MANILA — The House of Representatives has begun the plenary deliberations on the proposed P7.2 trillion national budget for 2027.
In her sponsorship speech for the 2027 General Appropriations Bill, House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson and Nueva Ecija 1st District Rep. Mikaela Suansing said that every line item in the budget should be “grounded on science, feasibility, and need."
“We deliberate on the proposed P7.2 trillion 2027 national budget under a challenging fiscal landscape. The country is grappling with slower economic growth, inflationary pressures, rising debt obligations, geopolitical conflict, volatile fuel prices, and climate-related risks," Suansing said.
"Our goal over the course of these deliberations is to craft a 2027 budget that would accelerate growth despite this challenging fiscal landscape, which would give due consideration and prioritization to the pressing needs of our most salient social and economic sectors,” she said.
Under the proposed 2027 General Appropriations Bill, education has an allocation of P1.326 trillion across basic, higher, and technical-vocational education.
Health has an allocation of P353.76 billion across the Department of Health, PhilHealth, and specialty hospitals.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development has a current allocation of P241.56 billion.
The Agriculture and Agrarian Reform sector is allotted P276.57 billion.
Suansing said reforms to increase transparency in the budget process were "continued" this year.
“This Congress has continually engaged with civil society organizations (CSOs) over the course of these deliberations, and conducted the second People’s Budget Review before the start of these debates," she said. "Moreover, we are coordinating with our counterparts in the Senate to open the Bicameral Conference Committee proceedings to the public for the second year in history," she added.
"Matibay po ang paninindigan ng inyong Kongreso na tanggalin ang tabing sa usaping budget at talagang ipakita kung saan napupunta ang bawat piso ng buwis na mula sa dugo at pawis ng bawat Pilipino," she said.
House Deputy Minority Leader and Akbayan Party List Rep. Percival Cendana, meanwhile, aired civil society organizations' frustrations over “gaps” in coordination and limited participation in the budget process at the lower chamber this year.
“It seems that while we are driving towards the right direction, this year, parang biglang nag-u-turn po tayo. Our CSOs are sharing their frustration about how they are being treated in the budget process for the 2027 General Appropriations Bill,” he said in a manifestation during the budget plenary.
“Anyare? Saan tayo nagkaroon ng gap in terms of coordinating with our CSOs. Wala na bang mas makabuluhang participation than their questions being read out? Will CSOs be informed and involved sa magiging amendments sa budget with the BARSc? And most importantly, nagkaroon lang ba ng guidelines on CSO participation last year dahil nabuking ang flood control projects?” Cendana asked.
“Napakahalaga ng transparency in winning back the confidence of our people in the budget process in this House… We hope that it is not too late for the House leadership to take this matter seriously and act on it," Cendana said.
"Sa bulsa ng mamamayang Pilipino galing ang pinag-uusapan nating P7.2 trillion na ito. Sa dulo, hayaan natin ang meaningful participation ng civil society organizations to define the kind of budget that our country really needs,” he noted.
MAKE THE PROCESS VISIBLE
The People’s Budget Coalition has appealed to the House of Representatives to make the budget process “visible”.
It aired concerns over the September 8 schedule for the People’s Budget Review, which coincided with the House Committee on Appropriations’ budget hearings for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
“It was scheduled at the same time as the hearings on the DSWD and DOLE budgets, the two agencies where patronage-driven ayuda programs tend to grow the most, so civil society could not monitor those discussions as they happened," the group said.
"Each organization was then given three minutes to speak, which is not enough for any real dialogue. The House also did not open new accreditation this year, so organizations that wanted to participate for the first time could not. We thank the representatives who asked questions about our findings. But this is not a review,” the People’s Budget Coalition said in a statement.
It added that civil society groups were only formally informed about the September 15 House plenary deliberations on the budget at 8 p.m. on September 14.
The group is still waiting for the schedule of the Budget Amendments Review Sub-Committee (BARSC).
“And this matters. The BARSC is where amendments are made. It is where the budget changes. Without the schedule, the documents, or a seat in the room, no one outside the Committee can evaluate those changes or raise red flags in time,” it said.
“Release the schedule of the BARSC and the plenary well in advance, not the night before, and allow civil society to participate as resource persons rather than token observers,” the group added.
“The difference between the House and the Senate is significant. The Senate Committee on Finance met with us directly, allowed our sectoral representatives to join its hearings, committed to share its data, and asked what would help our work. We recognize that the Senate is taking the burden of restoring trust to heart, and we appeal to the House to do the same,” it noted
The group urged the lower chamber to make the proposed changes in the 2027 budget available for scrutiny.
“Release the project-level files of the House version, including all insertions and amendments. Projects without proper attachments or alignment to a masterplan should not be in the budget,” it said, as it appealed for the granting of its request for a meeting with House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Mikaela Suansing and the Committee leadership.
They also called for the passage of the Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability or CADENA Act.
“Deciding how public money is spent is every citizen's right, not a courtesy extended at the Committee's convenience. Trust in the budget process has been broken, and much has to be done to earn it back," the group said.
"Insertions, patronage, and corruption festered for years precisely because the process was closed to the public. The House should not slide back into old practice now. Participation has to be meaningful and sincere, not reduced to photo opportunities and token speeches. The House process remains open until the end of September. There is still time to do this properly, and we are ready to help.
If the House is truly committed to restoring broken trust in the budget process, civil society participation should not be an afterthought,” the People’s Budget Coalition stressed.
Meanwhile, during the plenary session on Tuesday, Pinoy Workers Party List Representative Karl Fernandez was elected to be among the Vice Chairpersons of the House Committee on Appropriations.