The spokesperson of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) expressed hope that Congress won’t realign the P903-million budget proposed by the OVP for 2026, emphasizing its meagerness compared to other executive departments.

Lawyer Ruth Castelo said while they are ready to defend the OVP’s proposed budget and the office “simply lives with what we have,” the P903 million is just sufficient to run their programs for next year.

“Huwag naman sana (I hope not),” she told Bilyonaryo News Channel over the weekend when asked if the OVP is ready in case a part of its budget get realigned. “Kasi hindi naman talaga malaki iyong pondo ng Office of the Vice President (Because the budget of the Office of the Vice President isn’t really that much).”

However, the official assured that the OVP is ready to work with any amount because the people badly need the office’s current flagship projects.

“So we'll find a way kung sakaling babawasan nila pero sana hindi na. Yes, yung almost P903 million natin, yan na yun talagang kailangan so sana hindi na nila bawasan (if they reduce it but I hope they don’t do it anymore. Yes, our almost P903 million, that’s what we need so I hope they don’t reduce it),” she added.

But if there’s a move to do so, Castelo explained that they still need to follow legal procedures and the procedures of the Commission on Audit (COA) because if realignment is legally allowed, “you still have to follow the guidelines and the rules (of) realignment.”

She also refuted comments that the OVP will be receiving a higher budget compared to other government agencies, pointing out that the P903 million is a conservative figure for the country’s second highest office.

“So, we disagree kung sinasabi nila na napakalaki. In fact, napakaliit po if I have to say napakaliit ng budget (if they’re saying that it’s big. In fact, if I have to say, it’s very small),” the official added.

Castelo also maintained that the OVP has been accountable and transparent in its expenses, stressing that the office had received “unmodified, unqualified audit opinion” from COA for three consecutive years.

She also debunked allegations that the OVP had been underutilizing or overspending its budget, explaining that they are simply exercising prudence in using the taxpayers’ money.

“So wala siyang underutilization, wala rin (there’s no underutilization, there’s no overspending) overspending because how can you overspend kung sobrang liit na nga ng pondo, di ba (if your budget is too small, right)?,” she asked.

“So, wala siyang (there’s no) overspending. Pinipilit ng OVP na ubusin lahat ng pondo (The OVP tries to spend the whole budget) by the end of the year but of course with the exercise of prudence and proper caution,” she added.

Castelo has yet to confirm if Duterte herself will attend the OVP’s budget hearings on Sept. 12 at the House of Representatives and Sept. 15 in the Senate.

Noting that the OVP is ready to defend its budget, the official said their undersecretary, assistant secretary, head of finance, head of human resources, and head of plans and programs are all ready to face Congress should there be a need to defend the OVP’s proposed budget, which was already vetted by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).