Bicam set to tackle 'lean' 2026 budget

The Senate and House of Representatives will convene the bicameral conference committee on Thursday to reconcile their versions of the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for next year.

- MARC JAYSON CAYABYAB

Senate President Vicente Sotto III yesterday described the Senate's version of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) as a lean budget.

The GAB - approved on second reading last week - is set to be approved on final reading on Tuesday.

The upper chamber heads for a possibly heated debate with the House of Representatives during the upcoming bicam that will start on Thursday at the Centro de Turismo in Intramuros, Manila.

It is during the bicam where senators and House members meet to reconcile their versions of the GAB in the public eye, but it had become merely ceremonial, with fund realignments for their pet projects already done behind closed doors to evade scrutiny.

Speaking to radio dwIZ yesterday, Sotto said there would no longer be a repeat of the closed door "budget insertions" that marred the previous 2025 GAB, slammed by critics as the "most corrupt budget."