Efficiency and Effectiveness of Earmarking for Public Health in the Philippines

The Sin Tax Reform Act of 2012 and its amendments aim to increase revenue for public health spending and reduce tobacco smoking and alcohol use. This Policy Note evaluates the performance of sin tax allocations for the public health sector. It finds significant increases in the budget allocations for public health programs since the law was enacted, but this did not necessarily lead to improved outcomes and spending capacity. Hence, implementing agencies should be more strategic in requesting, allocating, and utilizing funds to address service coverage gaps. Moreover, the quality of program performance indicators must be reviewed to evaluate the effectiveness of earmarking to achieve target outcomes. The criteria for implementing public health programs should also be revisited to improve equity and ensure that poverty incidence is considered in determining access to these programs.