The Office of the Vice President (OVP) transferred its Western Mindanao Satellite Office to a more accessible location also in Zamboanga City, it announced on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
Vice President Sara Duterte (Photo from Inday Sara Duterte Facebook page)
In a statement, the OVP said that its Western Mindanao satellite office “has recently relocated to a more commuter-friendly area” along Veterans Avenue Extension in Barangay Tetuan.
The office was previously located in Agan Extension, Sta. Maria, Zamboanga City, according to the OVP’s website.
“With the new facility, it would be able to accommodate and receive a higher volume of residents who are planning to seek various assistance from the OVP,” the statement read.
“From 2023 to 2024, the OVP Western Mindanao Satellite Office was able to render assistance to almost 265,000 beneficiaries, ranging from various programs of the agency such as medical, burial, and relief initiatives,” it added.
Currently, the OVP has 10 satellite offices in Cebu, Tacloban, Davao, Zamboanga, Surigao, Dagupan, Cotabato City, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Isabela, and Bicol Region.
It also has two extensions offices in Lipa, Batangas and Tondo, Manila.
“The current 10 satellite offices and two extension offices of the OVP were established to ensure that services offered by the agency will not only be concentrated in the National Capital Region but will also reach other areas in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao,” the OVP said.
In addition, the satellite offices aim to make the OVP’s various assistance programs closer to indigent, marginalized, and underserved communities.
The areas where the OVP has established its satellite offices were identified “based on accessibility, higher volume of traffic, mode of transportation, presence of hospitals, and high people traffic.”
According to the OVP, around 67 percent of its total rendered assistance were channeled through the agency’s existing satellite and extension offices as of Aug. 31, 2024.
In an earlier statement, the OVP emphasized that its proposed 2025 budget of P2.037 billion will serve 1.4 million Filipinos across the country.
However, the agency’s budget is being threatened after the House appropriations committee earlier slashed its proposed budget to only P733.2 million by realigning some of its key programs to other relevant agencies.
This came after Vice President Sara Duterte argued with lawmakers and accused them of politicizing the budget deliberations to attack her.