Senate Committee on Finance chairperson JV Ejercito on Tuesday vowed to block last-minute insertions and amendments during bicameral conference committee deliberations on the proposed P7.2-trillion 2027 national budget.

Ejercito committed that the Senate officially received the 2027 National Expenditure Program, marking the start of congressional scrutiny of the government’s spending plan.

“As chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, we will now begin the important work of reviewing and scrutinizing the proposed national budget — keeping in mind that the power of the purse is ultimately a public trust,” Ejercito said.

He said the Senate would continue pursuing reforms to make the budget process more transparent, including through a Budget Transparency Portal that would allow the public to submit comments and position papers.

The Senate will also impose clearer standards in assessing budget amendment requests, including agencies’ utilization rates; livestream and open bicameral conference committee discussions to the public; and hold public hearings with representatives of civil society organizations.

Ejercito said the Senate would also address issues encountered in previous budget deliberations and ensure they would not be repeated.