Government education spending is expected to improve the well-being of beneficiaries and enhance their capability to earn income in the future. In this sense, directing education expenditures to the poor holds a promise for breaking the intergenerational transmission of poverty. Given this...

The Supreme Court (SC) ruled with finality in April 10, 2019 on the motions for reconsideration of its initial decision promulgated in July 3, 2018 on the petitions filed by separately by Mandanas et al. and Garcia regarding what petitioners perceived to be errors in the computation of the...

Proposals to reform the personal income tax have gained prominence in recent months. To date, personal income tax reform is part and parcel of the platform of a number of the candidates in the 2016 presidential elections. This paper aims to evaluate the various proposals in both houses of...

The implementation of the "Higher Education Modernization Act of 1997", CHED Memorandum Order No. 20, and "Public Higher Education Reform Framework" granted state universities and colleges (SUCs) the right to corporatize and manage their own incomes. Given these laws and rules, an...

Bottom-up budgeting (BUB) is a government program that is envisioned to institutionalize and incentivize grassroots participation in local planning and budgeting in all cities and municipalities. This study aims (i) to examine how the key steps in the planning and prioritization of projects that...

The Aquino administration through the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster and Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Cluster launched the bottom-up budgeting (BUB) exercise in 2012 in time for the preparation of the 2013 National Expenditure Program. The BUB process is one of the major...

The adoption of a federal form of government was a key campaign promise of President Rodrigo Duterte, a thrust reiterated in his first State of the Nation Address in 2016. It has strong support among the members of the super majority at the House of Representatives, being part and parcel of...

The paper highlights the importance of the design of the fiscal features of the federal system of government in ensuring that potential benefits from its adoption are realized. This economic literature on fiscal federalism posits a framework that delineates the potential benefits ensuing from...

Despite various reform efforts over the years, the tax system in the Philippines continues to suffer from chronic weaknesses. Tax rates are high relative to the country's ASEAN neighbors, yet revenue productivity remains low. Filipino individual taxpayers are overburdened by personal income tax...