Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday said that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) is still hopeful that the P100 million slashed from their proposed budget for 2019 would still be included in the final budget.
“We welcome the swift approval of our office’s 2019 budget at the House of Representatives today. However, we still remain hopeful that our request to reinstate some P100 million, which was removed from our original proposal, will be included in the final General Appropriations Act,” Robredo said in a statement.
Robredo presented a budget of P549 million for OVP. However, the Department of Budget and Management trimmed it down to just P447 million, which Congress approved.
READ: House panel okays P447M budget for OVP in 15 minutes
According to the Vice President, the slashed budget would have been used for their Angat Buhay program, which caters to poor communities and those affected by natural calamities.
“This amount will be of great help to the local government units and the communities that we are helping, under our Angat Buhay program,” Robredo said.
“There is still much work left to be done in our goal to lift our fellow Filipinos from poverty, and we are looking at our lawmakers’ goodwill to help us make this happen,” she added.
READ: Robredo: ‘Angat buhay’ thrives despite lack of funds
On Friday, the Vice President went to Itogon in Benguet to address the concerns of landslide victims in Barangay Ucab. During her visit, she said the help from her office is not enough.
READ: Robredo to Itogon residents: Return to your provinces
The OVP has also resorted to seeking partnerships with the private sector to sustain projects under the Angat Buhay program. On one ocassion, Robredo handed out kitchen tools and equipment made by an Indian company a senior high school in Bohol senior high school.
READ: OVP hands kitchen tools to Bohol senior high school
“Given that we have no funds for programs, we are dependent with partners who could help us,” she said in a previous report. /ee