House finalizes P1.3-B cut in 2025 OVP budget

SLASHED The cut made by a House panel has left the Office of the Vice President with a budget of only P733.198 million. —INQUIRER PHOTO/ GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE.

The House of Representatives has made good on its promise to reduce Vice President Sara Duterte’s proposed P2.03-billion budget for next year by P1.3 billion—an amount that has been realigned to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Health (DOH).

House appropriations committee chair and Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co confirmed this on Wednesday, saying the small committee responsible for making amendments to the 2025 General Appropriations Bill realigned P646.5 million to the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations program and another P646.5 million to the DOH’s Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients program.

This leaves the Office of the Vice President (OVP) with a budget of only P733.198 million, or about the same level as former Vice President Leni Robredo’s budget in 2022.

Earlier, the lower chamber agreed to reduce Duterte’s 2025 budget, citing overlapping functions between the OVP and other agencies like the DSWD and DOH, as well as the steep rental expenditures incurred by the OVP’s satellite offices.

In 2023, the OVP spent P53 million on leasing 10 satellite offices and two extension offices nationwide. This was a steep increase from the P4.1 million spent yearly on office rentals during the term of Robredo.

“These satellite offices are performing functions that should fall under existing government agencies, leading to unnecessary duplication and higher costs,” Co said.

Redundant roles

“By eliminating redundant roles, government can save as much as P1.3 billion, which constitutes a significant portion of the OVP’s proposed P2.037 billion budget for 2025. The House believes this amount could be more effectively allocated to existing agencies, enabling them to extend their services to the public more efficiently,” he added.

During the budget cycle that concluded in September, the House got hold of Commission on Audit reports on the OVP’s use of confidential funds in 2022 and 2023, as well as its 2023 audit report on the OVP and the Department of Education which used to be under Duterte.

All the reports indicated irregularity and inefficient use of public funds, a matter now being investigated by the House committee on good government and public accountability.

But instead of explaining, Duterte claimed she was being politically persecuted by the lower chamber led by Speaker Martin Romualdez, whom she had accused along with Co of controlling the national budget.