MANILA, Philippines —The budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) breezed through the Senate plenary on Wednesday, November 13.
Vice President Sara Duterte went to the Senate to see her budget passed. Duterte famously dodged the budget hearings in the House of Representatives, where they stripped the OVP of P1.3 billion due to repetitive programs that are supposedly beyond the agency’s mandate.
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While the budget has been approved in the Senate plenary, Sen. Bong Go and Sen. Bato Dela Rosa both said that they would introduce amendments to the budget at the proper time.
“I would like to move for the approval of the OVP budget,” Dela Rosa said.
Meanwhile, Go also said that the OVP is more than a spare tire, and should the agency wish to work on other projects, it should be allowed to. He pointed out that even senators would carry out aid programs even if it was not in their mandate.
In a separate briefing in the Senate, Duterte said that she would welcome the restoration of the budget but she had no wishes.
“Lahat ng personal ng Office of the Vice President are hopeful na madagdagan and budget dahil yun nga, na-explain naman kanina sa statement ni Sen. Bong Go, na gusto rin naman magtrabaho ng lahat,” Duterte said.
(All of the personnel of the Office of the Vice President are hopeful that the budget will be increased and, like Sen. Bong Go said, everyone wants to work.)
Duterte said that they no longer attended the House plenary because she knew there would be redundant questions that would be unrelated to the submitted budget.
With the House’s budget cut, Duterte estimated that around 200 personnel could lose their jobs.
However, it can be recalled that it was Duterte who dodged the House hearings. She also said that the OVP was ready to work with no budget.