Escudero: Up to Poe whether VP Sara should attend Senate deliberations on OVP budget

It is now up to Senate finance committee chairperson Grace Poe and other senators whether or not they will ask Vice President Sara Duterte to be present during the upper chamber’s deliberations on the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) proposed 2025 budget at the plenary level, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said Sunday.

Despite Duterte earning the ire of some lawmakers at the House of Representatives for repeatedly skipping the budget deliberations there, Escudero said he does not want to preempt the decision of the senators when it comes to the Senate’s own plenary hearings.

“Na kay Senator Grace ‘yun. Halimbawa may pagkakataon na wala ‘yung agency head sa anumang kadahilanan, depende ‘yan sa nagso-sponsor na chairman. Depende rin ‘yan sa mga miyembro ng Senado kung hihilingin ‘yun,” the Senate President said.

(That's up to Senator Grace. If there’s an instance that the agency head is not present for any reason, it’s the sponsoring chairman that has to decide. It also depends on the members of the Senate if they will request the agency head to attend.)

“Ulitin ko, ayokong pangunahan at ayokong sabihing may ganun kondisyon bago pa man magsimula ang budget,” he added.

(I repeat, I don’t want to preempt anything and I don't want to say that there is such a condition before the budget plenary deliberation even starts.)

In September, Duterte said she would attend the plenary deliberations on the OVP budget at the Senate.

She also said that she is no longer expecting that the OVP's proposed P2 billion budget for 2025 to remain the same, adding that her office will just work around any budget given to them.

"Sa P700 million, we will see kung ano 'yung naiwan and then we will work around that budget of the Office of the Vice President. Pero definitely, tuloy pa rin ang trabaho anuman ang budget," Duterte said.

(With the P700 million, we will see what will be left and then we will work around that budget of the Office of the Vice President. But definitely, the work will continue regardless of the budget.)

The House panel formed to finalize the House version of the 2025 budget earlier retained the OVP's P733-million appropriations, which was earlier approved on third and final reading.

House appropriations panel chairperson Zaldy Co had said the government will save around P1.3 billion if the Senate adopts the House’s proposal to cut the proposed budget of OVP to P733 million from over P2 billion.

For Escudero, it is up to Poe how to defend the OVP’s proposed 2025 budget in the Senate plenary, following Duterte’s recent tirades against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

“Hindi ko papangunahan ang aking mga kasamahan pero ang pagkakaiba sa plenary debates namin. Si Sen. Grace na ang sasagot ng mga tanong. Si Sen. Grace na ang magde-defend ng budget ng OVP at hindi si Vice President Sara mismo,” he said.

(I will not preempt my colleagues, but the difference in the Senate’s plenary debates is that Sen. Grace will have to answer the questions. She will defend the OVP budget and not Vice President Sara.)

Duterte on Friday criticized Marcos' leadership, claiming the President seemed to have no idea how to address inflation and guarantee food security.

The Vice President also said she realized that her relationship with Marcos had become "toxic" when she started having thoughts about "cutting his head off.''

She also recalled telling Senator Imee Marcos, the president's elder sister, that she would dig up and dump the remains of former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. into the West Philippine Sea if the attacks against her did not stop. —RF, GMA Integrated News