The search is underway for a property that will become the permanent residence of Vice President Sara Duterte, and succeeding vice presidents as her spokesman on Wednesday, July 27, said they were already considering some places.
Duterte's spokesman Reynold Munsayac disclosed, during a joint press conference at the Department of Education (DepEd), that they already found some places that could become the official permanent residence of the Vice President.
“Syempre, titingnan kung kakayanin ng (Of course, we will check if the) budget ng gobyerno ‘yan, iyong (of the government can afford it, the) accessibility din sa tao, ‘yung (for the people, the) accessibility sa (to) transportation, kasi syempre iko-consider mo rin iyong (because of course you will also consider the) welfare ng mga empleyado natin (of our employees),” he said.
In past administrations, personnel of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) suffered the most when they needed to always relocate as new occupants of the office.
In some cases, the OVP needed to maintain two sites to house its employees, and not to uproot them from somewhere near their own residences or even their children’s schools.
The lack of official residence for the vice president has forced previous occupants of the office to use non-permanent sites.
READ: Sara Duterte eyes permanent office for VP
Former vice president Leni Robredo held office at the Quezon City Reception House, where Duterte is also currently holding temporary office, while her predecessor, former vice president Jejomar Binay maintained offices at the Philippine National Bank (PNB) Building in Manila and Coconut Palace in Pasay City.
Munsayac explained that having a permanent residence for the OVP will provide “stability” and “efficiency of services.”
“Kung hindi man po ang administrasyon ni Vice President Sara Duterte ang makikinabang diyan (If the administration of Vice President Sara Duterte will not benefit from it) at least para na ‘yan sa mga susunod na (it will be for the next (vice presidents),” he said.
At the same time, the permanent residence for the vice president and its personnel will likewise result in “reduced cost in office operations considering that future Vice Presidents will no longer need to rent temporary offices to house their staff.”
Meanwhile, Duterte’s spokesman announced that in less than a month, it has processed claims for medical and burial assistance amounting to P16,540,243.94, and already released the amount of P7,416,109.37 to qualified recipients.
The amounts mentioned were released to beneficiaries both at the OVP headquarters in Quezon City and its six satellite offices in the provinces.