Putting his Nostradamus cap on, Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong believes that Vice President Sara Duterte won't be participating in the House of Representatives 2027 budget plenary debates.

The Office of the Vice President (OVP) is seeking about P2.2 billion under the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027. The spending plan carries no confidential or intelligence funds.

Duterte is currently under a Senate impeachment trial, with members of the House acting as prosecutors.

“Ako (Me), I have that gut feeling that she will not be attending especially the plenary [debates]. Baka sa committee hearing, baka pumunta pa siya doon (Maybe the committee hearing, she will attend that),” Adiong said during an online press briefing Thursday, Aug. 20.

The House Committee on Appropriations vice chairman based his prediction on Duterte’s attendance in previous budget cycles.

“Just to be fair also, pumunta naman siya noong last na hearing, committee hearing, ng kanyang budget. But when it reaches the plenary, hindi ho siya pumunta at wala hong pumunta sa kanyang mga staff, kundi ako nagkakamali,” he said.

(Just to be fair also, he did attend the last committee hearing on his budget. But when it reached the plenary, he did not go, and none of his staff went either, unless I am mistaken.)

Duterte’s absence from previous House budget proceedings has repeatedly drawn scrutiny. In 2024, deliberations on the OVP budget were deferred after neither Duterte nor an authorized representative appeared before the plenary.

Adiong said another absence would continue what he described as a pattern of Duterte staying away from proceedings involving both her accountability and the office she leads.

“If that would happen again, she’s just being consistent, wala siyang dinadaluhan. Hindi siya dumadalo sa kanyang budget, hindi rin siya dumadalo sa kanyang trial,” he said.

(If that happens again, she is just being consistent, she does not attend anything. She does not attend her budget, and she also does not attend her trial.)

“So she’s just being consistent about her, you know, not respecting legal processes and constitutional processes that involves not only her own case but her own office and mandate,” Adiong added in a subtle jab.

The OVP budget will tackled by the appropriations committee early next month. The per agency briefings on the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP)--the precursor to the General Appropriations Bill (GAB)--began last Aug. 17.

The House earlier assured the OVP that it would be accorded courtesy and respect during deliberations on its proposed 2027 budget despite Duterte’s ongoing impeachment trial.

The respondent's alleged misuse of P612.5-million confidential funds at the OVP and Department of Education (DepEd) is among the charges being heard by the Senate impeachment court. Duterte was the education secretary from 2022 to 2024.

Adiong’s was asked whether or not lawmakers could revisit the OVP’s past confidential fund spending during deliberations on its 2027 budget.

He saw no reason to restrict the House members from exercising their constitutional mandate to scrutinize public spending.

“Wala pa naman ding desisyon ang korte patungkol sa impeachment trial, no? So I don’t see any reason bakit magkakaroon ng restriction doon sa mga katanungan na alam naman po natin na this is simply a constitutional mandate that each individual congressman and representatives are exercising,” Adiong said.

(There is still no court decision regarding the impeachment trial, so I don’t see any reason why there should be restrictions on the questions, since we know this is simply a constitutional mandate that each congressman and representative is exercising.)