Rowegie Abanto

Akbayan Partylist Rep. Chel Diokno during the first regular session of the 20th Congress at the House of Representatives in Quezon City on July 28, 2025.   Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

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20th CONGRESS- OPENING SESSION

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_w-Pwry-Guc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>MANILA — Akbayan party-list Rep. Chel Diokno on Wednesday renewed his call to open the bicameral conference committee to the public, through livestream if possible, to avert sneaky budget insertions that have been linked to flood control corruption.</p><p>The bicam is where representatives from the House and the Senate reconcile differences in their versions of a law — in this case, the national budget — and that its proceedings have traditionally been held out of public view.</p><p>Speaking to ANC, Diokno said that the bicam had &quot;gone far beyond&quot; its purpose, and the conduct of a closed bicam &quot;must stop.&quot; </p><p>He said that the current budget cycle should lead the way for an open and transparent bicam process.</p><p>&quot;That&#x27;s the problem with a closed bicam, walang records hindi natin alam kung saan nanggagaling &#x27;yan.&quot;</p><p>(That&#x27;s the problem with a closed bicam, there are no records, and we don&#x27;t know where the insertions came from.)</p><p>Several politicians were accused of proposing billions of pesos in insertions in the national budget to get kickbacks from public works projects that they would fund.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/25/ex-dpwh-exec-roberto-bernardo-admits-wrongdoing-in-flood-control-fiasco-0916"><strong>Ex-DPWH exec Roberto Bernardo tags Escudero, Co, Revilla, Binay in kickbacks</strong></a></div><p>Diokno said he had filed a resolution calling on Congress to open the bicam &quot;so that there will be no more issues about having secret or insertions during the bicam proceedings.&quot;</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re hoping that both houses will agree to this and that we can come up with an open bicam to assure the public that there will be no more &#x27;yung nangyari (that happened) in the last budget cycles,&quot; he said.</p><p>On Monday, the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/13/house-approves-p6-79-trillion-2026-national-budget-2050">House of Representatives approved</a> the proposed 2026 national budget despite opposition to the P200 billion fund allocated under unprogrammed appropriations — a budget tool used to fund unseen expenditures but has been linked to flood control corruption.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/14/marcos-jr-to-decide-on-2026-budget-veto-after-bicam-malaca-ang-1617">Marcos Jr. to decide on 2026 budget veto after bicam: Malacañang</a></div><p>In August, budget monitor Social Watch Philippines pointed out &quot;limited&quot; avenues and mechanisms for genuine participation under the newly adopted interim guidelines for civil society engagement in the 2026 budget deliberations.</p><p>Jessica Reyes-Cantos, co-convenor of the budget watchdog, said in a statement that while they appreciate the House of Representatives&#x27; move to promote citizens&#x27; participation, the interim rules under House Resolution No. 94 &quot;still fall short.&quot;</p><p>&quot;As currently framed, civil society and grassroots submissions will only be &#x27;accepted and noted&#x27; without the chance for full discussion,&quot; Reyes-Cantos said.</p><p>The co-convenor added that an accreditation process that interested parties will have to go through also &quot;reduces the public&#x27;s participation to a token exercise.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Amid widespread corruption and misuse of public funds, Filipinos deserve more than ceremonial engagements. True transparency allows citizens to voice their concerns and scrutinize how their money is spent,&quot; she said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JSu70jcbieI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Akbayan party-list Rep. Chel Diokno on Wednesday renewed his call to open the bicameral conference committee to the public, through livestream if possible, to avert sneaky budget insertions that had been linked to flood control corruption.</p>

Akbayan party-list Rep. Chel Diokno on Wednesday renewed his call to open the bicameral conference committee to the public, through livestream if possible, to avert sneaky budget insertions that had been linked to flood control corruption.

'That practice must stop': Diokno wants to open bicam proceedings to avert budget insertions

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'That practice must stop': Diokno wants to open bicam proceedings to avert budget insertions

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published October 15, 2025 02:54 PM PHT

Read More:

Chel Diokno

Bicam

National Budget

Flood Control

Corruption

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