Latest news with #Suansing
GMA Network
5 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
House to prioritize agency-backed amendments in 2026 budget
The House of Representatives will prioritize the inclusion of amendments backed by government agencies in the proposed 2026 national budget while also hearing out parochial concerns, House appropriations panel chairperson Mikaela Suansing said Tuesday. Suansing said it is understandable for House members to push for government projects to address the needs of their constituents "but on the part of the House, given the limited fiscal space, what we [will] prioritize are institutional amendments." "Parochial amendments are for the needs of a particular locality, while institutional amendments emanate from the [government agencies] themselves. That is what we are looking at,' she told reporters. However, she said, it does not mean that the amendments to be put forward by House members will be readily dismissed. The presence of budget watchdogs and public availability of committee level proceedings, Suansing said, will ensure that the amendments to be included in the national budget will be meritorious whether they are suggested by government agencies or members of Congress. "The deliberation on the new House subcommittee on budget amendments review will be available to the public, including via livestream. So anybody who will sit on this committee and put forward amendments and how will it be resolved will be known by the public,' the lawmaker said. She was referring to the new House appropriations subpanel in charge of budget amendments, replacing the small committee which used to be a tight-knit unit composed of lawmakers collating amendments proposed by House members after the budget is approved at plenary level. 'Because the deliberations are transparent, maiiwasan na po talaga natin 'yung pagkakaroon ng mga insertions na iintindihan naman namin na 'yun 'yung pinagmumulan ng pangamba ng ating mga kababayan,' Suansing added. (Because the deliberations are transparent, we will be able to avoid insertions that cause distrust among the public.) In the same interview, Suansing said President Ferdinand Marcos,Jr.'s statement during his fourth State of the Nation Address that he is willing to delay the signing of the proposed national budget if it does not align with the administration's priorities should not be viewed as an attempt to clip Congress' power of the purse. 'The statement of the President does not undermine the power of the purse of Congress because the the President has very specific priorities in terms of what social services, what projects he would like prioritized. That is the alignment that the President is asking Congress to focus on,' she said. 'I believe it is not undermining the House but rather its a please, ensure that the administration's priority programs are taken cared of. And we saw that the President's priority is human capital development, including education, labor, and health. For our part, those are also the programs that we will support because human capital development is very important in ensuring our country's economic future for many many generations,' she added. In a separate statement, Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco welcomed the abolition of the small committee which he earlier flagged for supposed unlawful intervention in the budget process. 'We thank the House committee on appropriations for heeding our call. The small committee was not transparent, so we must abolish it. The fact that they agreed to abolish the small committee proves that I was correct,' he said. Still, Tiangco insisted that all individual amendments of the House members should be discussed in a plenary session. However, he emphasized that the removal of the small committee is just the first step toward promoting transparency in budget deliberations. 'All individual amendments must be discussed in plenary before the approval of the House General Appropriations Bill on second reading. A lengthy line item list [of amendments] is not an excuse. If that is the case, we must work overtime,' Tiangco said in a statement. 'Trabaho namin 'yan. Kahit gaano kahirap, dapat naming gampanan (That is our job so we must do it no matter how hard it is). No ifs and buts," he added. —AOL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
6 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
House appropriations committee forms budget amendments subpanel
The budget amendments review subcommittee "will be tasked with facilitating and deliberating on proposed amendments submitted by agencies and our colleagues in the House,' said House Appropriations Chair Rep. Mika Suansing in a press conference on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. The House Committee on Appropriations on Monday said it has established a subcommittee to review budget amendments, with the stated aim of ensuring transparency and that amendments will be appropriately addressed. In a press conference, House appropriations panel chairperson and Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing said that the House subcommittee on Budget Amendments Review will replace the small committee—the tight-knit unit that used to collate proposed amendments of lawmakers after the House approved the proposed national budget on third and final reading. In contrast with the small committee, the budget amendments review subcommittee will be run in parallel with the Appropriations committee's discussions on the proposed national budget. "The first reform is that we will abolish the practice of forming a small committee to deliberate on institutional amendments. There are many departments, many agencies who advocate for changes to the budget. But at the same time, we have to navigate through 317 congressmen, each representing their particular districts. How do we address that?" Suansing said. The budget amendments review subcommittee "will be tasked with facilitating and deliberating on proposed amendments submitted by agencies and our colleagues in the House,' she added. 'Ngayon po, iba na. Sa simula pa ng po ng budget process, pagkatanggap namin ng NEP [National Expenditure Program] o di kaya pag nagsimula tayo sa mother committee [Appropriations] hearings, tumatakbo po 'yung subcommittee on budget amendments review. Tuloy-tuloy 'yung mga deliberasyon, at yung mga deliberasyon po, bukas sa publiko... nakikita ng ating mga kababayan ano 'yung mga pinapanukala na mga amendments, ano 'yung deliberasyon at higit sa lahat ano 'yung mga aaprobahan at ipapasok sa ating panukalang budget,' Suansing added. (It is different now. Right at the start of the budget process, upon receiving the proposed budget, the subcommittee will also start its deliberations and these deliberations will be publicly accessible. The public will be aware of the proposed amendments, what happened during deliberations, and most importantly, what are the approved amendments in the budget.) Suansing said that the budget amendments review subcommittee will vote on which amendments to accept, subject to the approval of its mother committee, Appropriations. 'Wala na pong tagong komite. Lahat ng deliberasyon ay isasapubliko na po natin. Tatanggalin na natin lahat ng kurtina para maalis na ang mga pangamba ng ating mga kababayan. From now on, the people will witness the process in real time because this is their budget,' she said. (There is no more secret committee. All deliberations will be publicly available. We will open all curtains so the public can be assured that public funds are well spent.) In addition, Suansing said that the creation of the House subcommittee on Budget Amendments Review which proceedings will be publicly accessible is in accordance with Speaker Martin Romualdez's call for opening the proposed budget deliberations to the public. 'This isn't about optics, it's about outcomes. These changes aren't just procedural. They are political, moral, and constitutional commitments to restore the Filipino people's faith in how public funds are handled,' she said. — BM, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
29-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Mika Suansing is chairperson of House appropriations committee
Suansing, 33, earned her Master's Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University as a full scholar in 2021, and also served as the senior vice chairperson of the House Committee on Ways and Means during the 19th Congress. Nueva Ecija Rep. Michaela Suansing was elected the chairperson of the powerful House Committee on Appropriations on Tuesday night. Suansing's election happened after the House, in a plenary session, adopted the motion put forward by House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, the son of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The President, in his State of the Nation Address on Monday, said that he would veto items in the General Appropriations Act in 2026 if they are found inconsistent with the National Expenditure Program submitted by the executive branch. Suansing, 33, earned her Master's Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University as a full scholar in 2021, and also served as the senior vice chairperson of the House Committee on Ways and Means during the 19th Congress. Other House members elected as chairpersons of influential House committees include: Davao de Oro Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora - House Committee on Accounts Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores - House Committee on Dangerous Drugs Manila Rep. Joel Chua - House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante, Jr. - House Committee on Human Rights Cagayan de Oro Rep. Lordan Suan - House Committee on Public Information Manila Rep. Rolando Valeriano - House Committee on Public Order and Safety Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo - the House Committee on Ways and Means –NB, GMA Integrated News
