SCUTTLEBUTT

Wary budget watchdogs believe that a new small committee has been created in the House of Representatives in the guise of a body called the Budget Amendments Review Committee (BARC).

The small committee has become notorious for insertions in the budget since 2023. BARC is the purported “transparency response” of the House since it seeks to include civil society, especially youth voices, in the national budget process.

Despite House Resolution 94, which formally invites bona fide people’s organizations to participate as official non-voting observers, civil society continues to be deliberately blocked from engaging in the budget process. 

Without prior notice, the House Committee on Appropriations convened to tackle the realignment of the P255 billion in flood control funds slashed from the DPWH 2026 budget.

Access was restricted in the proceedings. Hearings are held behind closed doors. Critical decisions are made in secret, while “inclusion” is reduced to empty gestures.

This isn’t participation — it’s tokenism that silences the public and protects political interests, according to budget watchdogs.

This act of budget maneuvering not only contradicts the intent of the House Resolution but also evades the intended public participation in decisions on how taxes are spent.

The BARC, meant to scrutinize realignments, has become a rubber stamp, according to those who spoke to Nosy Tarsee.

Amendments are texted to Congress members at the last minute, realignments are rushed, and the Committee proceeds to plenary deliberations without giving anyone adequate time to study the full picture.

If true, this confirms the need to abolish small, opaque committees that operate without transparency and bypass meaningful consultation.