THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is backing calls to open congressional bicameral budget deliberations to greater public scrutiny while seeking to further reduce unprogrammed appropriations below the level proposed for 2027.
At the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines’ forum on Friday, Budget Secretary Kim Robert C. De Leon said the agency welcomes and supports efforts towards greater transparency in the bicameral process.
‘An open bicam would be consistent with the Department’s continuing push for a more transparent, accountable and participatory budget process,’ De Leon said.
Doing so would enable the public to better understand how decisions involving taxpayers’ money are made, he added. ‘When people can see how public funds are deliberated and allocated, we strengthen accountability and ultimately public trust,’ he said.
Last year, the bicam sessions on the P6.793-trillion 2026 national budget were live-streamed for the first time to the public.
During the sessions, lawmakers from both the House of Representatives and the Senate reconciled differences between the House and Senate versions of the General Appropriations Bill.
This week, the DBM submitted separately to both legislative chambers the proposed P7.2-trillion 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP).
Next year’s proposed national budget is 6 percent higher than this year’s allocation and is equivalent to 21.7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing, House Committee on Appropriations chairman, said the budget process will be transparent as all hearings of the committee and the Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee will be live-streamed.
‘We recognize that the conduct of the Bicameral Conference Committee ultimately rests with Congress, and we fully respect its constitutional authority, rules and procedures,’ De Leon said.
But should Congress decide to open the bicameral proceedings, he said DBM would provide technical information, budget documents and clarifications to ensure that discussions are accurate and accessible to the public.
‘For us, greater transparency strengthens, not complicates, the budget process. We have nothing to gain from making the budget difficult to understand,’ De Leon said.
Budget watchdog Social Watch Philippines has said that the bicam has gained a reputation as a ‘third chamber’ where new budget items are inserted without prior deliberation, including the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (Akap) allocations.
Bicam meetings have been notorious for new budget items being inserted without prior deliberation, as well as for inflating the contested unprogrammed appropriations.
De Leon said the DBM is open to further reducing unprogrammed appropriations, which amounts to P111.984 billion, or about 1.6 percent of next year’s proposed budget.
While there is no fixed floor for unprogrammed appropriations, De Leon said the government could bring the amount down further if it has enough fiscal space and if the project pipeline allows it.
‘The lower, the better,’ De Leon said, while stressing that the appropriate level would depend on the purpose and nature of the projects that need to be funded.
Unprogrammed appropriations are standby spending authorities approved by Congress that may only be used if specific legal conditions are met, such as the availability of additional revenues beyond projections or the realization of new loan proceeds. These funds are not automatically released and remain subject to strict rules and validation.