The House of Representatives has released details of its revised schedule of per agency hearings on the P7.2-trillion 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) or proposed national budget.

This, even as House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing said Wednesday, Aug. 19 that the panel remained on track to complete its budget deliberations based on its original timetable.

“We have adjusted our schedule to make up for the hearings that could not proceed because of the inclement weather. We have a responsibility to thoroughly scrutinize the proposed national budget, but we also have a timetable to meet. We intend to do both,” Suansing said in a statement.

The appropriations panel technically launched the 2027 NEP deliberations last Monday, Aug. 17 by holding a briefing with the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).

And then, the heavy rains and floods struck the metropolis and other parts of Luzon.

Under the revised schedule, budget briefings will resume on Monday, Aug. 24, with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Justice (DOJ), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and Department of Science and Technology (DOST) scheduled to face the appropriations panel.

The revised calendar compresses several agency briefings into each hearing day, with simultaneous hearings in different venues when necessary.

Under the current schedule, committee-level budget hearings will run through Sept. 8.

Among the departments and agencies scheduled to appear next week are the Department of National Defense (DND), Office of the Ombudsman, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), and Commission on Audit (COA) on Aug. 25; the Department of Public Works and Highways (DSWD), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Aug. 26; and the Office of the President (OP), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), and Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Aug. 27.

Hearings will continue in September, covering major agencies including the Departments of Agriculture, Health, Energy, Transportation, Education, Social Welfare and Development, and Labor and Employment, as well as the Office of the Vice President (OVP), judiciary and other constitutional offices.

Suansing says the committee is also building enough flexibility into its calendar to account for possible further disruptions without sacrificing the quality of congressional scrutiny or jeopardizing the House timetable for the budget.

"We know there may be other circumstances beyond our control that could affect the schedule. We are factoring those possibilities into our planning now so that, even if adjustments become necessary, we can still meet our target for completing the budget process."

The Nueva Ecija lawmaker had earlier pencilled Oct. 9 as the House's target for the third and final reading passage of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB)--the legislative equivalent of the NEP.

The appropriation panel chairperson says that keeping the process on schedule does not mean rushing agency officials or limiting lawmakers’ opportunity to examine their spending proposals.

“Hindi natin isasakripisyo ang masusing pagsusuri sa budget para lamang makahabol sa schedule.

(We will not sacrifice the thorough scrutiny of the budget just to be able to stick to the schedule.)

"What we are doing is managing our time better and making the necessary adjustments early so that every agency can still be properly scrutinized and every peso in the proposed budget can be properly accounted for,” explained Suansing.

She added that the House leadership and the appropriations panel recognize the importance of completing their work on time to provide sufficient opportunity for plenary deliberations and the succeeding stages of the budget process.

“Our goal remains the same: a budget that is carefully and transparently examined, responsive to the needs of our people, and approved on time. We will make the adjustments necessary to get there without compromising the work that Congress is expected to do," she said.