Navotas Rep. Tiangco Demands Transparency on Small Committee Amendments
MANILA, Philippines — Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco has called on the House leadership to publish all amendments made by the small committee on the 2025 budget. He challenged the former chair of the House appropriations committee to disclose these changes if the leadership is truly committed to reforming public budgeting and investigating irregularities in infrastructure projects.
Tiangco welcomed the proposal by newly elected House appropriations chair, Nueva Ecija Representative Mikaela Suansing, to abolish the small committee responsible for consolidating amendments from both chambers of Congress on the General Appropriations Bill (GAB). However, he said more transparency is needed.
Demand for Full Disclosure of Budget Amendments
“To show good faith, the House leadership should ask Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co, who chaired the appropriations committee during that time, to release the amendments made by the small committee for the 2025 budget,” Tiangco said in a statement mixing Filipino and English.
He urged the House to start probing irregular flood control projects by reviewing these amendments. The call comes after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to submit a comprehensive list of flood control projects built since 2022. The President also demanded audits and performance reviews of all flood control structures.
Presidential Criticism Spurs Calls for Budget Transparency
During his State of the Nation Address (SONA), Marcos criticized the failure of flood control initiatives, condemning officials and contractors who profited from projects that failed to prevent flooding during monsoon seasons.
Tiangco warned, “If the House leadership doesn’t release it, this is just for show. We cannot move forward and simply forget the wrongdoings of the past. We have to uncover the sins of the 2025 budget.”
Calls to Abolish the Small Committee and Improve Budget Review
Tiangco, who recently declared himself independent after abstaining from voting for House Speaker Martin Romualdez, was among the first lawmakers in the 20th Congress to push for scrapping the small committee to enhance transparency in budget deliberations.
Last year, during the 2025 GAB discussions, last-minute changes and insertions were made at the bicameral conference committee and small committee levels. Public watchdogs criticized these moves since they happened without public oversight.
More Than a Subcommittee Needed for Transparency
Tiangco argued that simply creating a subcommittee to review budget amendments, as Suansing proposed, would not suffice. He challenged the budget panel to commit to presenting all individual amendments in plenary sessions so that everyone can observe proposed changes.
According to House rules, Sections 56 and 57, committee and individual amendments must be completed before a bill is approved on second reading.
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