MANILA – Senate Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III expressed full support for Concurrent Joint Resolution No. 4, filed by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian and backed by several sponsors, which seeks to strengthen transparency in the national budget process.

Sotto said the proposal complements Senate Joint Resolution No. 1, which he earlier filed with five other senators to promote openness in bicameral conference committee proceedings.

To reinforce the resolution’s objectives, he proposed an amendment: “To afford the public transparency and access to the budget process, the Senate and House of Representatives will ensure that digital livestreaming is available and readily accessible to the public in all budget deliberations.”

According to Sotto, livestreaming will allow Filipinos to view budget deliberations in real time and revisit them anytime, fostering greater accountability.

While advocating for openness, he also stressed the need for caution in handling sensitive information.

He told Gatchalian that while the public may criticize and give feedback on deliberations and bicameral proceedings, these inputs must undergo strict vetting to protect the integrity of the process.

Gatchalian assured: “Internally, since this will be through our email system, and this will not be published for data privacy purposes, the receiver, the Senate, will vet the feedback we receive. We will process and vet that very carefully.”

Sotto replied, “I like that phrase ‘very carefully’ because I want to be assured that no foreign entities or militant organizations will use the published information in a way that might compromise our national security.”

He reiterated that transparency and national security must go hand in hand to maintain public trust while safeguarding the nation’s welfare, especially its budget.