"Cayetano-led Minority Bloc presses full transparency on 2026 budget amendments"
The Senate Minority bloc led by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday demanded full transparency in the handling of amendments to the proposed 2026 national budget, warning that unclear authorship of major realignments undermines the integrity of the deliberations.
During the period of amendments for House Bill No. 4058 under Committee Report No. 18 or the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for F.Y. 2026 on December 2, Cayetano questioned the appearance of several large adjustments in the committee report without the identities of individuals who proposed them.
“Either we believe in transparency or not. So if we're going to ask members now to propose their individual [amendments], maliliit iyon… Hindi ba dapat malaman natin kung sino ang nag-propose ng mga ito at ang proseso ng pag-a-approve nito?” he said.
Senator Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian, the sponsor of the budget, explained that the committee report itself represents the committee’s amendments to the House version of the GAB, with any subsequent changes falling under individual amendments.
Cayetano pointed out that the chamber still needs clarity on who introduced the major adjustments contained in the committee report, noting that none of the matters raised over the Senate's 11 days of interpellations appeared in the amendments.
“If you're saying now na ito na rin y’ung amendments from the House, I want to point out that parang nabale-wala y’ung interpellation. Having said that, kung ito na y’ung sa House, in the spirit of transparency, I'd like to know who moved [for them],” he said.
_*Minority ‘all the way’ in pushing reforms*_
In a media interview the same day, the Minority Leader also raised the issue of unprogrammed funds, noting that despite earlier discussions that these funds should be avoided due to uncertainty in revenue projections, the committee report still retained a significant amount.
“Since 2023 budget, ang problema natin ay y’ung unprogrammed funds. Pero dito sa version natin meron pa rin. Bakit hindi na lang tanggalin yun?” he said.
He cautioned against passing a budget without fully addressing these issues, saying it would complicate reforms and weaken public confidence.
“Given not only the stigma, the flood control, and also itong unprogrammed funds, kailangan himayin because this is another animal. Until we figure this out may magiging lamat pa rin itong budget na ito,” he said.
Cayetano emphasized that the Minority Bloc is committed to supporting reforms that ensure accountability in the 2026 budget.
“We want to go all the way with the reforms…Anything that’s reformative, anything na dapat ipagbawal, anything that can lead to resolve the present problems ng ating bansa, gusto ng Minority iyon,” he said.
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