ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio on Thursday called on the Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee (BARSc) and the leadership of the House of Representatives to provide a detailed committee report on the amendments that will be made regarding the proposed national budget for 2027.
The BARSc will begin its deliberations on the amendments on the national budget on Thursday, October 1. According to House Secretary General Atty. Cheloy Garafil, the proceedings will be livestreamed to the public to ensure transparency.
‘Immediate call natin sa BARSc at sa House leadership, maglabas ng detalyadong committee report on the amendments that will be approved and integrated into the final General Appropriations Bill na pagbobotohan para transparent sa lahat ng miyembro at sa publiko kung ano ba yung binago at kinalikot sa budget,’ Tinio said in a press briefing.
(Our immediate call to the BARSc and to the House leadership, release a detailed committee report on amendments that will be approved and integrated into the final General Appropriations Bill that will be voted to ensure transparency among members and the public on the changes made.)
The House wrapped up its plenary deliberations on the P7.2-trillion budget bill last week.
The BARSc, composed of select lawmakers from major political parties and the minority bloc, will discuss and handle proposed amendments expected to be introduced by lawmakers before being voted on the floor for second reading.
Tinio then said that releasing the report on amendments is necessary, as he noted that ‘essentially, these are committee amendments.’
‘Dapat ang tamang proseso nyan, pagkatapos ng BARSc, magkaroon muli ng meeting ng committee on appropriations, yung mother committee, tapos aprubahan ng buong committee yung amendments,’ he added.
(The proper process should be: there must be another meeting of the committee on appropriations after the BARSc deliberations, then the whole committee will approve the amendments.)
He then emphasized that every member of the committee on appropriations must review the report first before approving the amendments.
The BARSc was introduced last year after the abolition of a ‘small committee’ of select lawmakers tasked with finalizing the House’s budget bill behind closed doors