House Secretariat to face B178m cut

A special House committee vetting the 2026 budget bill on Thursday approved a 178-million-baht cut to the Secretariat of the House's budget, following a Constitutional Court decision to accept a petition related to the alleged misuse of parliamentary funds.

- AEKARACH SATTABURUTH

The decision came after Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat, who chaired the meeting, informed the committee that the Constitutional Court had agreed to review whether House Speaker Pichet Chuamuangphan violated Section 144 of the constitution.

Mr Julapun proposed that, for the sake of transparency, the committee reduce the amount in question, or 178 million baht allocated for three proposals under the Democratic Development Promotion Project.

Mr Pichet, a Pheu Thai MP representing Chiang Rai, is accused of instructing his adviser to draft seminar proposals primarily focused on his home province, then reallocating funds to other projects.