No confidential funds for 2026, says OVP spox

The Office of the Vice President (OVP) did not request any confidential funds in its proposed 2026 budget, OVP spokesperson Ruth Castelo confirmed Wednesday.

"No confidential funds. Hindi naman na tayo nag-request. If they want to give, they want to give," she told reporters in a press briefing at the OVP headquarters in Mandaluyong City.

Castelo said the proposed budget for next year increased by P170 million from the current allocation. The OVP initially proposed P733 million, the same as its 2025 budget, but the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) adjusted it to P803.6 million.

"So nagdagdag sila ng less than P70 million, mga 60-something million. And then, nung nagdagdag sila ng 60-something million, we requested for additional personnel services," she explained.

"Siyempre may cost ‘yon ‘yung na-mention ko kanina na additional employees para mas ma-fulfill ‘yung functions and other IT equipment that are needed for the OVP. Ang binigay na final ng DBM is P903 million," the OVP spokesperson added.

Asked about the likelihood of congressional approval for the P903 million request, Castelo said: "We can just hope and pray that they see the need for this budget.”

She added that a list of additional employees and equipment was submitted to justify the requested increase, although only P100 million more was approved by DBM from the P803 million to reach the final P903 million total.

Castelo also said that the OVP staff will be attending the congressional hearing for the budget—both at the Senate and the House of Representatives.

"The staff, the full complement of the Office of the Vice President on budget will be there at the hearings," she said.