Senator Imee Marcos is set to write a "love letter" to Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero and Senate Finance Committee Chairperson Senator Grace Poe to address concerns regarding the bicameral conference committee procedures on the national budget which, for her, requires some changes.

During the Kapihan sa Senado forum on Thursday, Oct. 17, Marcos expressed dismay anew over the so-called insertion of P12 billion in the Commission on Elections (Comelec) budget as well as P26 billion for the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program or AKAP under the Department of Social Welfare and Development in 2024.

"Nagda-draft nga ako ng love letter ngayon tungkol sa proseso ng bicam. Kasi masyado kong pinersonal 'yung mga pinuslit d'yan sa bicam. Kung bakit naman yung subcommittee talaga na hawak ko...eh talagang nasingitan ng kung ano-ano nung 2024 (I'm drafting a love letter today about the bicameral process. Because I took very personally the things that were introduced in the bicam. It puzzles why it was put in the subcommittee I'm handling... a lot were insertedi in 2024)," she said.

This insertion to Comelec was a last-minute addition to the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) that was susupposedly earmarked for a plebiscite.

During the hearing for DSWD's proposed budget for 2025 Marcos said that they've been accused in the Senate of actually having participated in AKAP simply because they lent their electronic signatures to the final bicameral report which became the GAA 2024. 

The AKAP was spelled out in the GAA as a line item. 

"But in truth and in fact, as you well know we were never made aware of this program and it was never requested in the first place by the DSWD," Marcos said.

For Marcos, she does not want this incident to happen again.

"Nagla-love letter ako sa bicam kasi nga ayoko na maullit. Sinasabi ko nga kung maaari yung proseso ng bicam baguhin natin medyo gandahan naman natin ng konti. Transparency and accountability naman ng konti (I don't want a repeat of it. I'm saying that if possible, we can change the bicam process and make it a bit better. There should be a bit more transparency and accountability)," she added.

She also stressed that it should not just be a mere "picture-taking" of the officials involved.

"Sana naman may konting diskusyon at least yung major changes. Debatihin naman natin sa maayos na bicam (There should at least be a discussion on the major changes. A proper debate should be made in the bicam)," she added.

Marcos also expressed openness to having the bicam proceedings live.

"Alam ko marami sa aking kasamahan ayaw niyan. Ako para sa akin bakit hindi, tutal yung mga subcommittee hearings naka-livestream ganun din yung plenaryo (I think that many of my colleagues disagree with it. For me, I'm open to that especially since the subcommittee hearings are live-streamed just like the plenary sessions)," she added.

Escudero said that he would wait for her letter and relay it to Poe who can discuss it with her members and House counterparts at the proper time.

Poe said that she would wait for her letter and reply accordingly.