The Office of the Vice President (OVP) may receive P903 million as budget for the next fiscal year, OVP spokesperson Ruth Castelo said on Wednesday, July 9, after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) raised its original proposal.
DBM hikes OVP's 2026 proposed budget to P903M—spox
Published Jul 9, 2025 02:15 pm
Vice presidential spokesperson Ruth Castelo answers questions from the media during a press conference in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (Santi San Juan/MANILA BULLETIN)
Originally, the OVP made a P733-million proposal, similar to its 2025 budget approved by the Congress, but the DBM raised this to some P803.6 million.
But Castelo explained that additional budget for programs also meant they would need more personnel, which led to them requesting for another P100 million.
“And then, nung nagdagdag sila ng (When they added) P60-something million, we requested for additional personnel services. Siyempre may cost yon yung na-mention ko kanina na additional employees para mas ma-fulfill yung functions (of course, there’s additional cost to what I mentioned earlier about additional employees to fulfill the functions) and other IT equipment that are needed for the OVP,” she added.
Approval of the OVP budget, as is with other government agencies, is subject to the discretion of the Congress.
No confidential funds
Castelo also clarified that there will be no confidential funds request for the OVP.
“No confidential funds. Hindi naman na tayo nag-request (We did not request). If they want to give, they want to give,” she stressed.
The P650-million combined confidential funds of the OVP and the Department of Education (DepEd) when Vice President Sara Duterte was still its secretary was the basis of a congressional inquiry into an alleged misuse of public funds by the Vice President.
Such also became the trigger of an impeachment complaint filed against her in the lower house, which formally impeached her by a majority vote on Feb. 5.
An impeachment trial is looming in the Senate.
‘Unmodified opinion’
Meanwhile, the OVP said it also received an unmodified opinion from the Commission on Audit (COA) for 2024, marking the third consecutive year the agency was issued this audit opinion under Duterte’s helm.
In its 2024 Annual Audit Report, state auditors affirmed that the financial statements of OVP were accurate, reliable, and compliant with applicable laws, regulations, and accounting standards.
“We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our unmodified opinion,” COA stated, as quoted by the OVP. “In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly, in all material respects.”
In a statement, the OVP said it recorded a utilization rate of 85.55 percent under the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) showed “sound fiscal management.”
According to the COA website, an unmodified opinion (also referred to as unqualified opinion) is an opinion issued when the auditor concludes that the financial statements are prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework.
“This outcome highlights the OVP’s continuing commitment to transparency, accountability, and the judicious use of public funds, as well as compliance with the principles of good governance and sound financial administration upheld by state auditors,” the OVP said.