The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations voted unanimously to reduce the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) 2025 budget by more than half, citing its redundant social programs and overextended offices.
Marikina City Rep. Stella Quimbo, senior committee vice chairperson, told reporters on Thursday that the panel recommended a reduction of some P1.3 billion, from the P2.037 billion that the OVP was requesting.
This would leave Vice President Sara Duterte with only P733 million to fund the operations of her office next year.
Quimbo said the cuts are being made on allocations for financial assistance and professional services, which in simple terms, is the funding for consultants’ fees, utilities, supplies and materials, and office rentals or leases.
However, she said the appropriation for “personal services” or employees’ salaries, is being retained.
“We are not touching that, we are preserving jobs in the OVP,” she said.
It was pointed out that many of the OVP’s social programs overlap with those being carried out by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Health (DOH).
Quimbo explained that the entire financial assistance (FA) fund of the OVP of P947 million would be transferred to the AICS (Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation) program of the DSWD and the medical assistance program of the DOH, with the two agencies getting an almost equal share of about P646 million.
She stressed that should the OVP require funding for its social work, such as giving out medical, burial and transportation assistance, it could still access the same funds transferred to the DSWD and DOH by communicating its requests to the two departments.
“It [OVP budget] was not used properly and there was redundancy in programs… there were many problems in the implementation [of budgeted programs],” the Marikina solon said in Filipino while citing previous Commission on Audit (COA) reports.
“We will transfer the funds to the DSWD and DOH, but we will ensure that she (Duterte) has enough allocation to the extent that her office can implement [for programs,], she added.
Quimbo noted that the DSWD and the DOH have a much better track record in implementing social programs.
The Marikina lawmaker also pointed out that the OVP under its current leadership maintains 10 satellite offices and two extension offices.
“We want them to return to the spending level in 2022 [during Leni Robredo’s incumbency] when the OVP maintained just one office,” she said.
Quimbo explained that the reductions are presently just recommendations of the committee on appropriations chaired by Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Rizaldy Co, and are subject to the approval of the House of Representatives when the chamber starts plenary debates on the proposed 2025 national budget on September 16.
“There will be another round of amendments (in plenary), and the result will be our [House] recommendation to the Senate. After the Senate’s approval, there is another bicameral [committee] approval. It will go back to the House and Senate for ratification. And then for the President’s approval,” she said.
For his part, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, the OVP’s budget sponsor, said that he will rely on documents he currently has in his possession to answer queries from fellow congressmen defending the OVP’s 2025 budget at the plenary.
He will be forced to do so should Duterte steadfastly refuse to show up in budget deliberations for her office.
“Whatever documents we have in our possession, we will use that. I mean, I cannot extend beyond my duty. I am not the spokesperson of the Office of the Vice President. So, I cannot infuse my own opinion and my personal stand on matters relating to her budget. I will base my answers on the documents that I have in my possession,” he said in a mixture of Filipino and English.
It can be recalled that Duterte did not show up during the Sept. 10 hearing of the House Committee on Appropriations on the OVP budget proposal.
At the Upper Chamber, Senate President Francis Escudero said the battle of egos over the OVP’s 2025 budget must end even if offers a respite from the usually boring budget deliberations in Congress.
“I hope the seeming impasse between the OVP [ and House] can be resolved,” he said.
“Either [they] take a step back, set aside their differences and biases, and simply follow the process or… Congress, in the exercise of its wisdom, [can] decide on this and other related matters by a vote,” he added.
