House Panel Confirms Early Budget Hearings
Manila officials reported that the proposed budget process reforms will proceed smoothly despite the earlier start of panel hearings. Nueva Ecija 1st District Rep. Mikaela Suansing assured the public that key reforms, including the inclusion of third-party observers in reviewing the National Expenditures Program, remain intact.
During an interview following the organizational meeting of the House committee on appropriations, Suansing confirmed that the People’s Budget Review is still scheduled for the last week of August. This session will allow civil society groups to scrutinize the NEP and voice their concerns.
Schedule Adjustments Due to Early NEP Submission
Originally, committee hearings were set to begin on September 1 to allow time for intermediary activities and the budget review. However, with the Department of Budget and Management submitting the NEP ahead of schedule, hearings will now start on August 18, sources said.
“With regards to the concern, whether the intermediate activities are there, they are still there especially the People’s Budget Review, it is still there and we have set the last week of August for the People’s Budget Review,” Suansing stated in Filipino.
She emphasized that no activities have been removed despite the earlier hearing dates. The People’s Budget Review will remain a one-day event where civil society and people’s organizations can present suggestions and ask questions about the NEP.
Daily Hearings and Engaging Civil Society
According to committee insiders, the appropriations panel will conduct hearings every weekday, except on holidays. Suansing elaborated, “We have daily committee hearings all the way through the week of September 16. So, even Fridays of September, we have hearings every day, the only time that we are going to take a break is during the holidays.”
She also highlighted the committee’s commitment to engage civil society organizations throughout the process. “We have committed that the committee on appropriations will have engagements with our civil society organizations and people’s organizations.”
Community members expressed relief over the one-day budget review, with Suansing noting, “Based on the feedback we’ve been receiving, it’s enough because we’ll give them time to present. And then, after that, open forum […] and that would not be the only time that we will have engagements with our co-partner in the civil society.”
Key Reforms Driving Transparency
Officials reported that Suansing is advocating for three major reforms: abolishing the so-called “small committee,” opening bicameral conference committee meetings to public viewing, and accrediting civil society organizations to observe and raise concerns during the budget process.
These reforms gained momentum after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. warned lawmakers in his fourth State of the Nation Address that he would reject any national budget deviating significantly from the NEP, even if it meant a reenacted budget.
The budget process has been under intense scrutiny following allegations of blank items and last-minute insertions in the 2025 General Appropriations Act, particularly involving flood control projects. Marcos also condemned officials and contractors suspected of benefiting from kickbacks related to these projects.
Tentative Agency Presentation Schedule
The committee on appropriations released a tentative schedule for agency budget presentations, subject to change based on availability. Key dates include:
- Development Budget Coordination Committee: August 18
- Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation / Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office: August 20
- Civil Service Commission / Commission on Human Rights / Commission on Audit: August 26
- Department of Trade and Industry / Department of Science and Technology: August 27
- Department of Public Works and Highways: September 1
- Department of Tourism / Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development: September 2
- Department of Education: September 3
- Department of Foreign Affairs / Department of Energy / Energy Regulatory Commission / Department of Health: September 4
- Presidential Communications Office / Department of Labor and Employment / Department of Transportation: September 5
- Office of the President / Department of the Interior and Local Government: September 8
- Office of the Ombudsman / Department of Environment and Natural Resources: September 9
- Department of Social Welfare and Development: September 10
- Commission on Elections / Department of Agrarian Reform / Department of National Defense: September 11
- Department of Migrant Workers / Office of the Vice President / Department of Information and Communications Technology / Commission on Higher Education: September 12
- Department of Agriculture / National Irrigation Administration: September 15
- Judiciary / Department of Justice: September 16
Suansing reminded that the schedule remains tentative and may adjust according to agency availability.
For more news and updates on budget process reforms, visit Filipinokami.com.
