AS most societies delegate both the executive and legislative powers to their public officials, accountability on the part of these officials is important for the efficient functioning of a modern economy. The citizens of a nation must then be assured that the delegation of these powers is effective and not abused by public authorities. Without accountability, there is a lack of trust between the government and those it governs. This would result in social instability amid an environment that is not conducive for economic growth.

In the Philippines, some segments of the citizenry have expressed their concern over the deteriorating state of economic and political governance in the country today. Archbishop Socrates Villegas, through a pastoral letter to his flock in the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, urged the faithful to scrutinize the recently passed 2025 national budget. The former president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) lamented the budget cuts to the health, education and agriculture sectors in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) passed by Congress last month.