Senator Alan Peter Cayetano signed Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4, mandating full public disclosure of key documents related to the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and urged transparency in both the budget process and government loan transactions.
The resolution seeks to strengthen fiscal transparency and reinforce public trust in government spending.
This move comes after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in his 2025 State of the Nation Address, criticized persistent budget anomalies.
Cayetano, a long-time advocate of accountability and good governance, emphasized that transparency should go beyond numbers.
“The national budget is not just the work of a few but a product of the entire Congress, representing every Filipino.”
“We will ensure full transparency. The national budget is not just the work of a few but a product of the entire Congress, representing every Filipino,” the veteran legislator said.
The resolution cites Congress’s constitutional duty not only to approve the national budget but also to lead in “advancing fiscal transparency and ensuring that citizens are empowered to monitor how public funds are planned, allocated, and spent”.
It also notes that while the National Expenditure Program (NEP) and the final GAA are made publicly available, several other documents including committee reports, plenary transcripts, and bicameral meeting outputs are not yet digitally accessible on the official websites of the Senate or House of Representatives.
This lack of digital access, the resolution explains, prevents the public from fully analyzing and understanding the national budget, thereby “limiting their participation in the budget process”.
Under the new resolution, Congress commits to uploading and publishing a wide range of budget-related documents in machine-readable formats on their respective official websites.
Under the new resolution, Congress commits to uploading and publishing a wide range of budget-related documents in machine-readable formats on their respective official websites.
These include BP 201 forms submitted by government agencies, the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) as passed by both the House and the Senate, the Bicameral Conference Committee Report and Joint Explanation of disagreeing votes, as well as transcripts of budget briefings, public hearings, and technical working groups. The resolution also includes Committee Reports and Journal Records of plenary deliberations.
The resolution further states that the public “shall be given a platform on the websites of both Senate and House of Representatives to communicate their analyses, suggestions, and feedback on the national budget”.
The seasoned lawmaker also stressed the importance of aligning legislative oversight with the needs of the people.
“We want to assure the public. Iisa lang naman ang hangarin ng Pangulo at ng Kongreso: ang tiyaking makakarating ang tulong at serbisyong dapat sa bawat Pilipino, at malinaw kung saan napupunta ang pera ng bayan,” the senator concluded.
