Senate President Francis Escudero on Wednesday recommended that governors and city mayors be invited to participate in public hearings on the proposed 2026 national budget.
“They have been sidelined for too long. It is now time to give them a seat at the table,” he said.
The move aims to break from the long-standing practice of excluding local government executives from the legislative crafting of the country’s most significant expenditure plan.
Escudero told Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chair of the Committee on Finance, that department and bureau officials routinely appear before the Senate to defend their proposed allocations, while local executives have largely been sidelined.
The Senate chief emphasized that local leaders are the officials responsible for implementing many of the projects funded by the national government. He argued that their participation would allow them to provide insights on whether proposed projects meet the actual needs of their constituents.
“If division heads of small bureaus attend budget hearings, why don’t the leaders of provinces and major cities?” Escudero asked.
One proposed mechanism is requiring the endorsement of Provincial Development Councils and Regional Development Councils for all development projects. Such a system would ensure that local governments are informed of national programs and activities planned for the coming year.
Escudero argued that this approach would foster collaboration between national agencies and local units, increasing transparency and accountability in public spending.
“These are their territories, so they are the ones best positioned to determine whether they are truly needed. Their feedback is too important to be ignored,” he said.
