Greater openness in budget bicam talks sought; livestream ‘not enough’

By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio and Adrian H. Halili, Reporters

LAWMAKERS should pursue deeper transparency reforms beyond livestreaming as Congress finalizes the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for next year, analysts said.

They urged the House of Representatives and the Senate to disclose their proposed changes to the budget bill ahead of bicameral conference committee (bicam) meetings — the stage where both chambers iron out differences in the spending plan and where major insertions often occur.

“There is always a risk that reforms become tokenistic,” Ederson DT. Tapia, a public administration professor at the University of Makati, said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “To avoid this, Congress must adopt concrete safeguards.”

Lawmakers are entering the final stretch of budget work amid heightened corruption worries, following the fallout from a growing kickback scheme tied to public works projects that has pulled in senior politicians, government officials and contractors. The controversy has placed unusual public attention on this year’s budgeting process.

Congress has taken initial steps to make the process more open. The House created a subcommittee to consolidate proposed amendments to the Executive branch’s budget. The Senate, meanwhile, approved a resolution allowing bicam deliberations to be made public through livestreaming.

House Appropriations Committee Chairperson Mikaela Angela B. Suansing said last week that both chambers have begun coordinating rules for opening the traditionally closed-door bicam discussions to the public.

But analysts said these measures fall short. “Livestreaming helps, but it is not enough,” Mr. Tapia said.

He said lawmakers should publish all proposed amendments before the bicam convenes, including a matrix showing changes, the proponents behind them, how members voted and the overall impact on the budget.

These documents should also be released in machine-readable formats so civil society groups, researchers and journalists can analyze them thoroughly, he added. Records must be posted within clear deadlines.

Civil society groups should also be allowed inside bicam meetings, said Anthony Lawrence A. Borja, a political science associate professor at De La Salle University. Simply airing the sessions online, he said, does not automatically lead to more informed citizen participation.

Livestreaming can turn political exclusion into a spectacle, he said. “Concrete steps require the entry and effective participation of civil society into the process, and the explicit condemnation of any attempt to either reduce the power of civil society representatives or slip back into backdoor negotiations,” he said via Messenger chat.

“One cannot expect the ruling elite to hold itself accountable under current oligarchic conditions,” he added.

Joy G. Aceron, convenor-director of governance watchdog G-Watch, said transparency should begin far earlier — at the planning phase — not only at the bicam.

“Bicam transparency is a first step, but it is insufficient,” she said. “There should be transparency, participation and accountability throughout planning, legislation and implementation.”

Limiting openness to the bicam stage, she warned, risks allowing an “already flawed” budget to move forward. “If transparency applies only during legislation, the budget could be lost to corruption during the implementation.”

Meanwhile, the Senate’s decision to cut unprogrammed funds in the 2026 budget is likely to reduce opportunities for misuse, analysts said.

“Unprogrammed allocations in the budget should be scrapped because they are prone to abuse,” Ms. Aceron said.

She warned that even assistance programs removed from the unprogrammed portion could still be used for political patronage if they lack clear development goals.

Unprogrammed funds serve as standby financing for pre-identified projects or emergency needs. The 2026 National Expenditure Program set aside P250 billion for these allocations, including P80.86 billion for infrastructure and social programs, P97.3 billion for foreign-assisted projects, P50 billion for the Armed Forces’ modernization, and P6.7 billion for health emergency allowances.

Last month, the Senate cut the House-approved P243-billion unprogrammed budget by P68.5 billion to P174.5 billion, as senators pledged to eliminate questionable insertions.

Adolfo Jose A. Montesa, adviser to the People’s Budget Coalition, said the reduction is unlikely to disrupt government programs.

“These are standby funds in the first place. I don’t anticipate a large impact,” he said via Messenger.

He added that priority projects should already be fully funded within the programmed budget, not reliant on supplemental standby financing.

Mr. Tapia said unprogrammed funds are not automatically released, so the cut “will not stop ongoing projects.” “It simply reduces flexibility for expansions and emergencies.”

But he noted that lowering unprogrammed funds does not eliminate corruption. The real risks lie in procurement and implementation, not only in the size of unprogrammed funds, he added.

Public scrutiny of the budget process has intensified after questionable insertions were uncovered in the 2025 spending plan, along with concerns over misuse of flood control funding.

Analysts said Congress must do more to improve transparency. Ms. Aceron urged stronger oversight and closer collaboration with civil society groups to deter misuse. “This way, Senate oversight can be preventive, not only after-the-fact investigations that rarely lead to real accountability,” she said.

The Senate earlier required all 2026 budget documents — including transcripts, hearings and briefings — to be posted online. Malacañang also announced that the bicameral conference committee meetings will be livestreamed.

Mr. Montesa said civil society should have a formal role in budget monitoring. “Civil society scrutiny helps ensure budgeted programs are needed by the people, especially the most marginalized, and that they achieve their desired outcomes,” he added.

Next year’s spending plan is 7.4% higher than this year’s budget and equal to 22% of economic output, which grew 4% in the third quarter.

The Senate wrapped up 11 days of plenary debates last week and aims to pass the budget on second reading by Dec. 3 and on third reading by Dec. 9, Senate Finance Chairman Sherwin T. Gatchalian said.

The bicameral conference committee will convene once the Senate approves its version.