Maintaining that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) has already submitted all necessary documents relating to its proposed P2.037-billion budget for 2025, Vice President Sara Duterte deferred the plenary deliberation on Monday, Sept. 23, leaving the fate of her agency’s budget request entirely to the discretion of lawmakers.
Vice President Sara Duterte (Photo from Inday Sara Duterte/Facebook)
In a letter addressed to Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Adiong, the OVP’s budget sponsor, on Sept. 11, Duterte stressed that it is up to the House of Representatives’ discretion to approve her office’s budget proposal.
“In consideration of the foregoing, the OVP leaves the deliberation of our budget proposal in the plenary entirely to the pleasure of the House of Representatives,” she wrote.
The letter, which was received by Adiong’s office on Sept. 16 and released to the media on Sept. 23, also referred to an earlier letter by the lawmaker requesting for a meeting with the OVP to discuss its proposed budget.
In an interview with NewsWatch Plus, Adiong said he was not able to meet Duterte or any OVP representatives to discuss with them about the proposed 2025 budget.
The official, who already snubbed the second budget deliberations last Sept. 10 and refused to defend the OVP’s proposed budget during the first hearing on Aug. 27, explained in the letter her reasons for foregoing to defend the agency’s funding.
“As communicated to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Chair of the Committee on Appropriations, the OVP has duly submitted all the required documents to the Committee pertaining to its budget request for the upcoming year,” Duterte said.
“Furthermore, a comprehensive overview of our proposals was presented during my presentation on 27 August 2024,” she added.
Shortly after Duterte’s absence in the second budget hearing, the House Committee on Appropriations recommended a massive cut from its budget—from the proposed P2.037 billion down to P733.19 million.
The Vice President’s perceived difficulties in getting her agency’s proposed budget approved was a stark contrast to the deliberations in 2022 and 2023 when her proposals were swiftly passed.
However, Duterte had a recent falling out with President Marcos, and repeatedly accused House lawmakers of political attacks after they questioned her office’s past use of confidential funds.
She also claimed that there was no point in defending the OVP’s proposed 2025 budget because House Speaker Martin Romualdez and House Committee on Appropriations chairman Elizaldy Co control the country’s coffers anyway.