House, civil society organizations discuss budget debate transparency

Metro Manila, Philippines - The House of Representatives held a consultation meeting with civil society organizations on Tuesday, Aug. 5 to discuss the transparency of national budget debates.

It was part of the chamber’s goal to institutionalize public participation. In previous budget deliberations, the public could only watch the hearings through livestreams.

“We believe that involving civil society groups at the very start of budget discussions will help us craft a national budget that is more responsive, inclusive, and aligned with the needs of our people,” Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre said in a statement.

“This is not just about transparency - it’s about empowering citizens to help shape national priorities,” he said

Among those who attended the consultation were representatives from MoveAsOne Coalition, Foundation for Economic Freedom, and We Solve Foundation.

During the plenary session, the House approved Resolution 94, which institutionalizes the active participation of genuine people’s organizations as official non-voting observers in the national budget hearings.

The resolution was filed by House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Tingog Reps. Yedda Romualdez and Andrew Julian Romualdez, and Acidre.

Aside from opening the budget proceedings to watchdogs, the House earlier proposed publicizing the discussion of the bicameral conference committee - a panel formed to reconcile the differing provisions in the Senate and House’s budget bills. The bicameral committee hearings are usually held closed door with the media watching.

READ: House to open bicam budget debates to watchdogs, review irregular infra projects

The House is also pushing to abolish the small committee, which discusses individual amendments in the budget bill.

Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco earlier called to stop the creation of the small committee during the budget process and instead hold the individual amendment debates in public.

READ: Tit for tat: House speaker’s pork barrel

This year’s national budget has drawn criticisms from various groups over the supposed blank amounts in several line items and zero subsidy for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, among others.

READ: ‘Biggest money heist’: Budget law constitutionality questioned in court