Bicam retains OVP's P733-M budget for 2025
By Dhel Nazario
The Bicameral Conference Committee has retained the P733-million budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) under the proposed P6.352-trillion 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).
This was disclosed by Senate Finance Committee Chair Senator Grace Poe on Wednesday, December 11, after the bicam approved the final version of the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).
"Ganoon pa rin. Kung ano yung napasa natin sa Senado at yun din pareho sa House, naretain yung budget ng OVP (It's still the same. What we passed in the Senate is also the same in the House; the budget for the OVP has been retained)," Poe said in a chance interview.
Poe stated that the OVP hasn't formally or informally requested an increase and if there was any mention of it, they would probably have heard of it through the media. However, up until they submitted the committee report, Poe said that there was no request and that during the committee hearing with the Vice President's office, it was stated that they would leave it to Congress.
Despite this, Poe stated they still made sure that due to the mandate of the Vice President, that they would have the opportunity for social services and that tjey have about P600 million that they could be utilized for it.
Asked why it was not increased despite the being pushed for by several senators, Poe said: "Syempre this is a collegial body lahat naman tayo meron tayong wishllist na gusto nating mapagbigyan pero sa huli ang mananaig din yung mayorya (Of course, this is a collegial body, and we all have our wishlists that we hope can be fulfilled. But in the end, the majority will prevail)."
"Inesplika ko naman sa kanila na meron namang pagkakataon ang OVP na tumulong pa rin. Meron silang social services allotment na P600 million na pwede nilang gamitin para dyan. Hindi naman sila nawalan at yun nga yung sinasabi ko noong umpisa pa lang, capacitated pa rin sila (I explained to them that the OVP still has the opportunity to help. They have a social services budget of 600 million pesos that they can use for that. They haven't lost anything, and that's what I’ve been saying from the very beginning—they are still capable)," she added.
To recall, the House of Representatives slashed P1.3 billion from the OVP's proposed 2025 budget in its version of the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB). This was retained by the Senate.