Congress holds first livestreamed bicam

Hoping to regain public trust after the massive flood control corruption scandal, Congress kicked off its first-ever livestreamed bicameral conference committee (bicam) on the national budget on Saturday, December 13, at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

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Prior to the scandal, the bicam had always been held behind closed doors, with only a select few lawmakers making key changes to the budget. Many budget insertions and anomalies have been attributed to these closed-door bicam meetings.

Present at the first-ever livestreamed bicam on the Senate side was Finance Committee chair Sen. Win Gatchalian, who is joined by Sens. Loren Legarda, Kiko Pangilinan, Erwin Tulfo, Imee Marcos, Bong Go and Mark Villar. Sens. Camille Villar and Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa were absent.