MANILA, Philippines ? The proposed budget of the Office of the President for 2010 swiftly breezed through the House of Representatives, with the committee on appropriations approving it in less than five minutes on Monday.

At the start of the hearing at 9:30 a.m., Tawi-Tawi Representative Nur Jaafar moved to dispense with the presentation of the budget and the hearing, except for the budget of the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group. The move was approved by the committee.

Sorsogon Representative Salvador Escudero followed this with a motion to approve the budget, which was agreed by the committee.

The budget of the Office of the Vice President was also approved without questions. Vice President Noli De Castro was not around during the hearing.

The OP proposed an appropriation of P 4.259 billion for next year, while the OVP is asking for P185 million.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita thanked the committee for the swift budget approval of their office, coming amid controversies involving President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s frequent trips abroad.

?Our thanks for your kind consideration and we will pass on the instructions about the need for the chairman of PASG to meet with the budget committee,? Ermita said.

Quirino Representative Junie Cua, committee chairman, said the panel adhered to tradition not to question the budget proposed by the OP and the OVP.

He said the process of budget deliberation does not end at the committee level and could still be scrutinized at the sub-committee level and in plenary.

Representative Teodoro Casino of Bayan Muna party list who arrived about 20 minutes after the approval of the budget was surprised at to learn about the development. He said he intended to question the OP on the President?s trips abroad.

Malacañang admitted that the OP had exceeded its budget allocation by over P1 billion from 2001 to 2009, but said there was nothing wrong with it.