Reenacted budget not possible amid OVP's delaying tactics — House

The House of Representatives will allow the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to defend its proposed 2025 allocation until the last session tomorrow, Wednesday, but it has assured that such a delay will not lead to a reenacted budget.

In a briefing on Wednesday, lawmakers said the House leadership would be lenient to the OVP, but it would not come at the expense of sacrificing the timely approval of the national expenditure.

The House aims to pass on Wednesday—the last day of session before Congress goes into a month-long recess—House Bill 10800 or the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) containing the proposed P6.352 trillion budget of the Marcos administration for fiscal year 2025.

The GAB—which would then be the basis of the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA)—is poised to be certified as urgent by President Ferdinanf Marcos Jr. to forfend a reenacted budget.

A reenacted budget would mean that the previous year's GAA would remain in effect until both houses of Congress pass the current GAB.

A reenacted budget could result in an economic slowdown and may hamper the delivery of government services as new programs and projects will be unfunded.

"Definitely, the budget process is affected, it causes delay, [but] of course, I would like to emphasize that we cannot sacrifice the entirety, the national budget because of one agency," said Assistant Majority Leader Angelo Bongalon, vice chair of the House Committee on Appropriations.

"We're talking about the programs to be funded, especially the social services programs, aid, programs for fishermen, and agricultural sector…So if there is a government agency that will affect it, definitely we will not allow that," he added.

Vice President Sara Duterte and her entire office skipped—for the second time—the deliberations on their proposed P733-million 2025 allocation at the House plenary on Monday at 10 a.m.

In a letter dated 11 September, Duterte said she was leaving the fate of the OVP's funding "entirely to the pleasure of the House of Representatives" as they had already submitted all the required documents.

Deputy Speaker David Suarez lamented that lawmakers have reached out and waited for the OVP until almost 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday but to no avail. However, he said the House will give it until Wednesday to defend its budget in the plenary.

Meanwhile, House Assistant Majority Leader Jefferson Khonghun asserted that the House would not allow Duterte's supposed delaying tactics to heavily impact Congress' efforts to swiftly pass the budget.

"It's very impossible because the members of Congress really work to pass the budget on time. If our Vice President thinks she can sabotage the passage of our government's budget for 2025, Congress will not allow that," Khonghun pointed out.

Suarez, however, countered that the House would still give the OVP leeway and extend all possible courtesy, even if it meant they would have to work overtime.

"If necessary, we [must] stay up late just to wait for her. But what's important is that we do not disrespect the process because this is important for democracy," Suarez said.

He added, "There should be no exemption here. Everybody has to go through the process."

The OVP's allocation plunged to P733.198 million from the initial P2.026 billion after the appropriations panel "unanimously" agreed to slash P1.293 billion, citing its "overextended" offices and social services "overlapping" with those with other state agencies.

The budget cut follows Duterte's failure to justify her confidential spending of P125 million in 2022—of which P73.287 million was disallowed by the Commission on Audit—and her skipping the second budget hearing on 10 September.

In addition to the P73.287 million in disallowed expenses, CoA also flagged the P164 million in confidential funds of the OVP in 2023, Duterte's first full year in office.