Joselito Malig

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House plenary

Vivienne Gulla

Agatha Gregorio

ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATED) —  The House of Representatives will open the bicameral conference committee deliberations on the proposed national budget, according to House Speaker Martin Romualdez, as he stressed that transparency is a “weapon against corruption”.In his address before members of the 20th Congress House, Romualdez said the lower chamber will allow the participation of watchdogs and observers in all budget deliberations, from committee level to the plenary.He added that discussions on the proposed national budget may be viewed on television and social media platforms. “We will open the bicameral conference to civil society observers — a historic first. Because transparency is not just a value; it is a weapon against corruption… Hindi lang natin bubuksan ang Kongreso para sa mga mamamayan na magbabantay ng badyet,&quot; Romualdez said.This, after several House minority lawmakers filed a joint resolution seeking to open bicameral conference committee deliberations to the public, saying “corruption and harmful political insertions in legislation lead to the unfair use of public funds”. Under the resolution, the bicameral conference committee is also required to make a publicly available matrix comparing differences between the two chambers of Congress’s versions of the bill and how they were resolved. At the same time, comprehensive minutes of the meeting will be made available to the public. ML party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, who were among those who filed House Joint Resolution No. 2., said this is the minority bloc&#x27;s answer to the reported issue of corruption in flood control projects.In his State of the Nation Address, President Marcos Jr. warned members of both Houses of Congress that he will not sign a proposed budget that is “misaligned” with National Expenditure Program.<div> &#x27;AMENDMENTS MUST BE DEBATED IN OPEN SESSION&#x27;</div> Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco on Tuesday issued a call for lawmakers’ proposed individual amendments to be debated in open session, instead of submitted to a small committee, which will review and resolve the matter.“The approval of the General Appropriations Bill must follow the procedure of all other House Bills. This means that before approval on second reading, and after committee amendments are considered, every single individual amendment must be debated in open session,” he said in a statement.“Itigil ang baluktot at dating gawi ng pagbuo ng small committee para pag-usapan ang individual amendments. Sundin ang proseso na ginagawa sa lahat ng House Bills, hindi &#x27;yung sekretong meeting ng apat na tao lang,” Tiangco added.House spokesperson Atty. Princess Abante said Tiangco may make a motion before the plenary regarding his call to remove the small committee. But she said it has been a practice in several Congresses to make the process of incorporating individual amendments to the proposed budget “efficient”.“Nasa karapatan din po niya bilang isang miyembro ng Kamara para maghain ng angkop na mosyon sa plenary para magkaroon ng tamang guidelines ang House,” Abante said.“Ang sinasabi niya pong small committee ay matagal na po itong pina-practice in many Congresses. Ito po ay isa sa mechanisms na ginagamit para maging efficient ang pag-consolidate ng mga individual amendments ng mga miyembro, which is well within the powers of the House of Representatives in the budget process,” she added.&quot;I think nakailang terms na rin po siya. Ngayon lang naman din po niya yan nabanggit,” Abante noted.Tiangco also accused the Speaker’s office of “controlling” programs for government assistance, which the House Spokesperson denied.“The Speaker&#x27;s office must stop controlling AICS, AKAP, TUPAD, and MAIP. What&#x27;s happening now, congressmen are forced to request allocations from the Office of the Speaker. Dapat ang ahensiya lang ng DSWD, DOLE, at DOH ang may kontrol dito. Kapag kailangan hingin sa Office of the Speaker, lumalabas itong Pork Barrel ng office niya dahil sa kapangyarihang mag-apruba, mag-disapprove, o magdesisyon kung magkano ang ibibigay,” he said.“Hindi po totoo na ang Speaker ang may hawak sa mga pondo ng mga iba&#x27;t ibang departamento. Ang mga departments pa rin po ang may hawak ng kanilang pondo, at paano nila i-implement ang mga programa under their agencies,&quot; Abante explained.<div> INFRA REVIEW</div>The House will launch a comprehensive congressional review of infrastructure projects and fund implementation, according to Romualdez, noting that he shares the President’s concern.Marcos in his SONA ordered a probe into possible corruption flood control projects, some of which faltered this month when monsoon rains triggered flooding in parts of the country.Romualdez said the lower chamber will look into possible “ghost projects, bloated contracts, chronic underspending, and abuse of discretion in fund realignment and procurement”.“We heard the President’s SONA. We take to heart his call — his frustration, even — about the lingering shadow of corruption in our institutions. As Speaker, I share his concern. And I accept his challenge — not with defensiveness, but with determination,” the House Speaker said.“We will strengthen our oversight functions and conduct mid-year performance reviews of agencies,” he added.The House will propose legislation that will require real-time public reporting of project progress and fund use, mandatory performance standards for contractors and agencies, and a national infrastructure audit framework to prevent misuse of funds, according to Romualdez.<div> </div><div> </div>

The House of Representatives will open the bicameral conference committee deliberations on the proposed national budget, according to House Speaker Martin Romualdez, as he stressed that transparency is a “weapon against corruption”.

The House of Representatives will open the bicameral conference committee deliberations on the proposed national budget, according to House Speaker Martin Romualdez, as he stressed that transparency is a “weapon against corruption”.

Romualdez: House will open bicam budget deliberations, review infra projects

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Romualdez: House will open bicam budget deliberations, review infra projects

Vivienne Gulla,

Agatha Gregorio,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 29, 2025 05:54 PM PHT

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Updated Jul 29, 2025 06:55 PM PHT

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House of Representatives

Akbayan

bicameral conference

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