CSO rejects observer role, urges citizen voice in budget

Budget watchdog Social Watch Philippines said it will not seek accreditation as an observer in the House budget deliberations, citing limited opportunities for meaningful public participation under the newly adopted interim guidelines for civil society engagement.

“We appreciate the House of Representatives’ effort to promote citizens’ participation. However, the interim rules under House Resolution No. 94 still fall short. As currently framed, civil society and grassroots submissions will only be ‘accepted and noted’ without the chance for full discussion,” said SWP co-convenor Jessica Reyes-Cantos.

She added that the requirement for accreditation further reduces public involvement to a token exercise.

SWP said it had previously proposed measures to strengthen citizen participation, such as recognizing civil society organizations as resource persons during budget hearings and allotting time for sectoral and community-driven proposals.

These recommendations were not included in the interim rules.

“Amid widespread corruption and misuse of public funds, Filipinos deserve more than ceremonial engagements,” Reyes-Cantos said.

“True transparency allows citizens to voice their concerns and scrutinize how their money is spent.”

In a letter to Speaker Martin Romualdez, SWP called for confidence-building measures to prove Congress’ sincerity in promoting transparency in the budget process.

These include:

• The early passage of House Joint Resolution No. 2, which outlines mechanisms for an Open Bicam;
• The adoption of House Concurrent Resolution No. 5, which details budget documents—such as transcripts of briefings, committee reports, journals, and bicam reports—that must be made publicly accessible; and
• Making the Second and Third Reading versions of the General Appropriations Bill available in machine-readable formats such as Excel.

SWP noted that the Senate has already passed Concurrent Resolution No. 4, the counterpart of the House version, proving that such reforms are both feasible and timely.

“We may actually accept an observer role if these transparency measures are implemented, because then we can make our analysis quickly and share it with the public,” Reyes-Cantos said.

Despite stepping back from the current proceedings, SWP reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, accountability, and inclusivity in public finance.

The group urged Congress to build on past good practices and implement immediate reforms to ensure taxpayer money is spent according to the people’s needs and priorities.