MANILA — Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan expressed confidence that the bicameral conference committee (bicam) deliberating the 2026 national budget will be transparent and open to public scrutiny.

Filed at the start of the 20th Congress, Joint Senate Resolution No. 1, authored by Pangilinan and co-signed by Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Risa Hontiveros, Bam Aquino, Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda, and Juan Miguel Zubiri, emphasizes the public’s right to information, accountability, and integrity in government. The resolution mandates livestreaming of bicam proceedings for full transparency.

In a press briefing on December 10, Pangilinan stressed that vigilance is essential as budget deliberations reach the final stages. “Kaya nga, bantayan natin yung bicam. Tiyakin natin na hindi na maulit yung mga insertions na nangyari noon at maging transparent lahat. So open bicam, dapat tiyakin yan para kwentas klaras — everything is transparent,” he said.

The bicam committee convened on December 12 to reconcile conflicting provisions of the House and Senate versions of the 2026 general appropriations bill. Pangilinan, a committee member, highlighted his efforts to ensure transparency in the budgets of the Department of Agriculture (DA), its attached agencies, and the judiciary.

He confirmed that the DA and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) will implement transparency portals, dashboards, geotagging, and citizen participatory audits to prevent ghost projects. “I believe at this point na malaki ang naging improvement sa ating proseso ng pag-aapruba ng ating general appropriation measure,” Pangilinan added.

Under Joint Senate Resolution No. 1, the bicam is required to produce a matrix comparing the differences between the Senate and House versions of the budget and comprehensive minutes of all meetings. Both documents will be publicly accessible, and the proceedings will be livestreamed on official channels for the first time.