House in talks to broadcast P7.2-trillion budget ‘bicam’ talks

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives is coordinating with the Senate to once again open to the public the joint congressional talks on the P7.2-trillion spending plan for next year, Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Angela Suansing said on Tuesday.

She said congressmen are organizing efforts to open the traditionally close-door budget talks with senators for the second time, as the spending bill moves forward plenary discussions at the House.

“We are coordinating with our counterparts in the Senate to open the bicameral conference committee proceedings to the public for the second year in history,” Suansing told lawmakers at the House floor, as she opened debates on the budget bill.

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The joint committee composed of congressmen and senators is the final stop before Congress submits the budget to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. for his signature. At that stage, lawmakers reconcile differences in their versions of the spending plan and must produce a bill acceptable to both.

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Those discussions have routinely been held behind closed doors in the past, a process that critics say have kept the public in the dark about last-minute changes to the national spending bill.

Last year, the joint congressional panel opened the hearings for the first time, inviting media and broadcasting debates among lawmakers and their concessions to hammer out differences in their versions of the bill.

Suansing, who heads the House Appropriations Committee, said the chamber “stands firm in its resolve to lift the veil on the budget process and clearly show where every peso of taxpayers’ money goes.”

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She also said her committee is deepening its engagement with budget watchdogs as congressmen enter the final stretch of budget work, including publishing a webpage where civil society groups could monitor “pertinent documents” ranging from the spending bill to discussions schedules.

“We want to engage civil society organizations meaningfully, and we are taking all the steps we could to make that happen,” Suansing said. /mr