MANILA, Philippines 鈥� While he understands the sentiments of lawmakers about reducing or not giving the Office of the Vice President (OVP) any funding for 2025, House of Representatives Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said it is important that the office has a budget for the next year.
Romualdez in a statement on Wednesday said that they were hoping that Vice President Sara Duterte would accept their invitation for her to attend the plenary debates on the OVP budget, but this gesture was denied three times.
鈥淎s Speaker, I understand the sentiments of some of my colleagues in Congress regarding Vice President Sara Duterte鈥檚 absence from the plenary deliberations on her office鈥檚 budget. She was invited three times, but she did not attend,鈥� Romualdez said in Filipino.
鈥淎s representatives of the people, we expect all government officials to fulfill their duties, especially when it comes to discussions about the national budget,鈥� he added.
Still, Romualdez said it would be unproductive to give the OVP a zero budget, as it is the Filipino people who would suffer from such a move.
鈥淪ome members of Congress have suggested further reducing the budget of the Office of the Vice President, with others proposing to give it zero funding due to her absence. However, I rejected these proposals,鈥� Romualdez said.
鈥淚 understand the frustrations, but I believe it鈥檚 important for the Office of the Vice President to have a sufficient budget to continue serving our constituents. If we eliminate the funding, the citizens will also suffer, especially those who rely on the services of the office,鈥� he added.
According to Romualdez, he consulted several House leaders from different parties about the issue, and they have decided to stick with the P733 million budget proposed by the House committee on appropriations 鈥� a figure that is near to what former Vice President Leni Robredo received.
鈥淭herefore, in accordance with our consultation this afternoon with the political party leaders from the Nacionalista Party (NP), Nationalist People鈥檚 Coalition (NPC), National Unity Party (NUP), Party-list Coalition Foundation, Inc., and others, we have followed the recommendation of the Committee on Appropriations after their thorough review,鈥� Romualdez said.
鈥淭he budget for the OVP will be P733 million, which is almost the same as the budget during Vice President Leni Robredo鈥檚 term. This includes P30 million that will assist the OVP in addressing the impact of rising prices of goods,鈥� he added.
Romualdez said the allocations slashed from the OVP allocations were placed into agencies that implement similar programs, as previously noted by Appropriations Senior Vice Chair and Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo.
READ: 鈥極VP programs moved to agencies that can implement it better鈥�
鈥淪ome of the funds originally requested by the OVP will be allocated to more appropriate agencies, such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Health (DOH). This will rationalize the budget of the OVP,鈥� Romualdez said.
鈥淰ice President Duterte may refer individuals seeking assistance to these relevant agencies. Ultimately, continuous service for the welfare of our constituents is essential, and offices like the OVP require sufficient funding to achieve this,鈥� he added.
Duterte drew flak from lawmakers due to her refusal to attend the plenary debates or for the OVP to send an authorized representative.
On Tuesday, Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Northern Samar 1st District Rep. Paul Daza made a motion to include discussions on OVP鈥檚 budget at the plenary debates scheduled for September 25, Wednesday.
Daza said this will ensure that Duterte鈥檚 office is given another opportunity to be present after she skipped Monday and Tuesday鈥檚 plenary debates.
This comes a day after the House waited for over 17 hours for OVP鈥檚 official representative to aid budget sponsor Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong.
No official OVP representative was also present on Wednesday.
READ: As OVP skips plenary debates anew, House again reschedules talks
This is not the first time that Duterte skipped hearings on her office鈥檚 proposed budget.聽聽Last September 10, at the second round of talks at the House committee on appropriations hearings, neither Duterte nor any member of the OVP showed up to respond to questions.
These absences 鈥� coupled with Duterte鈥檚 refusal to directly answer questions regarding her office鈥檚 past budget utilization 鈥� prompted Rep. Raoul Manuel to call the Vice President鈥檚 actions as a betrayal of public trust.
The OVP was originally allocated a P2.037 billion budget under the National Expenditures Program (NEP), but lawmakers from the House decided to cut this down to just P733 million due to Duterte鈥檚 behavior and revelations that some OVP programs suffered from low budget utilization.
During the budget deliberations also, it was also revealed that some OVP programs suffered from low utilization, like in the case of Magnegosyo Ta Day where only 0.04 percent of funds 鈥� P600,000 out of P150 million 鈥� as of December 2023 were used.
READ: OVP hit for using only 0.4% of its Magnegosyo Ta Day funds