House Committee on Public Accounts Chairman Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon is taking it upon himself and his panel to deliver on the promise of oversight on the implementation of the P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026.

"With the signing of the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), congressional oversight and public participation at all levels of budget implementation are now the main drivers to ensure that the national government and its agencies remain committed to transparency and accountability in the use of public funds," Ridon said in a statement Tuesday, Jan. 6.

"The House Public Accounts Committee—the main congressional oversight committee on public expenditure—will work with various departments and agencies in implementing their projects and programs. This includes monitoring and observing procurement activities at every stage and at every level," he said.

On Monday, President Marcos signed in Malacañang the 2026 GAA, the biggest in the country’s history.

House Speaker Faustino "Bojie" Dy III, who personally witnessed the signing, vowed that the chamber would do everything to fulfill its constitutional duty of oversight.

He gave such remarks in the backdrop of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood control projects corruption scandal, which cast lawmakers in a bad light due ro allegations of fat kickbacks from anomalous projects.

Ridon said his panel will press the DPWH to deliver on its commitment to live-stream all procurement activities at the national, regional, and district levels. "We call on other agencies to do the same."

"We will closely monitor the direct implementation by the DepEd (Department of Education) and the DA (Department of Agriculture) of their school-building and farm-to-market road programs, respectively, to ensure that the problems experienced during previous DPWH implementation will not happen again," he said.

"This includes ensuring that blacklisted DPWH contractors will not be able to participate in DepEd and DA procurement activities," noted the lawyer-solon.

He said agencies will also be asked to adopt stricter qualification standards for prospective bidders. An established track record for delivering specific projects should be an indispensable requirement, reckoned Ridon.

"The prohibition on using another entity’s procurement license must be strictly enforced, with corresponding consequences for violations, such as outright blacklisting and the filing of criminal complaints," he said.

"We will also work with the DOH (Department of Health), DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), and other social services agencies to ensure that budget safeguards against political interference in aid distribution and delivery are truly in place," Ridon said.

"We will call on the DBM (Department of Budget and Management), DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology), and GPPB (Government Procurement Policy Board) to assist agencies in effectively shifting to primarily online procurement activities, to limit personnel intervention throughout the process," he added.

The Ridon panel will also work with civil society and people’s organizations to facilitate public participation in monitoring the implementation of the 2026 national budget.

It committed to invite the public to join monitoring activities and budget implementation discussions with various agencies.

"This ensures that the work of budget reform does not end with the signing of the budget—and that it continues until well-built public infrastructure is delivered, cost-effective goods are procured, and social programs efficiently reach every Filipino family," Ridon further said.