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Day 1 of open budget bicam hearings lasts over 10 hours

Philippines | National

Day 1 of open budget bicam hearings lasts over 10 hours

By Ellson Quismorio

At A Glance

The first day of the historic open Bicameral Conference Committee hearings on the P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or proposed national budget for 2026 lasted a grueling--but productive--10 hours and 23 minutes.

From left to right: Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing, Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian (Facebook)

From left to right: Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing, Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian (Facebook)

The first day of the historic open Bicameral Conference Committee hearings on the P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or proposed national budget for 2026 lasted a grueling--but productive--10 hours and 23 minutes.

Livestreamed for the public to see for the first time in history, the bicam hearing that began 2:12 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13 was suspended at 12:35 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 14. It was held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.

Among those tackled during day one of the bicam were the budgets of the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Agriculture (DA), and their attached agencies.

While there were lengthy discussions here and there, none of the attending House of Representatives members or senators had to raise their voice to get their point across, making for a very cordial proceedings.

House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing, head of the House contingent; and Senate Committee on Finance Chairperson Senator Sherwin Gatchalian agreed to resume the bicam hearings at around 2 p.m. Sunday.

The budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)--hands down the most controversial agency in this budget cycle--will be taken up in what is expected to be another marathon hearing.

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