OVP budget cut looms in House

Metro Manila, Philippines - House lawmakers will again recommend cutting the proposed P902.8-million 2026 budget of the office of Vice President Sara Duterte in response to her absence in the plenary debates.

During the last day of plenary budget debates on Thursday, Oct. 2, Office of the Vice President (OVP) budget sponsor Palawan Rep. Jose Alvarez shared a Sept. 30 letter from Duterte.

She said she will attend the plenary debates on the following conditions: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will attend the plenary deliberations of his office’s proposed budget and the immigration lookout bulletin order against some OVP personnel will be lifted.

The committee did not respond to the letter.

The plenary debates for the OVP budget was initially scheduled for Sept. 30. It was included in the daily agenda until Oct. 2 after Duterte and her staff, with at least an undersecretary level, did not attend.

Minority lawmakers were dismayed with the OVP’s absence.

“The whole budget process is something that is being directed and recognized by the Constitution itself. So disrespecting the budgetary process of this Body is a clear case of disrespect of our Constitution,” Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima said.

De Lima said she is contemplating on pushing to retain only the allocations for personnel services (PS) and maintenance and other operating expenses.

The Makabayan bloc supported the OVP fund cut.

“Ultimately, ang binabastos ng bise presidente sa paglalagay pa ng mga kondisyon bago raw siya magpakita rito… hindi lang itong institusyon ng Kongreso, kung hindi ang taumbayan dahil pera nila ang gagamitin ng bise presidente,” ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said, adding that he will move to retain the PS allocation only.

[Translation: Ultimately, the vice president’s conditions not only insult the Congress, but the people because it is their money that she will be using.]

“Now is not the time for protection; now is not the time for immunities; now is not the time for conditions. Ang kailangan ng taumbayan: transparency, paliwanag,” Kabataan party-list Rep. Renee Co said.

[Translation: What the people need are transparency and explanation.]

Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice called Duterte’s conditions “unreasonable and impossible.”

Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, an ally of the Duterte family, lamented the OVP budget cuts in the previous years and recalled questions on the prior budgets.

READ: ‘Biggest money heist’: Budget law constitutionality questioned in court

http://www.newswatchplus.ph/news/nwp/2025/1/28/rodriguez-ungab-budget-sc-petition.html

“This Congress [has] a very big role to perform to correct the image, to correct the impression. We must be able to come up with an honest to goodness budget for [2026],” he said.

The vice president personally defended the OVP budget during the appropriations panel hearing on Sept. 16.

https://www.newswatchplus.ph/news/2025/9/16/ovp-budget-hurdles-house-panel.html

Duterte is in Cebu to distribute assistance after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake jolted the province on Sept. 30.

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