MANILA, Philippines — A member of the House of Representatives to the Bicameral Conference Committee (Bicam) for the 2026 budget assured the public that there would be safeguards in the special provisions under the proposed P6.793 trillion General Appropriations Act to ensure that government programs and projects are insulated from politics. In a statement, Paranaque 2nd District Rep. Brian Yamsuan said that the technical staff of the Senate and the House were now working double time to fine-tune the final version of the reconciled budget bill and its accompanying special provisions that were approved by the Bicam panel in deliberations from Dec. 13 to 17. Increases were given to the education sector, which was given a budget of P1.38 trillion, and the allocations to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) amounting P 130 billion. "What is important is that these programs and projects approved by the Bicam are executed properly so that these would be truly felt by the people," Yamsuan said. He further added that the Legislative branch remained a "key partner of the Executive Department to ensure that all programs and projects of the government are truly felt by the people." The lawmaker said that the Bicam put in place safeguards in the implementation of infraastructure projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways, such as requiring clear geographic coordinates and station numbers, and opening a transparency portal to allow the public to scrutinize these projects.