Senator Imee Marcos raised concerns over the supposed absence of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget during the first day of the Bicameral Conference Committee hearings on the proposed 2026 national budget on Saturday, Dec. 13.

During the proceedings, Marcos appeared puzzled after failing to find any reference to the DPWH budget in the briefer provided to conferees. She sais that she could not find the agency's budget in any of the materials.

She questioned why, despite repeated calls for transparency, the DPWH budget was not included in the nine-page summary of the reconciliation of disagreeing provisions in the General Appropriations Bill (GAB), or other documents distributed to lawmakers.

“Kung talagang transparency ang habol natin bakit wala rito ang pinagmulan ng pagpopoot at kawalang kumpiyansa ng taumbayan sa atin? (If transparency is truly what we’re after, why is the root of the public’s anger and loss of trust in us not included here?)” she asked.

“Dapat mag-umpisa ang usapin dito sa public works pero wala sa anumang papel (The discussion should begin with public works, but it does not appear in any document),” she added.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Senator Sherwin Gatchalian responded by saying that the DPWH was scheduled for discussion the following day, Sunday.

“Ang schedule po ng DPWH ay bukas po (The DPWH is scheduled for tomorrow),” Gatchalian said.

Marcos, however, pressed on, and asked how lawmakers could properly compare budgets across departments if the DPWH was excluded from the current discussions.

“Paano natin malalaman at maihahambing ang iba’t ibang mga department kung may kulang? (How can we know and compare the different departments if there are missing items?)” said Marcos, who noted that the DPWH figures were the one missing among the different agencies.

Gatchalian explained that other budget items were also slated for discussion at a later time, including special purpose funds and unprogrammed appropriations.

“Actually, may mga ibang items pa ho na bukas pa itatalakay katulad po ng mga special purpose fund, unprogrammed appropriations (Actually, there are still other items that will be discussed tomorrow, such as the special purpose funds and unprogrammed appropriations),” he said.

Sounding unconvinced, Marcos pointed out that unprogrammed appropriations were already included in the documents.

She further argued that lawmakers could have been given the documents earlier, given the size of the committee report.

“Kung tatalakayin bukas maaaring ibigay sa amin nang mas maaga pagkat yung committee report kung maaalala ko e mahigit isang libo at limang daang pahina (If these will be discussed tomorrow, they could have been given to us earlier, because as I recall, the committee report runs to more than one thousand five hundred pages),” Marcos said.

Gatchalian acknowledged the concern and assured her that the documents would be provided "in advance".

Gatchalian assured the committee that the DPWH budget would be furnished to all conferees.