Senate Pushes for Full Transparency on Budget Amendments
MANILA, Philippines—In response to the controversial removal of the P74-billion subsidy for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) from the 2025 national budget, Senate leaders have taken a decisive step toward transparency. Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson secured crucial commitments from the Senate leadership to open the budget process and reveal the identities behind last-minute insertions and realignments.
During the August 13 Senate session, Lacson and Senate Finance Committee Chair Sherwin Gatchalian agreed on a new rule: all amendments to the national budget bill—including those reallocating or removing billions in public funds—must come with clear names, explanations, and a traceable record. This move aims to enforce accountability and prevent opaque budget changes.
New Rules Ensure Accountability in Budget Amendments
“[W]hen any of our colleagues will seek clarification on particular insertions or realignments or amendments, then the chairman of the Finance Committee will divulge the identity or identities of the proponents of the amendments on the floor, to make it of record,” Lacson declared on the Senate floor. This measure ensures that no amendment can be hidden behind anonymity.
Gatchalian supported this transparency initiative, promising that the committee will publish all budget movements—from the General Appropriations Bill (GAB), the committee report, and the version approved on second reading—on official websites. This will allow the public and lawmakers to track changes easily.
“The chairman of the Committee on Finance can elaborate and also reveal the history of those changes… because as your chairman, I have to justify those changes in the committee report,” Gatchalian said. “The justification to the addition is as important [as] the justification to the deduction.”
Push for Names Behind the Numbers
Lacson, who has long highlighted the issue of opaque budget insertions, pressed for full disclosure of individual amendments during the August 12 session. He stressed the need to identify proponents to uphold transparency and avoid misuse of funds.
“We have to be able to identify who the proponents of the amendments [are]. Can we do that? We are for full transparency,” he urged, recalling past questionable allocations hidden under party-list names or regions for flood control and infrastructure projects.
Although Gatchalian initially noted that tracking every change might be complex due to evolving amendments, Lacson insisted, “If we want to be transparent, let’s be fully transparent.” He warned that partial transparency would only be an illusion.
He further emphasized that all individual and written amendments should be published, highlighting that bicameral conference committee (bicam) meetings remain closed-door, unrecorded, and undocumented. “I filed [Senate Bill No. 32] precisely to address this,” he added, referring to his proposal to institutionalize civil society participation and mandate recordings of bicam proceedings.
Finance Chair Commits to Transparency Measures
In response, Gatchalian pledged several key actions to enhance transparency:
- Uploading the Senate committee report on the budget before the second reading approval, including a detailed matrix of all budget changes.
- Allowing senators to seek clarification on insertions and deductions, with the committee disclosing the identity of the proponents.
- Revealing the full history and justification for each amendment, whether added or removed.
He also appealed to colleagues to assist in identifying funding sources to maintain fiscal balance. “Because when you add budget to certain agencies, you also deduct budget from others,” he explained.
Satisfied with these commitments, Lacson agreed to withdraw his planned amendments, stating, “I agreed to the proposal… because the outcome is the same. It is for transparency.”
Questions Remain Over PhilHealth’s Missing Billions
Despite these transparency advances, questions linger about the sudden removal of the PhilHealth subsidy during bicam deliberations. Deputy Speaker Reynaldo Puno reiterated that the House preserved PhilHealth’s budget and that the cuts happened only after bicam discussions.
“Ngayon gusto namin malaman: Sino talaga ang nagtanggal? Paano natanggal ang PhilHealth budget? Kasi alam ko hindi dito sa House of Representatives yan dahil ang pinadala namin sa kanila buo pa yan,” Puno said.
He also noted, “Ang pagdagdag ng DPWH budget ay nanggaling sa pagbawas ng DepEd at pagtanggal ng [PhilHealth] trust fund. Napunta sa DPWH budget sa madaling sabi may nakinabang doon.”
Meanwhile, Senate President Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero and former Finance Committee Chairperson Grace Poe defended the bicam committee’s decision, citing PhilHealth’s inefficiency and large reserve funds. However, they did not clarify who initiated or approved the subsidy’s removal.
Escudero labeled PhilHealth a “failure” and questioned, “Why should we add to it?”
Health advocates and opposition senators, especially Senator Risa Hontiveros, challenged this justification. They warned that cutting the subsidy could violate the Universal Health Care Law and deprive indigent Filipinos of vital coverage.
Puno stressed the public’s right to know the full story: “Sino yung bumawas sa DepEd budget? Sino ang nagtanggal ng PhilHealth? Sino ang nagdagdag sa DPWH? At sino ang nakinabang?”
Moving Toward a More Accountable Budget Process
The Senate’s unanimous adoption of Concurrent Resolution No. 4 is regarded as a crucial first step toward budget transparency. Yet, Lacson cautioned that unless the identities of amendment proponents are disclosed, the effort will fall short.
“We won’t be able to identify who made what change,” he warned. “And without that, it’s back to business as usual.”
For more news and updates on the Philippine budget process, visit Filipinokami.com.
