Marilyn Cahatol

Speaker Martin Romualdez delivers his speech as he steps down from his post as Speaker of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, September 17, 2025. Members of the 20th Congress of the Lower House are currently casting their votes for the next Speaker of the House, with Isabela 6th District Rep. Faustino 'Bojie' Dy III poised to take over the chamber’s leadership. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176066647163720251017021044_b225dde7d855afd98b1c5e73d0e44a4b207d1994216d0ed28cb44425e35dc6eb.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The House of Representatives on Wednesday, September 17, 2025.Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — A live bicameral conference committee meeting would not automatically translate to a transparent budget deliberation, and may even lead to an agreed-upon “performance” of members, a lawmaker warned Friday.</p><p>While ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio recognized livestreaming bicam deliberations as an improvement, he said many things are still happening behind the scenes, including a possible agreement on amendments among its members.</p><p>&quot;There’s a lot that happened behind the scene and essentially, what we see in the livestream is what they want us to see,&quot; Tinio told ANC&#x27;s Headstart. </p><p>“Our fear is that what we will get is a performance with the amendments agreed upon behind the scene,” he said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/16/bicam-budget-deliberations-to-be-livestreamed-now-for-the-next-step-0809">Bicam budget deliberations to be livestreamed. Now for the next step</a></div><p>“We should be careful not to see it as the be-all and end-all to make the process transparent,” he added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;IDENTIFY PROPONENTS&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Tinio noted that aside from livestreaming the deliberations, the public should also demand a comprehensive report of the amendments, detailing its proponents and reasons behind.</p><p>“I think it’s important that we ask that the proponents of the amendment are clearly identified. Para malinaw kanino nanggaling yung amendment, anong dahilan so malinaw din yung accountability for that particular amendment,” Tinio said.</p><p>The House of Representatives on Monday approved the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/13/house-approves-p6-79-trillion-2026-national-budget-2050">P6.79 trillion 2026 national budget </a>on third and final reading, with several lawmakers raising concerns over the more than P200 billion <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/14/lawmaker-details-unprogrammed-appropriations-in-house-approved-2026-budget-1329">unprogrammed appropriations </a>contained there.</p><p>Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente &quot;Tito&quot; Sotto III and Committee on Finance Chair Sherwin Gatchalian both expressed positive outlook on cutting down UA in the Senate&#x27;s version of the 2026 budget. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/10/15/gatchalian-confirms-senate-has-received-house-s-proposed-2026-budget-2321">Gatchalian confirms Senate has received House&#x27;s proposed 2026 budget</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qvy9Skpss3s?si=fF9wbhKGNOonJ6xP" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div>

<p>“We should be careful not to see it as the be-all and end-all to make the process transparent,” the lawmaker said.</p>

“We should be careful not to see it as the be-all and end-all to make the process transparent,” the lawmaker said.

Lawmaker fears live bicam may lead to 'agreed-upon performance,' not transparency

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Lawmaker fears live bicam may lead to 'agreed-upon performance,' not transparency

Marilyn Cahatol,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 17, 2025 10:09 AM PHT

Read More:

Antonio Tinio

ACT Teachers

Bicameral conference committee

Budget

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