Senate finance panel adopts House-reduced budget for OVP in 2025

The Senate Committee on Finance has adopted the House of Representatives' version of the P6.352-trillion General Appropriations Bill for 2025 allocating P733 billion for the Office of the Vice President instead of the P2 billion outlay proposed in the National Expenditure Program.

This was confirmed by Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the finance panel, as she sponsored House Bill 10800 under Committee Report N0. 335 which contained the 2025 GAB.

"We reached out several times to the Office of the Vice President requesting them to submit documents to clarify issues regarding their budget but they have not submitted as of today," Poe told reporters.

"So, we decided to retain the GAB amount pending submission and review of these documents," she added.

The House in September approved the 2025 GAB on third and final reading. The House reduced OVP's proposed P2-billion budget for 2025 by P1.29 billion.

In an interview, Poe said that the funding for the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program o AKAP was excluded in the Senate finance committee report on the 2025 GAB.

According to Poe, the Senate will decide whether to maintain or remove the 2025 allocation for AKAP if the DSWD provides them justifications for the funding during the plenary deliberations of the budget measure.

AKAP was earlier questioned by the senators as it was supposedly used for politics, particularly in the controversial people's initiative (PI) campaign for Charter change.

It was Senator Imee Marcos who previously raised that the funding for AKAP, a new assistance program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), was inserted in the 2024 national budget without the senators' knowledge.

Poe said in her sponsoship speech that the Senate version of the budget ensured that the P35.190 billion funds for the Commission on Elections is retained considering the conduct of the 2025 national and local elections, baranggay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, and the first-ever elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindano.

The funding for the BARMM elections was retained despite the bill filed by Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero seeking to postpone the first ever Bangsamoro polls.

While increasing the Department of Health's Health Facilities Enhancement Program Fund and other programs, the Senate Finance Committee has slashed the budget for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation by P5.7 billion from the House-proposed P74 billion.

Amid the controversy hounding the national security of the Philippines in light of the case of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor ALice Guo, Poe also disclosed that the Senate will support the funding for the Automated Biometrics Identification System of the Bureau of Immigration.

"Wala na ring Alice Guo na makakalusot sa ating immigration... [The Automated Biometrics Identification System] will introduce biometric verification and cross-matching with criminal databases for passengers entering and exiting our ports of entry," she said.

Further, Poe said the Senate will ensure that there will be no human smuggling and trafficking that will occur using private planes by funding the  latest mobile facial and fingerprint technology in the special or chartered flights.

"This budget isn’t just a series of numbers. It’s a blueprint of our priorities, the most important investment of our government, and the heartbeat of our nation’s future," Poe said.

"Under this Senate Committee Report, every peso has been accounted for. With each line item, we asked all agencies, 'Ano bang gusto nating mangyari dito?' Accountability is not just a choice, it is our duty," she added.

The plenary debates on the 2025 GAB will start on Wednesday. —NB, GMA Integrated News