Senate hails 2026 bicam as 'most transparent' in history
MANILA, Philippines — Senate leaders hailed this year’s bicameral conference committee (bicam) proceedings as the most transparent in history, citing the livestreaming of budget deliberations for the first time.
In a statement to the media on Thursday, December 18, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III shared a joint statement on behalf of the Senate majority following the four-day bicam hearings on the P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026.
“We in the Senate leadership and majority welcome the bicam approval of the P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 and we call it the most transparent in recent memory because the public saw every step in full view, from committee briefings to plenary debates to the bicam itself, all on livestream and all archived for anyone who wants to follow the money,” Sotto said.
“This is the new normal we are building in the Senate: a budget process that people can watch, read and verify in real time, with the resulting discussions and supporting materials posted so taxpayers can trace how a peso moves from proposal to final item,” the senators added.
How much of it was transparent?
This year marked the first time the traditionally closed-door bicameral proceedings were livestreamed, following a major infrastructure corruption scandal that placed the budget process under heightened public scrutiny.
Despite the livestream, however, lawmakers also held discussions on the sidelines, beyond the scope of the broadcast and out of earshot of the media.
The livestream itself was also paused several times during the proceedings.
While bicam proceedings are meant to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget, critics have long argued that they also allow last-minute realignments of funds before the bill is sent to the president.
“No budget is perfect, but a budget made in daylight is stronger. We will keep this standard moving forward with livestreams, posted schedules and a bicam the public can actually watch, so confidence in the numbers grows with confidence in the process,” the majority said.
In a separate statement, the Palace said that it was confident that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will sign the budget soon.
- Latest
- Trending
