Two House majority lawmakers on Wednesday denied allegations that their colleagues were trying to block the livestreaming of the bicameral conference committee deliberations, saying that the leadership has always been clear about wanting to make the budget process more transparent especially amid the ongoing flood control scandal.
In a press conference, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong and Manila Rep. Ernesto Dionisio Jr. both agreed that they ‘haven’t heard of a single member of the House’ who has opposed proposals to open up the traditionally closed-door proceedings online.
‘We don’t know where that (report) came from but if you ask us, Speaker (Faustino) Dy III has been very consistent and very clear in his position that the bicam would be livestreamed so that people could see every step of the way, how congressmen and senators appreciate the line items in the general appropriations bill,’ said Adiong, who is one of the vice chairs of the appropriations committee.
‘With all the conversations we had with the leadership and all the House members, everybody has been in unison about livestreaming (the bicam),’ added Dionisio.
This, after Sen. Erwin Tulfo insinuated that some House members were opposed to the bicam livestream during a discussion with Senate President Vicente Sotto III.
For Adiong, however, the allegation made no sense since ‘from the very beginning, it was clear that that was the direction of the House – to livestream the entire budget deliberation from the committee level until the BARSc (budget amendments review subcommittee).’
At the same time, he said the panel supported ‘other forms, methods or modes that would ensure transparency in the deliberation of the bicam,’ including disclosing the proponents for each individual project.
‘This is so we know whose proposal this is, which district it would be brought, why it would be brought there, would it really be helpful to their community,’ Adiong said. ‘However, it would have to be mutually agreed upon by the contingents.’
Last month, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself ordered both chambers of Congress to make sure that the bicam deliberations for the 2026 budget is opened up to the public to dispel allegations that the closed-door proceedings were being used to insert anomalous projects in the national budget.
If ever, this would be the first time in the country’s history that the so-called ‘third Congress’ would be livestreamed.