Lawmakers on OVP's 2025 budget: 'We will give what is necessary'

How much should the Office of Vice President Sara Duterte get for its 2025 budget?

So far, lawmakers could not say.

Instead, they assured that the OVP under Duterte will get a 2025 budget that will be "responsive to her office’s mandate."

House Deputy Majority Leader Jude Acidre of Tingong party-list, House Assistant Majority Leaders Pablo Ortega of La Union and Zia Adiong of Lanao del Sur, and 1-Rider party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez made the response after the Vice President accused the House of Representatives of moving to defund or reduce the proposed P2 billion budget of the OVP for 2025.

“The position of the Vice President is an office that we need to respect. We can only hope that the same respect that we give her at her office is reciprocated. Fortunately, with her absence, it tells otherwise," said Acidre.

"But nonetheless, we will give what is necessary for the office of the Vice President,” he added.

The absence of Duterte and the entire OVP before a budget deliberation happened after the Vice President refused to answer the lawmakers' questions during the first day of OVP budget deliberations, particularly on her office's use of confidential funds and the notice of disallowance that the Commission on Audit issued on OVP's use of P73 million of its confidential funds in 2022.

Acidre also said that he “would support any moves to ensure that the office of the Vice President is given the funds needed to carry out its constitutional mandate, and to make sure that the role [of the Vice President] is given the resources it requires.”

'Anything is possible'

Adiong, the designated sponsor of OVP’s proposed budget, said that "anything is possible" at this point.

“Anything is possible [going forward]. The important thing here is to understand what is the appropriate budget for the OVP so it can carry out its mandate,” Adiong said.

Adiong also said that he is ready to do his best in defending the OVP's proposed budget if no one from the OVP attends the next hearing.

“Whatever documents that we have in our possession, we will use that. I mean, I cannot extend beyond what is my duty. But I can give, as a way, a response to those members who may have some questions about the budget....I will base my answers on the documents that I have in my possession,” explained Adiong.

Ortega and Gutierrez, for their part, said that the OVP’s utilization of its budget in years 2023 and 2022 will be considered in coming up with a recommended budget for the OVP.

“There’s the utilization rate. For example, one part of its budget is to provide assistance. Why would you give a large budget to that part of the assistance when it is not being used [in previous years]. It must be responsive to the needs and the mandate of the office of the Vice President,” Ortega said.

“I think it really doesn't matter if it involves an ally [of the administration] or not. It applies to all agencies. Our mandate here is to exercise the power of the purse, and make sure that whatever the office, they would  have what they need to carry [out] their constitutional mandate,” Gutierrez added.

Nothing personal

During the same press conference, the lawmakers said they won’t let the Vice President’s unsavory comments on the House get in the way of their job of providing an appropriate budget for all agencies.

“She is second highest official of the land. We may disagree with her, we may feel slighted with her personal actions but nonetheless, we are duty bound to uphold the Constitution and the Constitution apportioned that position in our system of governance,” Acidre said.

“We are all elected officials of the people so we will give her the the courtesy that the office demands and the office requires,” Acidre added.

Adiong, meanwhile, also dismissed the Vice President’s claims that the budget deliberations is being politicized.

“The ones who are accusing us of politicking are the ones who are actually doing the politicking. Let's go back to the basics of why we are holding this committee briefing, committee deliberation. It’s part of our mandate,” Adiong said.

“This is not about the 2028 polls because that's a long way to go. What is immediate to us is and for the entire bureaucracy of this country to operate. And for this country to really operate, we have to get the budget approved and address the needs of our people with that budget.” --VAL, GMA Integrated News