Gatchalian: Bicam talks on 2026 national budget to resume on Tuesday, Dec. 16

After an initial postponement that he declared earlier in the day, the bicameral conference committee deliberations on the proposed P6.793 trillion budget for 2026 will resume on Tuesday, December 16, Senate finance committee chairperson Sherwin Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian made the announcement more than an hour after House appropriations panel chairperson Mikaela Suansing appealed to their Senate counterparts to resume discussions on next year’s spending plan.

Earlier in the day, the Senate postponed the third day of the bicameral conference committee hearing over a “deadlock” on the allocation for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), with Gatchalian firm that the upper chamber is against the use of overpriced construction materials for government infrastructure projects in 2026.

The House and the Senate contingent were at odds mainly on the DPWH’s budget, which was reduced by the House from P880 billion to P624 billion – and was further slashed by the Senate to P570 billion.  

Previously, Suansing and DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon said the further cuts to the DPWH budget at P570 billion could result in the non-implementation of certain projects to the public’s detriment.

“Of course, the details differ, but that’s the nature of the bicam. That is why we have the bicam, because there are disagreeing provisions. I am talking to Secretary Vince and internally, we’re reviewing our numbers,” Gatchalian said on Monday.

“Tomorrow, we’ll resume. Same time, 4 p.m.,” he added.

However, Gatchalian said the Senate’s reduction of the DPWH’s budget to P570 billion was based on the data given by the DPWH.

“We are not engineers, we don’t know how to measure the roads, so all the DPWH figures that we used were given to us by the DPWH,” he said.

“They (DPWH) should be the one to answer why they want the P45 billion intact. We did not do anything that is not based on the date they gave us, so they cannot say that the Senate is at fault here. All the data we based our figures on are from DPWH," Gatchalian said.

He also assured that Monday’s postponement would not derail the timeline originally set for budget approval.

“We can say that we’re not on schedule, but we can still approve the budget by the end of the year,” he said.

“These are birth pains. You have to understand, before, this is not the case. There is no technical working group, no amendments made on the floor, it was not an open bicam. Everyone is adjusting because there is no precedent,” Gatchalian added, referring to the unprecedented livestreaming and public access to bicam panel deliberations on the proposed 2026 national budget. 

Sought for comment, Suansing told reporters that the resumption of the bicam proceedings has not yet been communicated to the House contingent despite Gatchalian's announcement to the media.

“It’s a development that Senator Win was here and I appreciate that... That both parties kept the communication lines open, but I would characterize it more as a work in progress,” she said.

“Actually po, natuwa po ako nung napanood po po kanina na nagbigay po ng assurance si Senator Win na magkakaroon na po ng bicam bukas,” Suansing said.

(Actually, I was really glad when I watched Senator Win give an assurance that there will be a bicam tomorrow.)

She said the House contingent waited for three hours at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on Monday and that they are ready to proceed with the bicam on Monday night.

“We are ready at all times and we commit to our constitutional duty to pass the budget for the Filipino people,” she added.

Suansing led the 10-member House contingent who were physically present for the scheduled bicam meeting on Monday.

Gatchalian however announced that the Senate contingent decided to postpone the bicam deliberations.

In an earlier interview, Suansing said the House is ready to settle their differences with the Senate and wanted the bicam proceedings to resume as soon as possible.

“Handa po kami na ituloy itong bicameral conference committee proceedings. ‘Yun po sana ‘yung kagustuhan namin ngayon. Dahil mayroon po kasi tayong timeline na gusto pong sundin. 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,” she said.

(We are ready to continue the bicameral committee proceedings, that is our desire now. Because we are following a timeline. 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.)

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 both chambers of Congress are only in disagreement on how to implement the reduction. 

“Lahat po kami, we recognize that there are overpriced items as initially estimated by the DPWH. At lahat din po, mayroon 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. 

(All of us, we recognized that there are overpriced items as initially estimated by the DPWH. And all of us are committed to removing the overpriced parts that are included in the project estimates. That’s very clear.) — JMA, GMA Integrated News