Latest news with #GeneralAppropriationsBill
GMA Network
20-07-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
GAB should be posted on House website for transparency — Gatchalian
The General Appropriations Bill (GAB) should be posted on the website of the House of Representatives to allow the public to keep track of the country's annual budget, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Sunday. Gatchalian made the remark after he was asked if he is in favor of opening the bicameral budget deliberations to the public. 'Dadagdagan ko pa yan. Kung ako, pati 'yung GAB, dapat i-post sa website. Sa ngayon, hindi 'yan kaya bulag ang taumbayan kung ano ang isinusumite ng Kamara sa Senado,' Gatchalian told Super Radyo dzBB. (I would add to that. In my opinion, I think the General Appropriations Bill should be posted on the website. Right now, it's not, which means the public is blind to what the House is submitting to the Senate.) 'Kung ako, dapat ipost yan ng House of Representatives sa website (if it were up to me, the House should post the GAB on its website),' he added. The senator added the Senate's committee report and GAB's third reading version should also be posted online. 'Para makita natin yung takbo at para nasusundan ng taong bayan kung ano yung napapalitan, ano yung nadadagdag at ano yung final version ng GAA (General Appropriations Act),' the solon said. (So that we can see the progress, and so that the public can follow the changes and the final version of the GAA.) Earlier this week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the proposed P6.793 trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) for Fiscal Year 2026. Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the DBM had to trim down requests for budget proposals that reached P10.101 trillion due to limited fiscal space and the fiscal consolidation strategy, which targets gradually reducing the national government's deficit from 5.5% of GDP in 2025 to 4.3% by 2028. — RF, GMA Integrated News
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GMA Network
01-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Palace cites need for transparency in PH government transactions
A Senate panel meets with counterparts from the House of Representatives in the Bicameral Conference Committee regarding the General Appropriations Act of 2024 in this file image taken on Thursday, November 30, 2023. Courtesy: Senate PRIB Malacañang highlighted Tuesday the need for transparency in government transactions, including budget processes. During a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro was asked about the call of some lawmakers to open bicameral deliberations to the public as the budget season comes near. Branded by some lawmakers as the #OpenBicam campaign, the call has been endorsed by Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. "We respect the independence of the Congress pero kapag po ang pinag-usapan ay pagsasapubliko ng anumang transaksiyon patungkol sa gobyerno mas maganda po talaga na maging transparent ang bawat galaw ng taumbayan (We respect the independence of Congress but if we're talking about making information on government transactions available to the public, it's better to have transparency with every move)," Castro said. The House of Representatives has said the proposal seeks to allow Filipinos to watch in real time how lawmakers reconcile the national budget between the two chambers of Congress. The bicameral conference committee on the national budget conducts final deliberations among lawmakers after the Senate and the House pass separate versions of the General Appropriations Bill. Romualdez has said he would push for the institutionalization of the #OpenBicam campaign. "Transparency and accountability must be the cornerstones of the budget process," Romualdez said in an earlier press release. "I support the move to make bicameral conference committee discussions open to the public. This is a crucial step in restoring public trust and ensuring that the national budget truly reflects the will and welfare of the people," he added. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
