VP Duterte to seek ₱733M budget for 2026

Metro Manila, Philippines - Vice President Sara Duterte said on Monday, June 16 she will request approximately ₱733 million for her office’s 2026 budget - similar to the approved amount for 2025.

In a press briefing in Davao City, Duterte said she won’t seek higher funding as she already expects the Congress to reject the proposal.

“Hindi naman kami kaalyado ng administrasyon. At nakita na natin iyon noong nakaraang taon, syempre kung hindi ka sumusunod, hindi ka kaalyado, ay hindi ka mabibigyan ng pondo para sa mga proyekto ng opisina mo,” she said.

[Translation: We are not allies of the administration. And we saw that last year. If you do not follow the administration, your office won’t be given funding for your projects.]

The vice president added that she doesn’t want her staff to be shamed again after being grilled in the budget debates last year.

Duterte said some of OVP programs were discontinued due to the lower funding.

In 2024, her office initially requested over ₱2 billion for 2025 but the House of Representatives substantially cut the proposal by ₱1.3 billion.

Duterte’s budget was marred with controversy, most especially her ₱125 million confidential fund in 2022, which lawmakers flagged for being spent in just 11 days.

House lawmakers then revealed dubious recipients of her confidential funds, saying the names listed have no birth records from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

In August 2024, the Commission on Audit said it issued a notice of disallowance for the ₱73 million in confidential funds disbursed by the OVP in 2022.

In February, the House of Representatives impeached Duterte over several grounds including graft and corruption for her supposed mismanagement of ₱612.5 million confidential funds.