The House of Representatives will attempt to do more than just approve the proposed national budget in a timely manner starting Monday, Aug. 18.

Perhaps just as important, it will try to change the narrative that--whether fairly or unfairly--has been the bane of House members' existence since late last year.

Causing the lower chamber's demonization has been the narrative that it fiddled too much with Malacañang's 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP), and in the process compromised the allocations of key agencies like the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and Department of Education (DepEd).

Deputy Speaker Antipolo City 1st district Rep. Rolando "Ronnie" Puno--who wasn't even a congressman when the 2025 national budget was crafted--recently spoke against this and wondered out loud if the other legislative chamber--the Senate--had something to do with the disputed movements in the budget measure.

“Yan ang pinadala sa Senado. Ngayon, ang finally lumabas na GAA (General Appropriations Act), natanggal ‘yung PhilHealth fund. Nabawasan ‘yung [DepEd], nadagdagan ang public works budget,” Puno said last week, referring to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

(That's what was sent to the Senate. Now, in the final GAA, the PhilHealth fund was removed, the DepEd fund was reduced, and public works budget swelled.)

“Totoo ba yung sinasabi ni Senator [Tito] Sotto na napunta lahat ‘yan sa Senado at sa liderato ng Senado? Gusto rin namin malaman kasi ang House ang sinisisi,” added Puno, obviously fed up from the House being treated as a punching bag.

(Is it true what Senator [Tito] Sotto is saying—that all of it went to the Senate and the Senate leadership? We also want to know, because the House is being blamed.)

The answer to this question notwithstanding, it's also quite telling that nobody called the bluff of House Speaker Martin Romualdez when he proposed to open to the public the traditionally closed-door Bicameral Conference Committee hearings on the budget, which contingents from both the House and Senate attend.

Of course, Romualdez wasn't bluffing at all. In fact he even doubled down on his pro-transparency reforms.

Aside from giving the public access to the bicam hearings, he abolished the "small committee" that incorporated individual House members' amendments to budget bill, and allowed the participation of civil society organizations (CSOs) as non-voting observers in the public hearings of the Committee on Appropriations.

On the eve of the hearings, Romualdez reiterated his commitment that the budget deliberations would be transparent and inclusive, and would adhere to the reforms the House has decided to introduce in the budget enactment and execution process.

“We want not only to inform but to involve the public, because the national budget is the people’s money. It should benefit them all. Kung ang pinag-uusapan ay ang pera ng taong bayan, dapat taong bayan din ang nakakaalam at makikinabang. Wala tayong itatago są kanila (If we're talking about the people's money, then the people should also be informed and benefit from it. We will not hide anything from them),” the Speaker said.

The 2026 NEP worth P6.793 trillion is 7.4 percent higher than the enacted 2025 national budget of P6.326 trillion budget.

The appropriations panel is being chaired in the 20th Congress by Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing. She is a 33-year-old Harvard University graduate.

One of the more promising members of the House of Representatives' "Young Guns" bloc, Suansing showed her earnestness with her new designation when she move up the deliberations on the NEP from Sept. 1 to this Monday, Aug. 18.

On Monday morning, the appropriations panel will kick off the discussions on the NEP with the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC). Romualdez is expected to welcome DBCC members to the House hearings.

Expected to attend are the agencies that comprise the DBCC and their respective heads. These are the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) led by Secretary Amenah Pangandaman; Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPD) led by Secretary Arsenio Balisacan; Department of Finance (DOF) led by Secretary Ralph Recto; and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) led by Governor Eli Remolona Jr.

Also slated to be discussed this week are the proposed budgets of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) as they appear on the 2026 NEP.

The NEP is the basis of what will become the GAA.