Congress oversight panel on public spending for 2026 has yet to convene

MANILA, Philippines — The joint congressional oversight committee (JCOC) tasked with assessing the implementation of the 2026 national budget has yet to convene.

This situation goes on even as the House deliberations on the proposed P7.2 trillion national budget for 2027 has already begun.

Under the General Appropriations Act of 2026 (GAA), the JCOC on public expenditures was formed to track the execution of the P6.79-trillion national budget for this year.

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The committee is composed of members of both chambers of Congress.

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READ: House, Senate to form joint oversight committee on public spending

On the first day of the House deliberations on the proposed national budget for 2027, House committee on appropriations chairperson and Nueva Ecija 1st District Rep. Mikaela Suansing said the JCOC members have yet to actually meet.

“Actually, the JCOC on public expenditures has not yet been convened for the 20th Congress,” Suansing noted during an interpolation by Gabriela party-list Rep. Sarah Elago.

“The reason is that there was an opportunity where the infra com was convened earlier, so other oversight committees convened at the same time, with the same intention of overseeing,” she explained.

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Asked when the JCOC will be able to convene, especially as fiscal year 2026 nears its end, Suansing responded: “Soon.”

“Currently, the budget deliberations of the House and Senate are held simultaneously,” she cited as the reason.

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“We are just coordinating with our counterpart in the Senate—Senator JV (Ejercito) who is the chair of the Senate committee on finance,” she added.

“But once we are able to fix this, I will tell you immediately when it will be convened. We have just been a bit busy with budget hearings in both houses,” Suansing told her fellow lawmakers.

Elago, for her part, lamented what seemed to be a lax enforcement of important actions meant to ensure that the budget was being spent correctly.

“We understand this. But despite that, it is still disappointing that we include these important provisions without becoming stricter or more serious in enforcing them,” she pointed out.

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These provisions, Elago said, “can help us ensure that every peso truly goes toward serving the people.” /apl