House panel recommends P1.29B cut to OVP's proposed 2025 budget

The House appropriations panel has recommended a P1.29-billion reduction on the Office of Vice President (OVP) Sara Duterte’s proposed P2-billion budget for 2025.

“The Committee on Appropriations yesterday, recommended, to be exact, P733,198 million pesos [for the OVP], which means a [budget] cut of P1.29 billion,” House Committee on Appropriations Senior Vice Chairperson and Marikina Representative Stella Quimbo said in a press conference on Thursday.

Quimbo explained that the decision was made amid the "lack of information" on the proposal.

The lawmaker made the statement when asked if Duterte's absence during the second day of budget deliberations was a factor in the House panel's decision.

“It is really the absence of information. To that extent, her absence did not shed light on many issues, to me, ‘yun sa aking palagay ang naka-affect. It's really the information na kailangan natin i-evaluate,” Quimbo said.

(It’s really the absence of information. To that extent, her absence did not shed light on many issues. So, for me, I think this really affected the budget review. It’s really about information that we need to i-evaluate.)

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"Sana naman po sila ay dumalo (plenary). It's a very important part of the process." — Cong. Stella Quimbo, House Committee on Appropriations vice chairperson | via @allangatus pic.twitter.com/hb51YXOYvt

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) September 12, 2024

Without the OVP defending its proposed P2-billion budget, Quimbo said the proposed budget merely showed that the office under Duterte plans to spend huge amounts for lease expenses of satellite offices and other social programs, which the House appropriations panel found unnecessary due to redundancy and inefficiency.

The OVP under Vice President Duterte has 10 satellite offices and two extension offices.

"Our previous vice presidents only maintained a single office. With 10 satellite offices and two extension offices, that’s the likely reason why their lease expenses reached P53 million [in 2023 from P29 million in 2022]. And so, we decided to bring it back to the 2022 level when the OVP only maintained a single office," Quimbo said.

With the P1.29-billion budget cut, the lease expenses under the proposed 2025 budget of the OVP under the House version has been reduced to a mere P32 million, from as high as P80 million.

As for the social programs being implemented by OVP, Quimbo said those programs are mere duplication of initiatives being executed by other government agencies which have vast experience in aid distribution.

“Why do they have social programs that are apparently redundant. Why a medical assistance program when we have Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients under DOH (Department of Health)? Why have burial assistance [program] when there’s AICS (Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations) under DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development)? These are tried and tested agencies for these kinds of programs,” Quimbo said.

Prior to the recommended budget cut by the House appropriations panel, the Commission on Audit also earlier confirmed the following audit findings on the OVP for 2023:

• OVP's lease expenses increased to P53 million in 2023 from P29 million in 2022
• only P600,000 out of P150 million budget for Magnegosyo Ta Day was used
• each of the 10 satellite offices, except for Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (P200,000), accumulated P2.2 million in cash advances.
• no clear guidelines in distribution of bags and books (“Isang Kaibigan”) for students
• 53 schools in PagbaBAGo program (bag distribution) have no pre-determined list of beneficiaries
• students have pre-signed forms confirming receipt of bags ahead of distribution

GMA News Online has reached out to the Office of the Vice President regarding the matter but has yet to provide a response as of posting time.

'Zero budget'

Duterte on Tuesday said, "We defer entirely to the discretion and judgment of the Committee regarding our budget proposal for the upcoming year.”

She even went as far as saying that the OVP is ready to work with a "zero budget" in 2025.

“Handa kami. Handa ako sa Office of the Vice President na mag-trabaho kahit walang budget. Maliit lang ‘yung opisina namin. Maliit lang ‘yung operations namin kaya kayang-kaya namin na mag-trahabo kahit walang budget,” Duterte said.

(We are ready. I am ready in the Office of the Vice President to work even without a budget. Our office is small. Our operations are small so we can afford to work even without a budget.)

Realigning the funds

Meanwhile, Quimbo said that P1.29 billion will be realigned to DSWD’s AICS program and the DOH's Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients.

The realignment of the P1.29 billion is broken down to P646,532,796 million for the AICS, while P646,533,796 will be earmarked to the Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients.

“These are the two very important social protection programs of the government. As you can see, almost equal amounts. And at the same time, I would like to note that this would include professional services. The professional services that we removed from the OVP budget will be transferred to the DSWD and DOH. In other words, if they have employees at the moment who are on job order or consultants who are helping the OVP implement these social programs, they will just be placed under another agency so we will [be able to] preserve jobs," Quimbo added.

As a result, the P1.29 billion was sourced from OVP’s proposed budget for financial assistance, professional services, utility expenses, supplies and materials, as well as lease expenses.

Further deliberation

Quimbo, however, stressed that the P1.29-billion budget cut was a mere recommendation from the House appropriations panel since the proposed reduced budget for OVP would still undergo plenary debates and will be deliberated upon by the Senate.

She also cited that once the House and Senate approve their respective versions of the proposed 2025 budget, members of both Houses will still convene in a bicameral conference committee to reconcile the differing provisions of their approved versions, if not introduce new amendments.

"Then after that, it will still be subject to the President’s approval. And the President can veto line items. That is how long the budget process is," Quimbo said.

"It is clear that there are so many people involved in approving the budget, and it is not limited to two people," Quimbo added, apparently responding to the earlier statement of the Vice President that there's no use in defending her proposed budget in Congress because it is only controlled by Speaker and Leyte Representatives Martin Romualdez and Ako Bicol party-list Representative Zaldy Co.

'Not helping'

Meanwhile, Senate President  Francis "Chiz" Escudero said that the "impasse" between house lawmakers and the OVP is not helping resolve the country's problems.

Escudero made the statement as he urged the agency heads to attend the budget deliberations of both houses of Congress to allow lawmakers to exercise their "power of the purse."

"Budget deliberations are usually boring because of the numbers and while this whole thing [on OVP budget] is adding drama and color to it, I don't think this is in any way helping resolve the problems our country and people are facing right now," Escudero said in a text message.

"I therefore urge and encourage heads of agencies, regardless of their fears, biases or prejudices, to go through the budget process and let Congress do its Constitutionally- mandated job," he added.

While he does not want to "preempt the House or Senate" because the budget process is still ongoing, Escudero said a zero budget for the OVP is possible as the Congress has "the power of the purse."

He then hoped that the Lower House and the OVP would set aside their differences.

"[It] has never happened to the OVP nor to any agency in recent years to my recollection. While seeming to be nonchalant, I am sure the VP cares for the programs and projects that she herself proposed," the Senate president said.

"I am hopeful though that the seeming impasse between the OVP and the House will be resolved where either or both would take a step back, set aside their differences/biases, simply follow the process or, at the end of the day, for Congress, in the exercise of its wisdom, to decide on this and other related matters by a vote," he added

-- with reports from Hana Bordey/ VAL/ VDV, GMA Integrated News