MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers belonging to the National Unity Party (NUP), one of the largest political blocs in the House of Representatives, have expressed their willingness to publicly disclose the details of their district allocations and recommended projects for the proposed 2027 national budget.
House Deputy Speaker and Antipolo City 1st District Representative Ronaldo “Ronnie” Puno made the commitment following a dialogue with the People’s Budget Coalition (PBC), which has been pushing for increased transparency throughout the national budget process.
“We fully support that, in fact today, I made a disclosure and explanation to the [PBC] on my district specifically,” Puno said, noting that he had already presented the breakdown of funding designated for his own area.
Puno, who chairs the 58-strong NUP bloc, emphasized that transparency is a fundamental obligation for elected officials. He added that all party members are fully prepared to follow suit and open their respective project lists to public scrutiny.
“I informed them that any congressman in the [NUP] is willing to provide them with such details. And we think anybody in Congress has the obligation to do this,” Puno underscored.
The PBC previously called on legislators to explicitly publish lists of budget insertions, identify the project proponents, and outline the justifications for their inclusion.
In response, Puno stated that the NUP is open to requesting the House Committee on Appropriations to publicly reveal the specific lawmakers who recommended these projects.
The House of Representatives previously approved the historic ₱7.2-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for 2027 on third and final reading, with the measure currently undergoing deliberations in the Senate.