Manila: Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senator Sherwin Gatchalian confirmed that the bicameral conference committee meeting for the proposed 2026 national budget has been rescheduled to December 13. This change aims to provide technical staff from both legislative chambers additional time to align differing entries in the spending measure.

According to Philippines News Agency, the bicameral meeting was originally set for Friday. However, Senate President Sotto stated that the technical teams from the Senate and the House of Representatives requested an extra day to finalize the detailed budget matrix essential for the concluding negotiations.

Sotto explained that the delay was necessary because the technical staff from both the House and the Senate required additional time to create the matrix details and reconcile conflicting provisions and amounts. The current budget documents are disaggregated, and each project includes technical descriptions, which requires careful alignment. Sotto emphasized the Senate's commitment to ensuring that all details and annexes are thoroughly reviewed for transparency purposes, allowing both chambers to carefully examine each other's versions of House Bill No. 4058, also known as the 2026 General Appropriations Act.

Senator Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance, reiterated the need for extra time due to the complexity of this year's budget documentation. He mentioned that the inclusion of project-level entries and technical descriptions has rendered this year's budget reconciliation process more meticulous than in previous years.

The bicameral conference committee, responsible for harmonizing the Senate and House versions of the 2026 General Appropriations Act, is now scheduled to convene on Saturday at the Philippine International Convention Center.