FILE PHOTO: Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co, chair of the committee on appropriations, presides budget deliberations at the House of Representatives. The proposed 2025 budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) will still be under scrutiny at the House as the committee on appropriations continues to deliberate on the matter on Tuesday, August 27, 2024. (Photo from his Facebook page)
MANILA, Philippines — The proposed 2025 budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) will still be under scrutiny at the House of Representatives as the committee on appropriations continued to deliberate on the matter on Tuesday.
The House panel has decided not to immediately end deliberations – a stark difference from previous years when the OVP usually secures quick approval of its annual budget as a courtesy.
Vice President Sara Duterte was present during Tuesday’s hearing that was presided over by House committee on appropriations chair and Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co.
Also present during the hearing were House committee on appropriations senior vice chair and Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo, and former president and current Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The practice of giving parliamentary courtesy to the OVP has been assailed in the past, as opposition members believe this only allows officials to evade critical questions.
In August 2023, the House committee on appropriations terminated discussions on OVP’s then-proposed 2024 budget in just 20 minutes – a move criticized by the House Makabayan bloc.
No less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s son, Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, moved to end the budget deliberations on the Vice President Duterte’s budget in respect of the long-standing tradition of parliamentary courtesy accorded to high-ranking officials.
READ: House panel ends OVP budget talks in under 20 minutes; Makabayan objects
In the process, however, Makabayan bloc lawmakers were not allowed to question the committee decision or even explain why they objected to a motion to terminate OVP budget deliberations.
ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro and Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel tried to explain their reasons even after the meeting was ended, but their microphones were cut off.
READ: Lost transparency: Makabayan raps ‘shielding’ of Sara Duterte from OVP budget queries
Earlier, progressive groups led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan urged Congress to scrutinize the OVP budget utilization in the past years, particularly the P125 million confidential funds (CF) for 2022 which was reportedly used in just 11 days.
Despite being accorded parliamentary courtesy, the House ultimately decided to remove the proposed CF of the OVP and Department of Education (DepEd) – two agencies that Vice President Duterte led while the 2024 national budget was proposed and reviewed.
The P500 million CF request of OVP was realigned to agencies securing the West Philippine Sea, while the P150 million CF allocation of the DepEd was converted into an item under maintenance and other operating expenses.