Estrada vows to restore OVP budget

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada believes the proposed budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) should be restored after it was slashed by more than half by the House of Representatives.

In a dwIZ interview yesterday, Estrada said the Senate would uphold the “time-honored tradition” of respecting the President and Vice President’s budget by assuring its speedy approval.

The House appropriations committee slashed the OVP’s proposed P2.037 billion to P733.2 million by realigning some of Duterte’s key programs to other relevant agencies.

The House slashed Duterte’s budget after she clashed with lawmakers and accused them of politicizing the budget process to attack her.

“How can her office function if you slash her budget? I will try to restore the budget. Remember, she is the second highest official in the country. She deserves some respect and dignity,” Estrada said.

The Senate leadership would give the minority time to scrutinize the OVP budget, amid allegations of confidential funds misuse.

“There’s nothing wrong with the minority scrutinizing the budget of the top two leaders, as long as they can justify it. If they cannot justify it, we have to intervene,” Estrada said

For his part, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino said any differences between the budget approved in Congress would be threshed out by both houses during the bicameral conference committee.

“On the Senate side, the final version of the budget would depend on the decision of the plenary. And if the Senate version does not match that of the House, it would be resolved by both in the bicam (committee),” Tolentino said in a separate dwIZ interview.