THE House committee on appropriations on Tuesday approved the proposed 2017 budget of the Office of the President and the Office of the Vice President, respectively, without fanfare.
The panel, chaired by Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles, approved the proposed P20-billion budget of the OP and the requested OVP’s P428-million budget after their officials were grilled by lawmakers.
Prior to the approval of the Office of the President’s budget proposal, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, an opposition, took note of the “600-percent” increase in next year’s budget of the OP.
The OP’s present allocation is pegged at P2.6 billion.
“There is a tradition that the Office of the President is liberated from questions, and I will adhere to that. But that tradition is not extended to the plenary,” Lagman told the panel.
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno earlier explained the huge increase in the OP’s budget include the P15.4-billion funding for the Philippines’ hosting of the Asean Summit next year.
The budget of the OP also includes the P2 billion for intelligence fund.
On the other hand, the OVP’s proposed budget for next yeat is lower than its current appropriations of P500 million.
Vice President Leni Robredo failed to show up before the appropriations panel to defend her office’s proposed budget for next year.
Nograles said the Vice President apologized for her absence during the budget hearing.
“She wanted to be here if not for the schedule conflicts, but she really wanted to,” Nograles said.
“She’s a former member of the House, she knows how important this is. She sends her apology, if there was no conflict in schedule, she would have been here,” Nograles added.