Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III on Wednesday expressed full support for holding bicameral conference committee meetings on the proposed ₱6.793-trillion 2026 national budget in public and through livestreaming to promote accountability and transparency in the budget process.
“‘Yan din naman ang gusto namin ever since noong tayo ay na-elect bilang Speaker. ‘Yan ang ating commitment sa ating mga kababayan — maging accountable and transparent ‘yung ating budget for next year,” Dy said in a radio interview.
Dy said the House has already implemented similar transparency measures through the creation of the Budget Amendment and Revision Subcommittee (BARSc).
The Speaker made the remark in response to proposals to livestream all bicameral budget deliberations to dispel long-standing suspicions of closed-door “small committee” meetings that shaped the final version of the national budget away from public scrutiny.
He said the House has already implemented similar transparency measures through the creation of the Budget Amendment and Revision Subcommittee (BARSc), which replaced the old “small committee” that used to privately review amendments to the General Appropriations Bill after plenary approval.
The BARSc, Dy explained, institutionalized the process and made budget deliberations more open to public scrutiny by allowing broader participation from House members, agencies, and even civil society representatives.
“Kaya naman doon din naitatag ang BARSc — unang pagkakataon na naging mas bukas at transparent ang ating pagdinig sa budget,” Dy said.
“Kasi nakikinig din po kami sa mga kahilingan at daing ng ating mga civil society kung papaano pa po natin maibabalik ang pagtitiwala ng ating mga mamamayan. ‘Yan naman ang gusto namin — ang atin pong Kongreso ay pagkatiwalaan nila.”
In the same interview, the Speaker also expressed the willingness of the House to hold the bicameral budget conference so that it need not be held in private or closed venues.
