The House Committee on Appropriations has slashed the Office of the Vice President’s proposed P2.026-billion budget for 2025 by over 60 percent, or P1.293 billion, leaving Vice President Sara Duterte’s office with P733.198 million to spend next year.

Sliced from the original proposed budget were allocations deemed “redundant and inefficient,” including for financial assistance, consultants, utilities and supplies, and rent.

If given the nod, these allocations totaling P1.292 billion will be realigned to the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations program and the Department of Health’s medical assistance program — each to receive an equal share of P646 million.

Likewise, the OVP will get nothing for financial assistance or subsidy programs, funds intended for transportation services and medical and burial assistance.

Rent and lease expenses for two OVP extension offices and 10 satellite offices costing some P370,000 each or some P4.4 million monthly were also scrapped. The OVP had proposed P80.73 million for lease or rent but the figure was reduced to P30.43 million.

“We brought it back to 2022 levels when the Vice President maintained a single office,” Appropriations Committee vice chairperson Rep. Stella Quimbo said.

The cuts in the OVP’s proposed budget, she said, were prompted by the committee’s view that many of the OVP’s assistance programs were redundant as these were already being implemented by other government agencies.

Vice President Sara Duterte’s absence from the hearings to defend her office’s proposed budget indicated to the committee that she planned to spend huge amounts for the 10 satellite offices and two extension offices.

Previous vice presidents maintained a single office, said Quimbo. The OVP now has 10 satellite offices and two extension offices, “and that’s the likely reason their lease expenses reached P53 million in 2023 from P29 million in 2022. So we decided to bring it back to the 2022 level when the OVP maintained only a single office.”

Quimbo, who has presided over the appropriations committee hearings on the OVP’s proposed budget, also underscored that in many instances, the social programs of the OVP duplicated those already being implemented by other government agencies that have more experience in disbursing aid.

Come to think of it, VP Duterte can very well do with a budget much deflated from what she had proposed. She can take a look at what her predecessor, Leni Robredo, did when she was Vice President.

Then VP Robredo had a mere P500 million in 2016 which further declined to P428.62 million in 2017. This was increased to P544 million in 2018, P671.55 in 2019, and P708 million in 2020, then slid down to 679.74 million in 2021, the last year she was in office.

Despite a small budget, Robredo was able to establish her flagship program, Angat Buhay, which by the end of 2021 had partnered with nearly 400 organizations, mobilized some P520 million in resources, and helped 622,000 families in over 233 cities and municipalities across the country.

Launched in 2016, Angat Buhay was focused on bringing together public and private individuals and organizations to address the needs of underprivileged Filipinos.

Among Angat Buhay’s many notable programs were Bayanihan e-Konsulta, a free teleconsultation service launched in April 2021 which received nearly 1,300 volunteer doctor signups and 4,073 non-medical volunteer signups. To help micro, small and medium enterprises, the OVP launched Bayanihan Mart to assist entrepreneurs in building an online presence and generate income during the Covid pandemic.

Robredo also launched Bayanihan e-Skwela to provide devices to learners in need, instructional videos for parents and teachers, and Community Learning Hubs or alternative learning spaces benefiting thousands through 832 volunteers and over 12 OVP partner organizations in 58 locations across the country.

In terms of security, then VP Robredo only had 78 personnel in contrast with VP Duterte’s whopping 433 bodyguards.

People who had worked closely with Robredo when she was vice president, like her spokesperson, law professor and former Congressman Barry Gutierrez, point out that she was able to accomplish much despite having a small budget because “she spent prudently, and because she inspired tremendous support from individual citizens and the private sector.”

In the end, Gutierrez said, “It’s simple, what matters is not your budget but the kind of leader you are.”