Tiangco urges release of small committee report on budget changes

Navotas City Representative Toby Tiangco asked the House appropriations committee on Monday, August 18, to release the signed small committee report containing names and budget changes for transparency.

Tiangco pressed for immediate access to the document during plenary budget deliberations, threatening that if it wasn't available within five minutes, they were only creating it then.

The small committee's closed-door meetings have been criticized for a lack of proper documentation and public oversight, with its origins dating back to at least 2010.

New appropriations panel chairperson Mika Suansing said Tiangco's request would be reviewed but insisted that the report is already included in the main committee report.

Suansing announced plans to replace the small committee with a sub-committee on budget amendments, composed of senior vice chairs and members nominated by political parties.

Tiangco also raised concerns about independent bloc representation and Suansing's plan to include non-government organizations as non-voting observers in all hearings.