The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is supporting efforts to again open the bicameral conference committee deliberations on the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027 to public scrutiny.

Budget Secretary Kim Robert de Leon said Friday that the DBM would support a move by Congress to livestream the bicameral proceedings, following the open bicam conducted for the 2026 national budget.

“An open bicam would be consistent with the department's continuing push for a more transparent, accountable, and participatory budget process — one that allows the public to better understand how decisions involving taxpayers' money are made,” De Leon said during the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines Economic Forum at BSP Assembly Hall.

De Leon stressed that the conduct of the bicameral conference committee remains under the authority of Congress, but said the DBM was ready to provide technical information, budget documents and clarifications if lawmakers proceed with an open process.

The proposed 2027 national budget was formally submitted by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to the 20th Congress on Tuesday.

The proposed spending plan is P7.2 trillion, reflecting the administration's priorities for fiscal year 2027.

The push for another open bicam follows the unprecedented livestreaming of the 2026 budget bicameral proceedings in December 2025.

The move came amid congressional investigations into alleged irregularities in flood control projects and questions over budget items introduced during the bicameral process.

For the DBM, greater transparency in the budget process could strengthen public accountability and trust in how government funds are allocated.