via Emmanuel Salazar | The Quantum
Courtesy: Council for the Welfare of Children, Tanya Manalo, Philippine Star

Sofia Yamamoto, a student of Pasay City National Science High School, joined the national leaders at the launch of the Child Budget and Expenditures Tagging and Tracking (CBETT) Tool at a hotel in Cubao, Quezon City, on August 14, 2025.

“As a child rights advocate and young person myself, I believe that the CBETT tool is a crucial step toward ensuring the accountable and strategic allocation of government resources in children-centered programs. By employing a streamlined system for monitoring revenues and expenditures, it will help ensure that youth support is consistent and effectively tracked,” Yamamoto said.

The Government of the Philippines launched the CBETT tool, through the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF).

Supported by the European Union and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the initiative aims to institutionalize child-responsive budgeting by tracking allocations for children, addressing recommendations from the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessments, and implementing the tool nationwide in phases.

Secretaries of the CWC, DBM, DILG, and BLGF signed a Joint Memorandum Circular committing to the use of the CBETT tool. The event gathered over 100 stakeholders from national government agencies, local government units, civil society organizations, and international development partners.

The CBETT tool will be implemented nationwide from 2025 to 2028, beginning with eight pilot LGUs in 2025, where oversight teams will be trained and Public Finance for Children committees will be established. It will expand to all 80 provinces and 144 cities in 2026 and reach all 1,600 municipalities by 2027, generating data for evidence-based planning and addressing fiscal responsibilities devolved under the Mandanas-Garcia Supreme Court ruling.