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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider LOOK: House contingent "pushes through" with budget bicam hearing, faces empty seats

LOOK: House contingent "pushes through" with budget bicam hearing, faces empty seats

Published Dec 15, 2025 06:03 pm

At A Glance

  • The House of Representatives contingent to the Bicameral Conference Committee hearings on the 2026 national budget decided to "push through" with the scheduled proceedings on Monday afternoon, Dec. 15 despite the cancellation of their Senate counterparts.
(Screenshot from Facebook livestream)
(Screenshot from Facebook livestream)


The House of Representatives contingent to the Bicameral Conference Committee hearings on the 2026 national budget decided to "push through" with the scheduled proceedings on Monday afternoon, Dec. 15 despite the cancellation of their Senate counterparts.
As of this posting, 10 out of 11 the conferees were present at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, which served as the venue of the hearings in the past two days.
The House's livestreaming of the event showed the House members in their seats, while the seats across from them that were designated to the Senate contingent was empty.
Day three of the hearings were supposed to start at 4 p.m. Monday. Committee on Finance Chairperson Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, the head of the Senate conferees, announced the the cancellation of Monday's hearing just minutes before this. He cited a "deadlock" as the reason for the cancellation.
The House contingent led by Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing were already en route to PICC when news of this broke out.
"On the part of the House, we want the bicam to happen today, to push through," Suansing said in a Zoom interview while she was on her way to the venue.
It is not clear how long the House team will wait for the senators.
During day two of the bicam hearings of the P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for 2026 Sunday, the House members and senators failed to agree on what to do with the Department of Public Works and Highways' (DPWH) request for the restoration of the deducted amounts from the projects in its proposed budget next year.
“Handa po kami na ituloy itong Bicameral Conference Committee proceedings. Iyon po ang kagustuhan namin dahil mayroon po tayong timeline na gusto pong sundin (We are ready to continue these Bicameral Conference Committee proceedings. That is our desire because we have a timeline that we want to follow),” Suansing said in a subsequent press briefing at PICC.
“Bawat araw ay mahalaga para po matapos ang [deliberations sa] budget sa tamang oras (Each day is important so that the [deliberations on the] budget can be finished on time),” stressed Suansing, who added that both chambers have until Dec. 22 to ratify the Bicameral Conference Committee report.
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