ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio on Thursday urged the House Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee (BARSC) and the chamber’s leadership to release a detailed report on amendments to the 2027 budget before the final General Appropriations Bill is put to a vote.
Tinio made the call as the House goes into the next stage of the legislative review of the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027.
The House wrapped up its nine-day plenary deliberations last Sept. 25.
About P20 billion in amendments had been inserted into the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget during the recent plenary deliberations.
“We managed to get an admission during the plenary deliberations that amendments worth P20 billion would be introduced to the DPWH budget. Why is there such a move, and why is the amount so large?” Tinio said in Filipino.
“These are precisely the projects selected by the legislators. At the very least, there should be transparency regarding this,” he added.
He said he has received information that no separate committee report would be issued and that the amendments would instead be incorporated into the amended General Appropriations Bill.
“They mean it’s up to you to find out what amendments we introduced. This isn’t real transparency,” Tinio said.
BARSC is a sub-panel under the House Committee on Appropriations tasked with reviewing, institutionalizing, and publishing details of proposed amendments and realignments to the government’s spending plan.
Tinio said the House Appropriations Committee should reconvene after the bicameral conference committee to approve the amendments, allowing lawmakers and the public to identify the changes through a formal report.
“You can’t just say, ‘Here are the three volumes of the GAB — figure it out yourselves; we just inserted some amendments,’” Tinio said.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Mikaela Angela Suansing gave assurances that the panel will strengthen safeguards in crafting the 2027 General Appropriations Act by setting clearer rules for evaluating and using government funds through an open and transparent process.
“Having successfully abolished the ‘Small Committee’ and constituted the Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee, or BARSC, last year, the BARSC will once again deliberate on amendments to the 2027 national budget in a manner that is open and transparent to the public,” she said.
The House is looking to approve next year’s budget on third reading by Oct. 9.
