Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 14) — Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel maintained his position against the allocation of the ₱500-million confidential funds for the Office of the Vice President (OVP), saying such an amount should be realigned instead to boost the budget of other agencies.
Pimentel, the only interpellator, continued to object to the budget of Vice President Sara Duterte, even questioning if her mandate can justify her office’s proposed 2023 spending, which is way higher than that of former Vice President Leni Robredo.
“Compared to the 2022 budget of the Office of the Vice President, which was ₱700 [million], the ₱2.3 billion is more than three times,” he said during plenary deliberations on Monday.
Senator Sonny Angara, meanwhile, defended the OVP budget, saying it could be used to support the office’s other programs, such as medical and burial assistance.
Pimentel, however, was not convinced that the OVP deserves to secure confidential funds.
“The mandate of the Office of the Vice President… is to be prepared to be president at any time. In my personal opinion, such a mandate cannot justify the giving of confidential fund,” Pimentel said.
“I will still maintain that… per our own definition of confidential fund, the Office of the Vice President is not entitled or should not be given confidential funds,” he said.
The senator said he would “move for the deletion” of the confidential fund of the OVP.
Pimentel said many programs and agencies need extra funding, including the Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost), special education, and the Bureau of Fire Protection, among others.
“They can certainly use, and I’m sure they would certainly welcome additional funding,” Pimentel said.
But Angara said the government must look for other sources and “not prejudice the Office of the Vice President.”
“That’s the second highest official of the land who deserves support. We should want her to succeed,” Angara said.
