By Adrian H. Halili and Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio,Reporters
SENATORS on Tuesday filed a joint resolution calling for greater transparency in bicameral conference committee proceedings, citing irregularities in the 2025 national budget deliberations that they said violated the Constitution and undermined public trust.
“The bicameral conference committee deliberations on the 2025 General Appropriations bill, which was eventually signed into law as Republic Act No. 12116, were attended by budget irregularities and distortions,” the senators said in Senate Joint Resolution No. 1.
The resolution was signed by Senators Vicente C. Sotto III, Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel, Panfilo M. Lacson, Lorna Regina B. Legarda, Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, Francis N. Pangilinan and Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV.
“The most serious irregularity was the violation of the constitutionally mandated provision that education shall have the highest budgetary priority,” according to the resolution.
The resolution calls for all bicameral conference committee deliberations to be open to the public, either through live attendance or livestreaming. It also proposed that the committee produce and publish a matrix comparing the Senate and House versions of the budget bill, including how disagreements were resolved.
“This matrix will be made available to the public,” the senators said, adding that detailed minutes of every bicameral meeting should also be produced and released.
The push for reform comes after the 2025 budget process drew criticism when the bicameral committee raised unprogrammed funds to more than P500 billion and inserted allegedly blank line items, prompting concerns that changes were made after Congress ratified the bill.
“Corruption and harmful political insertions in legislation lead to the unfair use of public funds,” the senators said. “Corruption deprives the poor and the underprivileged of food security, decent housing, timely healthcare, quality and accessible education, and effective responses to the climate emergency.”
“It also slows down progress toward achieving sustainable development goals,” they added.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez responded on Tuesday by pledging to open future bicameral deliberations on the national budget to public scrutiny. “Transparency is not just a value, it is a weapon against corruption,” he told the House floor.
He said civil society groups would be allowed to sit in during discussions, and that proceedings would be televised. Observers will also be allowed to witness committee hearings as part of broader efforts to rebuild trust in the process.
In his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. warned Congress that he would reject any proposed budget not aligned with his administration’s priorities — even if it meant a reenacted budget.
“We heard the President’s SONA and we took to heart his call, his frustration even, about the lingering shadow of corruption in our institution,” Mr. Romualdez said.
Meanwhile, minority House lawmakers filed House Joint Resolution No. 2, echoing the Senate proposal and calling for public access to bicameral meetings and a clear record of changes made to the budget.
“What we are striving for is to ensure that all discussions in Congress are transparent and accountable,” Albay Rep. Cielo Krisel B. Lagman told reporters.
The 2026 budget process is expected to begin in August, once the Executive branch submits its proposed national spending plan.
The Development Budget Coordination Committee has proposed a P6.793-trillion budget, 7.4% higher than this year’s allocation and equivalent to 22% of the country’s economic output.
