Navotas City lone district Rep. Toby Tiangco is still demanding for transparency in the House of Representatives despite the recent change in leadership in the 300-plus strong legislative chamber.

In a recent press conference, Tiangco called out the House Committee on Appropriations for allegedly ignoring his request for the House website to display the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget per congressional district as well as projects endorsed by party-list lawmakers.

“No’ng Oct. 13, sabi ko nga, I requested na i-publish sa website ng House of Representatives ‘yong budget per congressional district at budget per party-list, at kung saan ito napunta,” Tiangco said.

“On Oct.13, as I said, I requested that the budget per congressional district and per party-list, and where it went, be published on the website of the House of Representatives)

“Pero hanggang ngayon, wala pa ring nakapost. Bakit ba ayaw i-post ito? Ano ba ‘yong tinatago? Kung hindi nila pinost ‘to, hindi totoo ‘yong sinasabing transparency,” an irate Tiangco last Nov. 6 in a press conference that was organized and livestreamed by the House of Representatives.

(But until now, nothing has been posted. Why are they refusing to post it? What are they hiding? If they didn’t post it, then the claim of transparency isn’t true.)

Tiangco said he already wrote to House Appropriations Committee chairperson Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing to ask for updates. He sounded offended by her supposed lack of response.

“On Oct. 20, sumulat ako kay Chairwoman Cong. Mika Suansing, pero hanggang ngayon, wala pa rin akong natatanggap na update. Section 5(a) of Republic Act 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, states that all public officials shall ‘act promptly on letters and requests," he said.

(On Oct. 20, I wrote to Chairwoman Cong. Mika Suansing, but until now, I still haven’t received any update. Section 5(a) of Republic Act 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, states that all public officials shall “act promptly on letters and requests.)

"It further provides that ‘all public officials and employees shall, within fifteen (15) working days from receipt thereof, respond to letters, telegrams, or other means of communication sent by the public. The reply must contain the action taken on the request,’” Tiangco added.

“Lampas na yung 15 days at dapat may sagot na siya sa akin. But as of now, wala pa ring sagot at wala pa ring publication sa website ng Congress kung ano ‘yong budget per district at party-list,” he further said.

(The 15-day period has already passed and I should have received a response by now. But as of now, there is still no reply and still no publication on the Congress website showing the budget per district and per party-list.)

Tiangco said publishing the list is important so the public can see which representative pushed for a specific project. He noted two projects in Navotas worth ₱3 million each that neither he nor the district engineer requested.

“May dalawang projects sa Navotas na tig-₱3 million na hindi naman ni-request ng LGU, barangay, city health, o DPWH district engineer. Naging transparent daw sa proseso ng budget, pero sa end result, ayaw i-publish sa website. Ang tanong, ano bang tinatago dito at ayaw ipakita ‘yon?” he asked.

(There are two projects in Navotas worth ₱3 million each that were not requested by the LGU, barangay, city health office, or the DPWH district engineer. They claim the budget process was transparent, but in the end, they refuse to publish it on the website. The question is, what are they hiding and why won’t they show it?)

Tiangco--who eyed the House Speakership at the beginning of the current 20th Congress--had been seeking transparency and accountability in connection with the issues of budget insertions and the flood control projects corruption scandal.

Last Sept. 17, Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez resigned as House Speaker. He was replaced by Isabela 6th district Rep. Faustino "Bojie" Dy III.