Ombudsman on livestreaming of budget bicam meetings: May it be standard practice

The Office of the Ombudsman on Wednesday said it hopes that livestreaming of the budget proceedings of the Bicameral Conference Committee will be "standard practice."

It said this as it expressed full support to the livestreaming of proceedings of the Bicameral Conference Committee on the 2026 national budget. 

“It is hoped that this initiative will not be an exception to the rule, but rather a standard practice and the norm moving forward,” the Office of the Ombudsman said in a statement. 

It also said transparency in legislative deliberations boosts public trust and ensures that accountability remains in governance.

“The Office encourages these practices of openness and transparency, as they allow citizens to better understand and engage with the democratic process,” the Office of the Ombudsman said. 

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. earlier said that the Bicameral Conference Committee meeting for the national budget would be livestreamed after he discussed the matter with Senate President Vicente Sotto III and House Speaker Faustino "Bojie" Dy III.

“To further encourage transparency, I intend to livestream the bicam. So, that's what I told them already. There is no small committee,” Marcos said.

“We will livestream the entire process so that if there are questionable, shall we say, insertions or additions or all that, it will also be clear who moved – who made those changes or who proposed those changes so that people will know,” he added.

On October 13, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading its version of the proposed P6.793 trillion national budget for 2026 under House Bill 4058. There were realignments that increased allocations to the education sector to an unprecedented P1.28 trillion.

The House version of the General Appropriations Bill realigned the entire P255 billion of the Department of Public Works and Highways' initial proposed budget for locally-funded flood control projects after the President called out anomalous flood control projects.

“By opening its doors to public view, the Bicameral Committee affirms that democracy thrives best when its processes are seen, understood, and scrutinized by the very people it serves,” the Office of the Ombudsman said. 

“The Ombudsman commends this initiative as a meaningful step toward a more open, participatory, and responsible government,” it added. —KG, GMA Integrated News