Marcos orders livestreaming of budget bicam; no more small committees

Metro Manila, Philippines - President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the livestreaming of the bicameral conference committee (bicam) deliberations on the 2026 national budget - a first in congressional history - saying the move aims to promote transparency and prevent backroom deals during the final stages of the budget process.

Marcos said the entire bicam proceedings - long held behind closed doors and only among lawmakers - will now be made public, effectively abolishing the so-called “small committees” that used to meet privately after bicam sessions to finalize adjustments and insertions.

“There is no more small committee,” Marcos said. “We will livestream the entire process so that if there are questionable insertions or additions, it will be clear who made or proposed those changes. So now, it will all be out in the open.”

The president added that both the Senate and House of Representatives have agreed to the new procedure.

Senate President Tito Sotto confirmed the agreement.

“Yes, we agreed. In fact, we included that in a provision in our joint resolution,” Sotto said.

The presidential directive was in response to public uproar over meetings behind closed doors which apparently became the source of corruption because of insertions and realignments beyond what was approved on final reading.

Civil society groups and some legislators had flagged the lack of transparency, and said that confidential insertions and last-minute “realignments” were made without public scrutiny.

They said so-called “small committees” met informally and decided on billions in budget changes.

Malacañang said the directive aims to “restore public confidence” in the budget process.

In a statement, Akbayan party-list said the decision reflected growing public pressure for transparency but warned that openness should not depend solely on the goodwill of political leaders.

“It is obvious that the government is feeling immense pressure from the people’s anger. Ituloy natin ang pagpoprotesta at pagtindig!” Akbayan said. [Translation: Let’s continue protesting and standing up!]

“While we welcome this pronouncement, we stand firm that transparency in the budget process should not be dependent on the agreement of a few men,” the group added.