Suansing urges Senate to resume bicam on 2026 budget as soon as possible

House appropriations panel chairperson Mikaela Suansing of Nueva Ecija has called on the Senate to join the House in resuming the Bicameral Conference Committee deliberations on the proposed P6.7-trillion budget for 2026, saying that the decision to postpone today’s Bicameral panel proceedings was a unilateral decision by the Senate contingent.

"Handa po kami na ituloy itong Bicameral Conference Committee proceedings. ‘Yun po sana ‘yung kagustuhan namin ngayon. Dahil meron po kasi tayong timeline na gusto pong sundin [We are ready to continue the bicameral conference committee proceedings. That is what we would want right now. Because there is a timeline we want to follow]," she said.

"I don't want to say that I feel slighted. I just want to once again express to our Senate counterparts that we are here. Our disposition is to move forward with the conversation," Suansing added. 

“Ideally, it would have been something that would have been a collective decision, a mutual decision on the part of each leadership [of the Senate and the House]. But as with any negotiations, when there are disagreements, mayroon po talagang mga ganitong sitwasyon [these situations do occur], but  we're very much still open to conversing with them to figure out the best way,” she said. 

As of this writing, 10 out of the 11 House Bicam panel contingent led by Suansing are physically present in PICC, the venue of the Bicam panel deliberations, except for House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan.

“Marami po po mga ahensya na tatalakayin. Kaya po bawat araw po talaga ay mahalaga para po matapos natin yung budget sa tamang oras,” Suansing said.

(There are agencies to discuss. This is why each day is important so that we can finish the budget in a timely manner.)

“Nakita niyo naman po, in-adjust po ‘yung kalendaryo ng sesyon na dapat sa December 22 ay mara-ratify na sa parehong chamber 'yun pong ating Bicam report [on the budget]. Kaya iyon po ‘yung hinahabol natin. Kaya ito po sana ‘yung kagustuhan natin na magpatuloy [ang Bicam],” Suansing added.

(You can see that the session calendar was adjusted so that the bicam report would be ratified on December 22 by both chambers. So that is the schedule that we are going for. So we would really like for the bicam to continue.)

The House and the Senate contingent tussled over the weekend mainly on the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) ,which has been reduced by the House from P880 billion to P624 billion but further slashed by the Senate to P570 billion. 

Suasning and DPWH chief Vince Dizon have earlier said that cutting the DPWH budget to P570 billion could result in the non-implementation of certain projects, to the detriment of the public.

The 33-year-old Suansing then clarified that the House shares the Senate’s concern in reducing the overpriced budget items in the DPWH budget, and that the chambers are only in disagreement on how to implement the reduction. 

“Lahat po kami [All of us], we recognize that there are overpriced items as initially estimated by the DPWH. At lahat din po, meron din pong paninindigan na gusto natin tanggalin yung overpriced na bahagi na nakapaloob doon sa mga estimates ng mga proyekto. Malinaw po ‘yun,” she said. 

(And we all want to remove the overprices parts that are in the project estimates. That is clear.)

“Ang mangyayari po [on further reduction], hindi po ma-i-implement ‘yung project. 9,900 projects affected with a total amount of P406 billion pesos. And the estimate that they gave yesterday, if we assume the 25% of these projects will become unimplementable, that's already P101 billion pesos wasted that would have been implemented in the right way. That would have multiplier effects on our infrastructure spending and the jobs [created under that sector],”  Suansing added.

She said the House contingent will stay in PICC for around an hour to give the Senate time to reconsider its unilateral decision to postpone the proceedings. — BM, GMA Integrated News