Sara still has chance to defend OVP budget – Quimbo

MANILA, Philippines —  Vice President Sara Duterte still has the opportunity to defend her office’s budget for 2025 at the plenary of the House of Representatives.

According to House committee on appropriations senior vice chair and Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo, the chamber’s doors are not closed to Duterte, who is facing a budget cut from P2 billion to P733 million next year.

“Let’s see. I mean we are open to anything. As I said, there’s another round of amendments (in the plenary) … You know, here in the House of the People, everyone is welcome,” she noted.

Quimbo underscored that the committee’s decision to recommend a substantial reduction in the Office of the Vice President (OVP)’s budget was “difficult.”

She added once the decision was made, identifying the items of appropriation in the OVP outlay where the cuts would be taken “was easy,” since these were already determined in reports of the Commission on Audit.

Removed from the OVP’s funding was the allocation for social programs such as giving financial and medical assistance to the poor as these were “redundant” because the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Department of Health (DOH) are already implementing such programs.

Quimbo added the DSWD and DOH have been implementing the same social protection programs more efficiently.

The committee transferred the entire P947-million “financial assistance” fund and other budget reductions of the OVP to the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program and the DOH’s medical assistance program.

She pointed out there was also the issue of fund utilization efficiency of the Vice President that made the panel slash her budget by P1.29 billion.

No one else to blame

The lawmaker said Duterte has no one to blame but herself for the reduction in the OVP budget, which would not have been slashed had the Vice President not shown her seeming disregard for accountability.

Quimbo claimed it was unfortunate that Duterte decided to willingly withhold information that lawmakers needed to decide on the OVP’s budget in 2025.

During the budget hearing, Duterte evaded lawmakers’ questions that were not related to the OVP’s proposed budget for next year, especially how she utilized some P125 million in confidential funds in just 11 days in December 2022.

“Again, it is important for us to get information because it is needed to make an informed decision,” she pointed out.

Resolve impasse

Senate President Francis Escudero expressed hope the conflict between Duterte and members of the House of Representatives would be resolved so as not to affect the OVP’s budget.

Escudero said this was the first time to his knowledge that the House slashed the budget of the second highest official of the land from the proposed P2.037 billion to P733.2 million.

“I am hopeful 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 or biases, simply follow the process or, at the end of the day, for Congress to decide on this and other related matters by a vote,” Escudero said.

While Duterte seemed “nonchalant” when she boldly said her office can operate without a budget, Escudero believes “the Vice President cares for the programs and projects that she herself proposed.”

He pointed out that the House has the “power of the purse,” but the country would not benefit from the political drama in Congress over the OVP’s budget.

“While this whole thing 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.

“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.

Sen. Grace Poe, who chairs the Senate finance committee, vowed that the upper chamber “would approve or modify the budget based on the merits of the proposals of each office – not on who sits as its head.”

“Every department will undergo intense scrutiny to make sure that its proposed budget is allocated for the right purpose and spent accordingly,” Poe said.

“At the end of the day, we want a budget that will allow agencies to perform their mandate of delivering timely, efficient and relevant service that will be felt by the people,” she added.

At a virtual press briefing yesterday, Sen. Joel Villanueva said he, as a former House member, would have upheld the “time-honored tradition” in Congress to respect the budget proposals of the country’s two highest officials – the President and the Vice President.

“While we respect the decision of the House, I disagree with what happened. While it is their call, cutting it by more than half is too drastic. I am a product of the House, and when I was there, traditions were important. Tradition dictates not to do that,” he said. –  Marc Jayson Cayabyab