The House of Representatives has slashed the proposed Office of the Vice President (OVP) budget for 2026 by P156 million, effectively bringing back the agency funding to its 2025 level.

This was made official in House plenary on Friday afternoon, Oct. 10, during the period of individual ammendments to the P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or proposed national budget for 2026. The proceedings were ongoing as of this posting.

Deputy Majority Leader Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima--who had no love lost for Vice President Sara Duterte--was the one who made the motion to reduce the OVP's outlay next year.

"I proposed an amendment to the budget of the [OVP] in the form of a reduction from P889.24 million to its 2025 level of P733.2 million, representing a reduction of P156 million or 17.5 percent. This is found in House GAB Volume I-A Page 22 Line 19," De Lima said.

Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing, the sponsor of the 2026 GAB as embodied in House Bill (HB) No.4058, accepted De Lima's ammendment.

There was audible applause within plenary when Suansing announced this.

Majority Leader Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos subsequently echoed Suansing's acceptance, resulting to De Lima's being carried by the presiding officer, Deputy Speaker Ilocos Sur 2nd district Rep. Kristine Singson-Meehan.

The motion to reduce the OVP budget was one of only two motion Friday wherein the minority and majority solons were on the same page.

De Lima didn't mince her words as she tried to justifying the significant budget cut on Vice President Duterte's office. What irked the deputy minority leader was the Vice President's supposed refusal to attend last week's plenary debates on the GAB.

"Let me then again put this on record: VP Sara Duterte’s repeated refusal to face this chamber is an insult. It spits on the duty of accountability, while she clings to millions in public funds she refuses to explain," De Lima said.

"This is arrogance. Para tayong mga magulang na tinatabig at sinisigawan ng anak na tumatangging magpaliwanag kung saan napunta ang baon. Kahangalan ang magsabi na aksidente lamang ito o resulta ng pagkakamali. Malinaw na pangmamaliit ito sa Kongreso at sa taumbayan. Sa madaling salita po: paulit-ulit na tayong binabastos ng Bise Presidente," she added.

(We’re like parents being pushed away and shouted at by a child who refuses to explain where their allowance went. It’s absurd to say this was just an accident or a mistake. This is clearly a show of disrespect toward Congress and the Filipino people. In plain terms: the Vice President has repeatedly disrespected us.)

De Lima said that it was up to the House, which holds the power of the purse, to "discipline a brat".

"Public money is not a toy. Hindi ito pabuya na pinamimigay sa mga imbentong tao na may imbentong pangalan sa mga imbentong project (This is not a reward being handed out to invented people with invented names for invented projects). It is a trust. And until the Vice President learns respect, this House must act as the parent that disciplines a brat."

De Lima said she was aware that slashing the OVP funds could be exploited by certain camps to elicit sympathy for the Vice President. But she simply dismiss this by saying, "Dyan naman sila magaling. Kadramahan (That’s what they're good at. Drama)."

Suansing gave two conditions for the budhet reduction that De Lima concurred with. These involved looking after the welfare of OVP workers and ensuring the efficient function of the office.

"First, we want to protect the interests of the personnel within the [OVP]. So given that, the current proposal of the [OVP] reflects the salary increases of the said personnel in compliance with the Salary Standardization Law," she said.

"We will ensure that the Personnel Services (PS) will reflect that for the benefit of the employees of the [OVP]," noted the Harvard graduate.

"And second, we will also ensure that the final budget of the [OVP] will be sufficient for the office to be able to perform its mandate," she further said.