The House of Representatives is moving to establish a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Public Expenditures to closely monitor the implementation of the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), with support from both the majority and minority blocs.

House Deputy Minority Leader Leila de Lima of the Mamamayang Liberal Party-list emphasized that Congress’ work does not end with the enactment of the national budget by President Bongbong Marcos.

She warned that lawmakers should not assume the 2026 GAA is “corruption-free” and called for continued vigilance over government spending.

De Lima pointed out that unprogrammed appropriations, sometimes referred to as “shadow pork,” remain vulnerable to patronage politics. She also noted that, to date, there have been no significant convictions in cases involving the misuse of public funds.

To strengthen budget oversight, De Lima proposed not only the creation of the joint committee but also the passage of the CADENA Act (Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability).

The bill, originally authored by Senator Bam Aquino, has already passed the Senate but still awaits approval in the House. It aims to institutionalize genuine budget reforms.

Under the CADENA Act, a digital budget portal would be established to make government spending transparent, searchable, and traceable throughout the entire budget cycle.

De Lima stressed that this would empower citizens to scrutinize allocations and question suspicious transactions, ensuring greater accountability in the use of public funds.