PHILIPPINE STAR/PAOLO ROMERO

THE SENATE is open to making the bicameral meetings on the 2026 budget open to the public amid calls to make the process more transparent, according to its secretary.

“Calls to increase transparency in the bicam are always welcome,” Senate Secretary Renato N. Bantug, Jr. said in a statement on Monday. “The Senate is open to serious proposals that will enhance public access and understanding of the crafting of the national budget.”

Senators and congressmen typically meet behind closed doors to reconcile conflicting provisions of their bills during bicameral conference committee meetings.

“The bicameral conference is a joint undertaking of the Senate and the House,” he said. “Both chambers have a shared responsibility to ensure that the process is open and transparent, consistent with the constitutional precept that public office is a public trust.”

He added that the Senate had allowed journalists to cover bicameral meetings on the national budget.

“Our [countrymen] have every right to know how their money is spent, and their active participation helps ensure that their elected representatives remain responsive and accountable to the people who entrusted us with this responsibility,” Mr. Bantug said.

Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Ejercito Estrada called for transparency in this year’s budget process.

“Any proposal to open the bicameral deliberations to the public must ensure that the integrity of the process is preserved and that the focus remains on arriving at a unified budget that truly reflects the priorities and needs of our [countrymen],” he said in a separate statement.

He added that Filipinos should be given the opportunity to understand, participate in and monitor how public funds are allocated and spent.

“I have always fought for opening the bicameral conference deliberations on the budget measure to the public, or at least to accredited nongovernment organizations, civil society organizations and the media,” Senator Panfilo M. Lacson said.

He added that he would prioritize legislation that would ensure transparency in bicameral deliberations on the national budget.

The House of Representatives minority bloc on Sunday backed a proposal to open bicameral conference meetings on the 2026 national budget to the public.

This would deter “last-minute” fund insertions, “closed-door arrangements” and promote fiscal discipline, while also enabling greater public scrutiny, Party-list Rep. Marcelino C. Libanan said in a statement.

Budget proceedings last year were criticized after the bicameral panel increased unprogrammed funds fourfold to more than P500 billion, aside from blank line-items, fueling concerns that the budget was tweaked after Congress ratified it.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. later struck down P168 billion worth of projects under standby appropriations, noting that some line items were inconsistent with his government’s priorities.

Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez last week said he supports moves to open the budget’s bicameral committee proceedings to scrutiny, citing the need to restore public trust in the budget process.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee has proposed a 7.4% increase in the national budget to P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026.

The budget process for next year’s spending plan is expected to kick off in August after the Executive branch submits the budget proposal to the House, according to a Budget department briefer.

Under the 1987 Constitution, Malacañang must transmit the proposed budget within 30 days after the opening of the regular session of Congress, which begins on July 28. — Adrian H. Halili