Metro Manila, Philippines – The bicameral conference committee will now meet a day later as technical staff work to prepare for the livestreamed sessions that will finalize the proposed ₱6.793-trillion national budget for next year.

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III and finance committee chairman Win Gatchalian announced that the meeting will be held on Saturday, Dec. 13, instead of Friday.

Both officials explained the postponement to the media on Thursday, Dec. 11.

“The technical staff of both The House and The Senate requested one more day to craft the details of the matrix and reconcile the conflicting provisions and amounts, given that budget documents this year are disaggregated and the technical descriptions are included per project,” the statement read.

Sotto added that the Senate wants all details exhibited and made transparent so the two houses can thoroughly examine each other’s versions. He said he could not confirm whether the bicam meetings will last for three days as planned.

Gatchalian confirmed only that the sessions will be held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

The bicam meetings will be livestreamed for the first time amid calls for transparency following the flood control corruption scandal. Bicam sessions of previous years faced criticism for last-minute budget insertions, including allocations for allegedly anomalous flood control projects that lawmakers are accused of pushing in exchange for kickbacks.