Bicam livestream likened to ‘rigged wrestling match’
After the President announced on Wednesday that he had convinced Congress to livestream the bicameral conference on the 2026 national budget for greater transparency, the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives called the move a sign that “the government is feeling immense pressure from the people’s anger.”
At the same time, the livestreaming would likely illustrate to the public a matrix of the differences between the House and the Senate versions of the proposed 2026 national budget and also lead to an understanding of the scope of congressional facilities, like unprogrammed appropriations (UA).
“Livestreaming the bicam would be like broadcasting a wrestling match that everyone knows is rigged. The pork allocations of the President and the legislators will survive intact,” ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said.
“Livestreaming won’t remove the pork in the 2026 national budget,” said Gabriela Women’s Rep. Sarah Jane Elago. “Even if we livestream the bicam, UA will still be there.”
The UA consists of budget items that do not have a ready allocation and must meet several criteria before being released, such as government revenues exceeding their targets.
Under Mr. Marcos, the UA has swelled to P807.16 billion, a swelling criticized due to the inclusion of key priority projects, particularly infrastructure programs. In the 2024 budget, transportation projects and a portion of the military’s modernization budget were also placed under the UA.
The Makabayan bloc also questioned why the administration was willing to open the bicam to the public, but not the proceedings of the newly formed Independent Commission on Infrastructure, which is looking into alleged corruption in flood control projects.
House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy earlier said he backed President Marcos’ call to open traditionally closed-door bicameral conference deliberations to the public.
In the Senate, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said that for the first time, the General Appropriations Bill for 2026 has been uploaded in a digital format for easier public access.
