House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III has expressed his full backing to the proposed livestreaming of the Bicameral Conference Committee meetings on the proposed ₱6.793-trillion national budget for 2026. “‘Yan din naman ang gusto namin ever since noong tayo ay na-elect bilang Speaker. ‘Yan ang ating commitment sa ating mga kababayan — maging accountable and transparent ‘yung ating budget for next year,” Dy said in a radio interview Wednesday, Oct. 13 (That’s what we’ve wanted ever since we were elected as Speaker. That’s our commitment to our fellow citizens — for our budget for next year to be accountable and transparent.) The proposal to open the traditionally closed-door bicam hearings to the public was first floated by Dy\'s predecessor, Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez, earlier in the ongoing 20th Congress. The move was meant to dispel long-standing suspicions "insertions" during the final stages of the budget process. The bicam hearings are jointly held by select House members and senators. Dy said the House has already implemented similar pro-transparency measures through the creation of the Budget Amendment and Revision Subcommittee (BARSc), which replaced the old “small committee” that used to privately review amendments to the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or budget measure after plenary approval in the House The BARSc, Dy explained, institutionalized the process and made budget deliberations more open to public scrutiny by allowing broader participation from House members, agencies, and even civil society representatives. “Kaya naman doon din naitatag ang BARSc — unang pagkakataon na naging mas bukas at transparent ang ating pagdinig sa budget (That’s also why the BARSc was established — the first time our budget hearings have been more open and transparent),” Dy said. “Kasi nakikinig din po kami sa mga kahilingan at daing ng ating mga civil society kung papaano pa po natin maibabalik ang pagtitiwala ng ating mga mamamayan. ‘Yan naman ang gusto namin — ang atin pong Kongreso ay pagkatiwalaan nila,” added the Isabela 6th district congressman. (Because we also listen to the requests and pleas of our civil society on how we can restore the trust of our people. That’s what we want — for our Congress to be trusted by them.) The proposed 2026 outlay was approved on third and final reading by the House of Representatives last Monday, Oct. 13. Unprogrammed appropriations Dy, in the same interview, assured the public that the ₱249-billion unprogrammed appropriations (UA) under the 2026 GAB will be lawful, transparent and strictly regulated. He said it would act only as a fiscal reserve that can be used when government revenues exceed targets. “Ang [UA] ay reserbang pondo ng ating pamahalaan. Hindi po ito kasama sa kabuuan ng proposed budget for next year na nagkakahalaga ng ₱6.793 trillion (The [UA] are reserve funds of our government. These are not included in the total proposed budget for next year, which amounts to ₱6.793 trillion),” Dy clarfied. He said the amount—equivalent to around 3.6 percent of next year\'s GAB—is well within the 5-percent ceiling set by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) These funds, Dy noted, may only be tapped if there are excess revenues, new taxes or finalized foreign loan-assisted projects. He said the House has already removed infrastructure projects like roads, bridges and flood control from the unprogrammed list and reallocated the funds to education, health and social protection. He gave assurances that the UA will not be subject to abuse or misuse, noting that the House has imposed multiple layers of safeguards. “May mga control measures po tayong inihanda (We\'ve readied control measures),” the Speaker said.