Joint resolution filed to open bicam budget deliberations

MANILA, Philippines — Six House minority lawmakers filed a joint resolution on Tuesday, July 29, seeking to open the bicameral conference committee deliberations to the public, starting with the 2026 national budget bill to be proposed by the 20th Congress. 

Filed as Joint Resolution 2, the measure invokes the constitutional right to information on public matters, including government records, research, transactions and policy decisions, which covers the budget.

If adopted, it would open bicameral conference committee deliberations to the public through livestreaming. While legislative hearings and plenary sessions are already public, bicameral meetings are typically held behind closed doors.

The resolution mandates additional transparency steps:

• Creating comparison matrices between House and Senate budget versions
• Recording resolution processes for budget disagreements
• Publishing detailed meeting minutes for public access

This comes after the 2025 General Appropriations Bill faced serious allegations of discretionary insertions by lawmakers and irregularities such as the "blank line items," which the former House appropriations chair described as "calculator activity" for technical staff to accomplish.  

There were also criticisms that the 2025 budget violated the constitution's requirement to prioritize education, after figures showed a sharp increase in the Department of Public Works and Highways' (DPWH) allocation while the Department of Education saw cuts from the agency's proposed budget. 

Other issues surrounding the so-called controversial budget include the funding for the Ayuda para sa Kapos Ang Kita Program (AKAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which some have alleged as a form of pork barrel, where congressional members have the discretion to determine beneficiaries.

This is why the resolution also stressed the government's mandate to "maintain honesty and integrity in public service," where measures against graft and corruption are effectively upheld. 

It cites Article 11, Section 1 of the Constitution: Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must, at all times, be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency; act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives.

"Corruption and harmful political insertions in legislation lead to the unfair use of public funds. Corruption deprives the poor and the underprivileged of food security, decent housing, timely healthcare, quality and accessible education, and effective responses to the climate crisis or emergency," the resolution read. 

The legislators also referenced President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s fourth State of the Nation Address, where he alleged gross misuse of public funds in flood control projects — despite billions in allocations showing little results.

"For sure, the non-transparent bicameral committee hearings on the appropriations bill played a critical part in all of these," the resolution added. 

Rep. Chel Diokno (Akbayan Party-list) said in a statement that auditing flood control programs is not enough. "Institutionalizing corruption control through a transparent bicam process" instead is better, he added. 

"We hope that this joint resolution will be approved as this will help address the corruption that deprives the Filipino people of decent shelter during floods. Panahon na upang ito'y ipatupad para na rin sa tamang paggamit ng pondo ng taumbayan," Rep. Krisel Lagman (Albay, 1st District) said in a statement. 

The joint resolution was also filed by Rep. Perci Cendana and Rep. Dadah Ismula of the Akbayan Party-list, Rep. Kaka Bag-ao (Dinagat Islands, Lone District), and Rep. Leila de Lima (ML Party-list). 

Since winning reelection, House Speaker Martin Romualdez has pushed for open bicameral proceedings. He made strong statements during Tuesday's plenary session, saying he will lead the House to ensure this historic first for the country.