House Appropriations panel denies offering incentives to push 2026 budget ratification

THE HOUSE Finance Committee on Monday denied claims that incentives were offered to lawmakers to secure votes for the ratification of the P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for 2026.

“The House leadership does not influence any individual member of the House to vote in any way,” Nueva Ecija Rep. and House Appropriations Committee Chair Mikaela Angela B. Suansing said in a statement, in Filipino.

She added that the House leadership maintains a policy and strict principle that members are free to vote on legislative measures as they see fit.

“The House of Representatives is a collegial body,” Ms. Suansing said. “We respect each member to have the freedom to vote and to decide based on the needs of their constituents and their conscience.”

She also touted the implementation of several initiatives to make the budget more transparent and lawmakers more accountable for the spending plan.

The House and Senate on Sunday signed the bicameral conference committee report on the 2026 national budget, as lawmakers finalized disagreeing provisions to the budget bill.

A digital copy of the bicameral committee report has been sent to members of Congress or their examination prior to the ratification of the budget bill during plenary proceedings on Monday afternoon.

Party-list Rep. Renee Louise M. Co criticized the delayed release of the bicameral report on the 2026 spending plan, noting that some lawmakers were given a copy only on Monday morning.

“Only seven hours were given to go through every line of the more than 200 pages of the bicam report and the more than 4,000 pages that will be counterchecked in the GAB and the previous General Appropriations Act,” she said in Filipino in a separate statement.

Ms. Co also noted that lawmakers had spent more days on behind-the-scenes negotiations than on open public scrutiny of budget documents.

“Politicians are given a few days to iron out the kinks and deadlocks in the bicam, but public approval is rushed,” she added.

Ms. Co also claimed that the bicameral report has contained various forms of “pork and allocables” which have been flagged for potential misuse.

“Even more disturbing, at first glance, is the content of the bicam report, which contains various forms of pork and ‘allocables,’ huge funds for violence against ordinary people, and extravagant spending of the people’s money,” she added.

She said that the livestreaming of the bicameral panel has been a “theater and gimmick” by the administration.

“So much for open bicam. The Filipino people are still left in the dark throughout the entire process,” Ms. Co added. — Adrian H. Halili