The House Committee on Appropriations unanimously recommended Thursday a significant reduction in the proposed 2025 budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, senior vice chairperson of the panel, said they are planning to realign an estimated P1-billion worth of public funds from the social services budget of the OVP to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Health (DOH).
According to Quimbo, the OVP’s proposed P2-billion budget was reduced to P1.293-billion. They are recommending an allocation of P733.2 million to Vice President Sara Duterte, similar to the budget received by her predecessor Leni Robredo.
Quimbo explained that the committee considered the overlapping social programs and issues with fund utilization. “We thought, why not transfer these funds to government agencies with proven track records?” she said in Tagalog during a press conference.
The budget cut will most likely affect the OVP’s capacity to finance its public assistance and professional services, as well as utility and lease expenses.
“The OVP has a lot of offices (occupied), unlike the previous vice presidents who have only maintained a single office. This is the reason why lease expenses have amounted to P53 million,” Quimbo told reporters.
Quimbo said that the OVP is allowed to accept donations from private entities, saying there is a provision for the agency to secure them.
“However, if those donations come from foreign governments, they must need to secure a clearance from the Office of the President,” she clarified.
The issue on the use of confidential funds are now ‘out of the way’ as these have become moot and academic since last year.
Quimbo said that the budget cut for the OVP was a unanimous decision by the House committee. However, the process will still go through the plenary debates in Congress until it reaches the President’s approval or veto on a line-item basis. –With Rolando Ng III
