HOUSE Deputy Minority Leader and Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Partylist Representative Leila M. de Lima, together with fellow Liberal Party (LP) lawmakers, has urged Congress to implement a fully open and transparent Bicameral Conference Committee (bicam) as the Senate continues its deliberations on the proposed ₱6.793-trillion 2026 National Budget.
“Amid the corruption issues hounding the passage of previous national budgets – made worse by the secretive nature of the Bicameral Conference Committee where controversial insertions are allegedly made – implementing an open and transparent bicam is long overdue. It is not optional. It is non-negotiable,” the solons said in a joint statement.
Aside from De Lima, House LP lawmakers include Reps. Edgar R. Erice (2nd District, Caloocan City), Adrian Michael A. Amatong (3rd District, Zamboanga del Norte), Arlene “Kaka” J. Bag-ao (Lone District, Dinagat Islands), Jaime R. Fresnedi (Lone District, Muntinlupa City), Cielo Krisel B. Lagman (1st District, Albay), and Alfonso V. Umali Jr. (2nd District, Oriental Mindoro).
It has been over a month now since the House of Representatives passed on third and final reading the proposed P6.793-trillion National Budget for 2026. The Senate plenary budget deliberations are now ongoing. After the Senate’s approval, the next stage will be the bicam.
According to the House LP bloc, the following measures must be instituted to make the bicam truly transparent:
a) Full bicam meetings, including deliberations, must be livestreamed;
b) Comprehensive bicam meeting minutes must be published;
c) Detailed matrix of the differences between the House’s and the Senate’s proposed GABs, and how these differences were reconciled, must be presented;
d) Machine-readable copies of House GAB, Senate GAB, House and Senate committee reports, bicam reports, must be publicly available;
e) The amendments, and the names of the members of the panel—and their respective chambers—who proposed the amendments, must be disclosed; and
f) Media must be allowed to cover the entire bicam proceedings, and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) must be given access and the opportunity to raise questions and comments during the bicam.
“Kaban ng bayan ang pinag-uusapan. May pakialam ang lahat kung paano at saan nilalaan at ginagastos ang pera ng mamamayan. Sa tama, angkop at makabuluhang mga programa, proyekto at serbisyo ba ito napupunta? O sa mga bulsa ng mga tiwaling opisyal at kawani ng pamahalaan at ng kanilang mga kasabwat sa pribadong sektor?” the joint statement read.
“Kapakanan ng bayan at kinabukasan ng ating kabataan ang nakasalalay rito. Tiwala ng tao sa gobyerno ang mismong nakataya.”
“It is a gross injustice to continue denying access of the public to the proceedings of the bicam, which constitutes a deprivation of the constitutionally guaranteed right of the Filipino people to information on matters of public concern. They are entitled to know where every centavo of their taxes goes,” it added.
It can be recalled that on July 29, 2025, De Lima—along with Akbayan Reps. Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno, Percival “Perci” Cendaña and Dadah Kiram Ismula, as well as fellow women LP Reps. Bag-ao and Lagman (known collectively, with De Lima as “LP Tres Marias”, filed Joint Resolution No. 2 to institutionalize public access to bicam proceedings.
“We hope that our colleagues in the House of Representatives and in the Senate recognize the urgency of implementing an open and transparent bicam,” the solons said.
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