National Budget Circular 542 issued by the Department of Budget and Management on August 29, 2012, reiterate compliance with Section 93 of the General Appropriations Act of FY 2012. Section 93 is the Transparency Seal provision, to wit:

Sec. 93. Transparency Seal. To enhance transparency and enforce accountability, all National Government Agencies (NGAs) shall maintain a transparency seal on their official websites. The Transparency Seal shall contain the following informations: (i) the agency’s mandate and functions, names of its officials with their positions and designations, and contact information, (ii) annual reports, as required under National Budget Circular No. 507 and 507-A dated January 31, 2007 and June 12, 2007, respectively, for the last three (3) years, (iii) the respective approved budgets and corresponding targets immediately upon approval of this Act, (iv) major programs and projects categorized in accordance with the five (5) key results areas under E. O. No. 43, s. 2011, (v) the programs/projects beneficiaries as identified int he applicable special provisions, (vi) status of implementation and program/project evaluation and/or assessment reports, and (vii) annual procurement plan, contract s awarded and the name of contractors/suppliers/consultants.

The respective heads of the agencies shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with this section.

A Transparency Seal, prominently displayed on the main page of the website of a particular government agency, is a certificate that it has complied with the requirements of Section 93. This Seal links to a page within the agency’s website which contains an index of downloadable items of each of the above mentioned documents.