Senate and Congress to Reconcile Provisions on 2022 Budget During Bicameral Meeting

The members of the Senate and House of Representatives will address the conflicting provisions in their corresponding versions of the 2022 budget bill that will be held in a bicameral conference meeting in Mandaluyong City.

The task of reviewing and finalizing the General Appropriations Bill will only be done by two persons namely, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support Partylist (ACT-CIS) Representative Eric Yap, his counterpart in the House Appropriations Panel.

According to Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, the two will set up a “small bicam meeting” to address the differences of the respective versions of the budget measures. 

Zubiri stated, “The bicam meeting starts tomorrow morning and we will appoint a small bicam for a quicker discussion and disposition of the budget.”

Zubiri hopes that the House and Senate could formalize the budget by December 8, despite  falling on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. 

Zubiri expressed, “Perhaps we can ratify the budget by next week. Or we could do a special session on Thursday just to ratify if both Houses agree already with a bicam report.”

The venue of the first bicameral meeting will take place in the Garden Ballroom of Edsa Shangri-La as this is considered halfway from the Senate offices and House Complex. 

Contrary to the committee hearings and plenary deliberations, the bicameral budget meeting is not open to the public, aside from the opening and closing ceremony. 

According to Angara’s office, the staff will not be able to entertain the media to follow strict health protocols. 

However, the office will try to provide short clips and photos of the conference and will try to schedule an interview with Senator Angara.