House panel to hear questions of advocacy groups on 2026 budget

The House appropriations committee has allowed civil society organizations (CSOs) to field their questions during the congressional deliberations on the proposed P6.79 trillion budget for 2026 based on interim guidelines.

House appropriations panel chairperson and Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing made the announcement during the town hall meeting with accredited CSOs, adding that questions can be sent to the House Task Force for CSOs for proper referral.

“We’ve instituted a new mechanism wherein they (CSOs) could send in their questions for the interpellation. If they have specific questions that they want to ask particular agencies, they could send their questions 24 hours ahead so we can ask the vice chairperson of the committee on appropriation sponsoring that particular agency or presiding over that particular committee hearing to be the ones asking the question,” Suansing said.

“This is the first avenue that we came up with, allowing for greater engagement during the committee hearings,” she added.

At least 21 CSOs were represented during Thursday’s first town hall meeting.

The CSOs were each given a chance to put forward their suggested budget amendments, and the most common call was for increased budget for education, health and public transportation.

Suansing said that the new scheme is based on the feedback that her committee got after one week of budget briefings in the House of Representatives, where the CSOs only got to participate as non-voting observers.

“Meron na talaga siyang mas aktibong boses sa ating mga committee deliberations kasi yung mga katanungan nila ay maitatanong na natin diretso sa mga ahensya,” she said.

(The CSOs will really have an active voice in the committee deliberations going forward because their queries will be asked by the designated House members to the agency involved.)

In addition, Suansing said that she and other members of the House Committee on Appropriations will meet with accredited CSOs every week to ensure that their budget concerns are addressed.

“Our engagement with CSOs will be continuous, and the discussions will depend on which agency they want to focus on for that particular week. It will be a group huddle,” Suansing said.

House appropriations panel vice chairman and Bataan Rep. Albert Garcia assured the public that the CSOs’ suggested budget amendments will be considered based on merit.

“If it is a very valid suggestion,  the  [Appropriations] committee can consider the institutional changes or amendments to make our budget efficient,” Garcia told reporters.

“This was a very fruitful exercise and it is just the start of more engagements with them,” he added.—LDF, GMA Integrated News