House reaffirms commitment to open budget bicam hearings

The House of Representatives has reaffirmed its commitment to an open bicameral process on the P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or the proposed national budget for 2026.

- By ELLSON QUISMORIO

This was formalized after the chamber adopted during plenary session Wednesday night, Dec. 10 House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) No. 8, which provided for the livestreaming of the upcoming Bicameral Conference Committee hearings on the GAB.

House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III (Isabela, 6th District), Majority Leader Sandro Marcos (Ilocos Norte, 1st District), Minority Leader Marcelino "Nonoy” Libanan (4Ps Party-list), and Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing (Nueva Ecija, 1st District) jointly authored the measure.

Deputy Speaker La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega, the presiding officer at that time, declared the measure as adopted after a simple voice vote (ayes vs. nayes).

The bicam hearings between the House of Representatives and the Senate on the 2026 outlay will begin Friday, Dec. 12.

Back in June, the first House Speaker of the 20th Congress, Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin Romualdez, pitched for opening the bicam to the public. This position was adopted by his successor, Dy, who took over as speaker last September.