House compresses 2027 budget hearings after weather suspensions

The House Committee on Appropriations has revised its schedule for deliberations on the proposed 2027 national budget following disruptions caused by recent inclement weather.

Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing, chairperson of the appropriations committee, said the adjustments are intended to make up for hearings that could not proceed while ensuring that the House of Representatives has sufficient time to scrutinize the proposed spending plan.

“We have adjusted our schedule to make up for the hearings that could not proceed because of the inclement weather. We have a responsibility to thoroughly scrutinize the proposed national budget, but we also have a timetable to meet. We intend to do both,” Suansing said.

Under the revised schedule, hearings involving different government agencies will be conducted simultaneously at separate venues.

Suansing said the arrangement is intended to keep the committee on track with its original timetable, which targets the completion of budget deliberations by 8 September.

She added that the revised calendar provides room for further disruptions should weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances force additional suspensions.

“We are factoring those possibilities into our planning now so that, even if adjustments become necessary, we can still meet our target for completing the budget process,” she said.

On Monday, 24 August, the committee is scheduled to deliberate on the proposed budgets of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Justice, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and Department of Science and Technology.

Among the other agencies scheduled for deliberations the following week are the Office of the President, Commission on Audit, Office of the Ombudsman, Department of Public Works and Highways and Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Suansing stressed that compressing the schedule does not mean sacrificing scrutiny of agency spending proposals merely to meet the committee's deadline.

“What we are doing is managing our time better and making the necessary adjustments early so that every agency can still be properly scrutinized and every peso in the proposed budget can be properly accounted for,” she said.

The lawmaker maintained that despite the scheduling changes, the committee's objective remains the same: to carefully scrutinize the proposed national budget and ensure public funds are properly allocated to address the needs of Filipinos.