The Office of the Vice President (OVP) will request for a P733-million budget for 2026, similar to its budget this year, since Congress will reject a higher proposal anyway, Vice President Sara Duterte said on Monday, June 16.
Vice President Sara Duterte delivers her speech during the 2025 Pasidungog awarding ceremony held in Davao City on Monday, June 16, 2025. (Ivy Tejano/MANILA BULLETIN)
During a press conference in Davao City, the official disclosed that the OVP would end its medical and burial assistance program and the “PanSarap Project” that provided nutritional buns to some learners.
Duterte also shared that the OVP will have no new projects for 2026.
“Dahil inaasahan ko naman na hindi ibibigay yung budget ng Office of the Vice President dahil nga hindi kami naman kaalyado ng administrasyon at nakita na natin ‘yon noong nakaraang taon (I am expecting that they will not approve the budget of the Office of the Vice President because we are not allies and we already saw what happened last year),” she said.
“Syempre, kung hindi ka sumusunod, hindi ka kaalyado ay di ka mabibigyan ng pondo para sa mga proyekto ng opisina mo. Kaya nag-desisyon ako kung ano yung budget na ibinigay ngayong taon na ito, ay iyon din ang budget (Of course, if you do not follow, you are not an ally and you will not get funds for your office’s projects. So, I decided that whatever our budget this year will be the same next year),” she added.
Duterte, however, stressed that she adjusted the proposal to take inflation into account.
Last year, Congress cut the OVP’s P2.037-billion budget proposal by P1.3 billion, citing the need to realign budget and avoid redundant expenses.
This led to deepening of the rift between Duterte and Marcos allies in Congress, especially when lawmakers started its inquiry into her alleged misuse of the controversial confidential funds that eventually led to her impeachment in the lower chamber.
The Vice President also went to her staff’s defense after they were grilled by lawmakers last year during the budget hearings.
“Ayaw kong napapahiya at pinapahiya yung mga ibang personnel ng Office of the Vice President lalong lalo na kapag nandun na sila sa House of Representatives or sa Senate na nakaharap yung ang ating mga miyembro ng Kongreso (I don’t like when the personnel of the Office of the Vice President gets humiliated especially when they are at the House of Representatives or the Senate and facing the members of Congress),” she said.