SA pagtalalay ng Kamara de Representantes sa panukalang P6.793 trilyong budget para sa 2026, iginiit ni Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. na ang pagiging transparent ng proseso ng paggawa ng budget at titiyak din ng pananagutan sa gagawing paggastos nito upang maprotektahan ang pondo ng taumbayan.

Ayon kay Abante “transparency is important because the goal is accountability.”

“Accountability means making sure that every peso collected from our people in taxes is translated into programs, services, and opportunities that they can actually feel.”

Sinabi ni Abante, chairman ng House Committee on Human Rights, na pagkaroon ng pananagutan sa paggastos ay pagbibigay ng proteksyon at pagtupad sa pangunahing karapatan ng mga Pilipino.

“The right to education, the right to health, the right to decent housing, the right to food security—these are not privileges, these are rights,” sabi pa ng mambabatas.

“That is why when we scrutinize this budget, we are not concerned just with counting pesos and centavos; we are measuring whether we are meeting the needs of our kababayan,” dagdag pa nito.

Nagpahayag din ng suporta si Abante sa pangako ni House Speaker Martin Romualdez na ang isasagawang budget hearings ay inklusibo, transparent, at bukas sa publiko.

“The promise of Bagong Pilipinas will only be realized if transparency leads to accountability, and if accountability leads to service,” saad pa nito.

“As Scripture reminds us in Luke 16:10, ‘He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.’ Faithfulness in budget stewardship is what transforms numbers on paper into classrooms, hospitals, food on the table, and roofs over the heads of our people.”

Sinimulan ng Kamara ang pagtalakay sa panukalang budget sa briefing na ibinigay ng Development Budget Coordination Committee noong Lunes.