Small budget not a hindrance to serving public — Robredo

MANILA, Philippines — A measly budget is not a hindrance to serve the public, Vice President Leni Robredo expressed on Sunday.

“Mabuti na lang mula 2016 nasanay kami dito na kung ano ‘yung ibigay pagkakasyahin namin. ‘Yung kaliitan ng budget, hindi siya dahilan para hindi na kami makatulong,” Robredo said during the BISErbisyong LENI program on DZXL.

(It’s good that we are used to maximizing a small budget since 2016. The small budget is not a reason for us to not help.)

The Office of the Vice President (OVP)’s budget for 2022 was slashed by 21 percent as P713 million was approved.

Lawmakers at the House of Representatives called to increase the OVP’s budget to at least P1 billion.

Robredo explained that they augment their budget through their projects to continue helping Filipinos.

“Kaya nga nagkaroon kami ng Angat Buhay kasi ‘yun ‘yung solusyon namin dun sa maliit namin na budget,” she mentioned.

(That’s why we have an Angat Buhay because it is our solution to our small budget.)

Angat Buhay is a flagship project of the OVP that bridges poor communities to organizations or business corporations.

Robredo further noted that the P5-trillion budget for next year has trimmed certain allocations for health agencies amid the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Ang nirereklamo talaga natin ‘pag tinignan mo ‘yung budget ngayon, parang walang COVID. Parang business as usual. Okay naman ‘yung business as usual basta naaasikaso mo ‘yung lahat ng pangangailangan,” the vice president lamented.

(We are complaining about the budget because if you look at it, it seems there is no COVID pandemic. It’s like business as usual. Business as usual is okay as long as you can manage all necessities.)

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