Vice President Sara Z. Duterte stated her office would maximize whatever budget Congress provides, lamenting that at least 200 contract of service employees in the Office of the Vice President (OVP) satellite offices would be affected by the budget cut.

Duterte was physically present during the Senate’s deliberation of the OVP’s proposed 2025 budget on Wednesday afternoon.

“Wala na akong wish sa budget… Kung ano yung pleasure ng (I don’t any wish about the budget… Whatever is the pleasure of the) Congress — both Senate and House of Representatives — ‘yun na yung masusunod (that would be followed),” Duterte told Senate reporters in an interview.

“I said that they [Congress] have the power of the purse so kami susunod lang kami (we will just follow)," she added.

During the plenary, the Senate approved the OVP’s P733 million budget for 2025 in less than 10 minutes, with no questions raised.

The Senate Committee on Finance previously adopted the House of Representatives' decision to reduce the OVP’s budget to P733 million. The OVP had originally proposed P2.037 billion in funding in the National Expenditure Program submitted by the Executive Department to Congress.

Duterte stated the Senate leadership did not promise any budget increase but noted that the matter would be discussed.

“Many of the OVP personnel will lose their jobs. We are looking at approximately 200 contracts of service personnel who are deployed in the satellite offices,” she noted.

Duterte also noted that the OVP would be forced to close its satellite offices. Finance committee chairperson, Senator Grace Poe, earlier stated that her panel had reached out several times to the OVP, “requesting them to submit documents to clarify issues regarding their budget but they have not submitted.”

Poe said the panel decided to retain the OVP’s funding in the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) pending the agency’s submission and review of the documents.

Meanwhile, Duterte thanked the Senate for accommodating and acting on the OVP’s budget. In his statement during the budget deliberation, Senator Christopher Bong Go urged his fellow senators to consider increasing the budget for the OVP.

Go lamented that the budget cut would directly affect the OVP's delivery of basic services.

"Para nating tinatanggalan ng kapasidad ang isang ahensya or in this case, isang halal na pinuno ng bansa na magserbisyo po. Kaya po nananawagan po sana ako sa mga kasamahan natin dito na sana po madagdagan o maibalik ang pondo po na naaprubahan sa NEP for 2025 (It's like we've removed the capacity of an agency; but, in this case, it's an elected official aiming to serve. That's why I'm calling on my colleagues for the augmentation or the return of the funds approved in the NEP in 2025," he said.

Rally at Congress

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