House Deputy Minority Leader and Mamayang Liberal (ML) Partylist Representative Leila de Lima, together with her Liberal Party (LP) colleagues in the House of Representatives, has renewed calls for an open and transparent Bicameral Conference Committee (Bicam), stressing that such reform is “long overdue” and necessary to restore public trust.
Aside from De Lima, the call was joined by Representatives Edgar Erice (Caloocan City, 2nd District), Adrian Michael Amatong (Zamboanga del Norte, 3rd District), Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao (Dinagat Islands), Jaime Fresnedi (Muntinlupa City), Cielo Krisel Lagman (Albay, 1st District), and Alfonso Umali Jr. (Oriental Mindoro, 2nd District).
“Amid the corruption issues hounding the passage of previous national budgets – made worse by the secretive nature of the Bicameral Conference Committee where controversial insertions are allegedly made – implementing an open and transparent bicam is long overdue. It is not optional. It is non-negotiable,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement.
The LP bloc is pushing for livestreamed Bicam meetings, public release of meeting minutes, and publication of a detailed matrix showing the differences between the House and Senate versions of the General Appropriations Bills (GAB) and how conflicts were reconciled. They also sought publicly accessible machine-readable copies of the House GAB, Senate GAB, committee reports, and bicam reports.
The lawmakers further demanded disclosure of proposed amendments, identification of panel members who introduce such changes, full media coverage of Bicam proceedings, and opportunities for Civil Society Organizations to raise questions and comments.
“The nation's treasury (public funds) is what is being discussed. Everyone cares how and where the citizens' money is allocated and spent. Does it go to programs, projects, and services that are correct, appropriate, and meaningful? Or does it go into the pockets of corrupt officials and employees of the government and their accomplices in the private sector?” the joint statement read in Filipino.
It has been over a month since the House approved on third and final reading the proposed P6.793-trillion National Budget for 2026. Senate plenary deliberations are ongoing, after which the budget will proceed to the Bicam stage before being transmitted for the President’s signature.
Calls for transparency intensified after last year’s budget stirred public outrage due to alleged irregularities in flood control projects and subsequent claims of supposed P100-billion insertions involving key congressional and executive figures.
“It is a gross injustice to continue denying access of the public to the proceedings of the bicam,” the LP bloc added, citing the people’s constitutional right to information on matters of public concern.
On 29 July, De Lima — along with Akbayan Representatives Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno, Percival “Perci” Cendaña, Dadah Kiram Ismula, as well as LP Reps. Bag-ao and Lagman — filed Joint Resolution No. 2 seeking to institutionalize public access to Bicam proceedings.
“We hope that our colleagues in the House of Representatives and in the Senate recognize the urgency of implementing an open and transparent bicam,” the lawmakers said.