Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman has urged the public to participate in the budget deliberations, especially for this year’s budget talks.

According to Pangandaman, the public should know what the government is doing with their money.

“What we would like is for our countrymen, especially our youth, to participate so that they can learn how the budget is made and how it will be completed. We started it when it was open to the people, and until it is completed, it will be open to the people,” she said during the Post-SONA discussions in San Juan City.

She added that tech-savvy individuals could access deliberations through mobile devices and social media sites such as YouTube and Facebook.

On the same day, re-elected House Speaker Martin Romualdez reaffirmed his commitment to opening the previously closed-door bicameral conference to the public, stressing that transparency is a “weapon against corruption.”

“We will seek to open the bicameral budget conference to civil society observers – a historic first. Because transparency is not just a value; it is a weapon against corruption. This reform will not only earn public trust but will also strengthen inclusive and participatory governance,” Romualdez said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Budget and Management is printing copies of the National Expenditure Program, or the budget proposal for the next fiscal year, to be submitted to the House of Representatives and the Senate.

“Right now, our budget is being printed. In two weeks, we will submit it to the House of Representatives and then to the Senate. That's it. After we submit it, our National Expenditure Program (NEP) will be published on our website at the DBM,” Pangandaman said.

In his fourth SONA, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he will reject budget proposals containing insertions or programs not fully aligned with the NEP, even going to the extent of operating under a re-enacted budget.

Marcos made this pronouncement after flood control projects failed to serve their purpose and submerged parts of the country following back-to-back typhoons.