SENATORS belonging to the minority bloc yesterday sought to open the bicameral deliberations on the proposed national budget open to the public to ensure full transparency.
Senators Francis Pangilinan and Paolo Benigno Aquino joined the minority bloc, which is composed of Senate minority leader Vicente Sotto III and Senators Panfilo Lacson, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Loren Legarda and Risa Hontiveros, in filing proposed Joint Resolution No. 1.
The seven senators said they do not want a repeat of the controversy that attended the bicameral hearings on the 2025 national budget, where lawmakers reduced the allocation for the education sector and allegedly padded the appropriation for flood control projects.
“The bicameral conference committee deliberations on the 2025 General Appropriations Bill, which was eventually signed into law as RA 12116, were attended by budget irregularities and distortions. The most serious irregularity was the violation of the constitutionally mandated provision that education shall have the highest budgetary priority,” the joint resolution said.
It said “corruption and harmful political insertions in legislation” led to the unequitable use of public funds that affected the vulnerable sectors of society.
The seven senators proposed that the bicameral deliberations be made public, whether in person or through digital livestreaming.
They also called for the creation of a matrix showing the differences between the budget versions approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate and “how these differences were resolved.”
They also want a comprehensive minutes of the meetings, which they said should also be made available to the public.
At the House, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco yesterday accused Speaker Martin Romualdez of allegedly “controlling” the release of funds for the various financial assistance program of the Marcos administration, saying the funds are supposedly being treated as the House leader’s own “pork barrel” funds.
House spokesman Princess Abante slammed Tiangco’s allegations, saying that Romualdez does not exercise post-appropriation control over government programs.
“The Office of the Speaker firmly denies the baseless accusation that it exercises post-appropriation control over programs such as Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS); Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP); Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Worker (TUPAD), and Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients (MAIP),” Abante said.
“These programs are implemented solely by executive agencies such as the DSWD, DOLE, and DOH. These agencies retain full authority over the approval, funding, and implementation of their respective programs, in accordance with law and internal procedures,” she added.
Tiangco, an independent member of the House, slammed the House leadership’s practice of supposedly forming a small committee to approve or reject proposed individual amendments to the General Appropriations Bill (GAB), or the annual proposed national budget, saying that before approval on second reading and after committee amendments are considered, “every single individual amendment must be debated in open session.”
He said the approval of the GAB “must follow the procedure of all other House bills.”
“We must heed the President’s call. Itigil ang baluktot at dating gawi ng pagbuo ng small committee para pag-usapan ang individual amendments. Sundin ang proseso na ginagawa sa lahat ng House Bills, hindi ‘yung sekretong meeting ng apat na tao lang (Stop the crooked practice of forming a small committee to consider individual amendments. Follow the process like how ordinary bills are treated, stop the practice of having only four people deciding),” he said.
“And the Speaker’s office must stop controlling AICS, AKAP, TUPAD, and MAIP. What’s happening now, congressmen are forced to request allocations from the Office of the Speaker. Agencies like the DSWD, DOLE and DOH should have control [over these cash assistance]. When you need to ask for it from the Office of the Speaker, it becomes a pork barrel of his office, which has the power to approve, disapprove or decide how much will be given to beneficiaries,” he added.
Tiangco said such practice is tantamount to post-appropriation control by legislators, which the Supreme Court had outlawed in the case of Belgica vs. Executive Secretary on November 19, 2013.
Abante explained that the role of the Speaker’s office is the same as those of ordinary congressional offices which is, issuing referrals in response to constituent requests that are “strictly non-binding.”
“Like all congressional offices, the Office of the Speaker may issue endorsements or referrals in response to constituent requests from lawmakers or local leaders. These are strictly facilitative and do not guarantee or influence approval. Final decisions rest entirely with the implementing agencies, which assess each request based on program guidelines, fund availability, and internal controls,” she said.
Abante said the House leadership remains fully compliant with the SC’s ruling declaring the Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) unconstitutional, particularly the post-enactment intervention by legislators.
“To allege otherwise is to misrepresent the law and institutional practice. The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Belgica v. Executive Secretary (PDAF case) prohibits legislators from exercising post-enactment discretion over public funds. The House of Representatives, under Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, fully upholds this principle,” she said.
Abante also defended the practice of forming a small committee in the annual national budgeting process, saying it is “not a secretive or irregular practice but a long-established parliamentary tool.”
“This mechanism is a long-standing parliamentary practice that allows the efficient consolidation of individual amendments after plenary debates,” she said.
“It has been used across many Congresses, including those in which Congressman Toby Tiangco held leadership roles and never objected to its use,” she added.
“The small committee does not override or replace the plenary. Its outputs are reported and become part of the final General Appropriations Bill. To characterize it as a ‘secret meeting’ is misleading and undermines the institutional memory and processes of the House,” she also said.
If Tiangco believes that the House rules must be changed, Abante said he “is free and encouraged to raise the matter formally before the plenary.”
“The Speaker will respect the decision of the majority. If the House decides, through its rules and votes, to revise the budget process or abolish the small committee, then so be it. That is the democratic process in action,” she said.
BUDGET REFORMS
Romualdez yesterday vowed to open bicameral deliberations on the GAB to the public and civil society observers.
“We will seek to open the bicameral budget conference to civil society observers — a historic first. Because transparency is not just a value; it is a weapon against corruption. This reform will not only earn public trust but will also strengthen inclusive and participatory governance,” he said in a speech.
The Speaker said public watchdogs “will be part of all stages of budget deliberation, from committee hearings to final plenary debates.” “We will allow the participation of watchdogs in all levels of budget deliberation — from committee hearings to plenary sessions,” he said.
“We will not only open Congress to the people who are guarding the budget. Everyone will be able to watch the discussions on TV and social media platforms,” he said in Filipino.
Romualdez also announced a crackdown on inefficiency, fund wastage, and bureaucratic neglect, saying the 20th Congress will be more aggressive in exercising its oversight functions. He said budget allocations will no longer be automatically granted but will be “performance-based.”
“We will strengthen our oversight functions and conduct mid-year performance reviews of agencies. Those who delay, hoard, or waste public funds will be called out,” the Speaker said. “Departments must earn their budgets — not just request them.” – With Wendell Vigilia
