as taxes they have paid to the government, ergo their money. 





In the case of MSU-IIT, the MOOE for 2021 amounted to Php 297,321,732.24 (from Php 222,402,237.68 in 2020). The question on how the amount was utilized and if the expenses are necessities or mere expenditures to utilize funds allocated by the government begs to be answered. 





This article is a reflection on the OCDex 2022 Fellowship Programme for Researchers





For more information about the article, please reach out to the author: sittie.pasandalan@g.msuiit.edu.ph or Layertech labs support at learning@layertechlab.com

        	

        	        
        	        

    

	





    

                    
            

    	        
			
							

		            

                
        

        	

        		        	
        		
Predicting Public Procurement Irregularities in the COVID-19 Response of Local Government Units (LGUs) in the Philippines
        		                

        			         			        		

        		        		
        	

        	        	

        		

Authors: Barajas, J.R., Aspra, N., Gealone, P.J., Lucero, A., Padua, O., Ramos, M.





Motivated by ensuring transparency, fairness, and efficiency in public procurement at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic,  a team of engineers and faculty from Bicol Region (Region 5) in the Philippines collected, digitized, and analyzed public procurement data to inform the COVID-19 response of select Local Governments in the country. 





Highlights of the Report:





• On average, only 2 out of 10 LGU contracts have been awarded in
2020.

• For every Php1 spent, approximately Php1 remains unspent in
the procurement of goods and services made by LGUs.

• A total of Php481 billion were distributed across all LGUs in the country
for 2020 but only 10% of this budget was allocated for the procurement
of drugs and medicines. 40% of this budget went to construction
projects.

• Excluding LGU contracts not posted in the PhilGEPS website, only Php10
billion (2.16% of the total LGU budget) was allocated for COVID-
19 related contracts.

• An equivalent amount of Php720 million was potentially lost from 786
LGU contracts flagged as irregular.

• Audit findings for LGUs were primarily centered on directing accountable
officers to comply to documentary requirements mandated by existing
circulars, memorandums, and Philippine laws.

• A logistic regression model with an accuracy of 91.29% was developed
to identify contracts that are potentially irregular.





Short Summary of the Report:





From examination of 296,220 local government unit contracts, this project was able to develop a logistic regression model capable of predicting potentially irregular LGU contracts posted on the PhilGEPS website for the fiscal year 2020 at an accuracy of 91.29%. Validation of the model using metrics derived from the confusion matrix revealed that the developed model had a recall score of 1.0 and a precision score of 0.029. While the precision of the model may be
low, the high recall score is deemed more important in this use-case since it would be more costly for an LGU to miss out on irregular contracts. Overall, the developed prediction model is seen to be highly beneficial as a decision
support tool for LGUs since this could potentially narrow down the number of awarded LGU contracts to be legally reviewed resulting in a faster turnover of review cycles conducted within a given fiscal year.





The team’s collected datasets are available for download in the OCDex open data portal, attribution to the authors and contributors is required for use.





DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT HERE:




			

				

					

						

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Are you interested in this report? Do reach out to us at learning@layertechlab.com so that we can directly connect you with the authors, as well as the documentations they submitted.  

        	

        	        
        	        

    

	





    

                    
            

    	        
			
				Procurement Analytics Handbook			

		            

                
        

        	

        		        	
        		
Public Procurement Analytics Handbook – Volume 1
        		                

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Fair, transparent, and efficient government procurement benefits the public. In this information age, where insight generation from big data has proven to be powerful, using the tools of Data Analytics can help ensure integrity and transparency in public procurement. 





From years 2018 to 2020, Layertech has worked under the support and grant of Hivos’ Open Contracting programme on improving government procurement data use and disclosure. Layertech worked with the Local Government Unit (LGU) Legazpi city, academic institutions such as Bicol University and Southern Luzon Technological College, individual business owners and business organizations such as the Albay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Civil Society Organizations (CSO) such as Gayon Bicol LGBTQI organization and their regional network.





This compilation was produced to share experiences and  methodologies of Layertech and partners, in mining government procurement data to answer advocacy-related questions of CSOs; to generate business insights; to help suppliers and procuring entities identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies in various procurement stages; and, to uncover trends and red flags in the procurement process.





Target readers of this handbook are assumed to have basic working competency in mathematics, statistics, and basic data manipulation. Working knowledge in coding such as in R and Python, would allow the reader to better appreciate the use-cases and replicate them.  





Please NOTE that this handbook focuses on the data sources, filtering, and modelling methods used. Links to the papers (published AND manuscripts) are provided at the end of every use-case, and it is encouraged that the reader visit the links to view the full papers and studies. Some of the papers featured in this handbook may be updated, supplemented, and improved in the future.





You are free to use the contents of this document in any way permitted by the copyright and related legislation that applies to your use. No permission is required from the rights-holders for non-commercial use. Please credit and/or link to www.OCDEX.tech and Layertech Labs.





Attribution and USE of Handbook





Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made.





DOWNLOAD THE FIRST VOLUME of the Procurement Analytics Handbook for FREE HERE:




			

				

					

						

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Download [14.86 MB] 




For more information, questions, suggestions, submissions, please e-mail learning@layertechlab.com