MANILA, Philippines – The Senate on Monday, September 18, approved the bill that would require the country’s economic managers to report twice a year to a joint congressional oversight committee.

Voting 18-0, senators passed on third and final reading Senate Bill 1483 or the Fiscal and Monetary Report Act of 2017, sponsored by Senate economic affairs committee chair Sherwin Gatchalian.

The bill mandates the secretaries of the Department of Finance (DOF), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and the Governor of the Central Bank to appear biannually before the new Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Fiscal and Monetary Policies.

This is meant for them “to report on the status and the directions of the fiscal and monetary policies of the state.”

Gatchalian said the bill promotes transparency on the country’s monetary policies to effectively apply check and balance.

“This would ensure that Congress is kept abreast of the current position and direction of the government’s fiscal and monetary policies, especially with regard to the accumulation of foreign debt that could impact the country’s economic stability,” Gatchalian said.

Under the bill, the biannual reports would include data on the national budget, economic developments and prospects for the future, taking into account past and prospective developments in employment, unemployment, production, investment, real income, productivity, exchange rates, international trade and payment, and prices.

To promote accountability, the measure also requires the 4 agencies to upload their respective reports on their websites within 7 working days from submission to Congress.

A counterpart bill has yet to be filed in the House of Representatives. Once the measure is passed in the House, both chambers of Congress would then convene a bicameral conference committee to sort differences in their versions. The final version would then be up for President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature. – Rappler.com