Despite members’ objections, House panel ends hearing on OP’s budget

Makabayan bloc lawmakers Arlene Brosas and Raoul Manuel

MANILA, Philippines — Citing parliamentary courtesy, the House of Representatives for the third consecutive year did not scrutinize the proposed P10.5-billion budget of the Office of the President (OP) for 2025 despite the objections of some members.

The budget hearing held on Monday by the House committee on appropriations, however, took a little longer this year. It was supposed to be over in 20 minutes but instead, it lasted less than an hour. Most of the time was spent on debates between the three-member Makabayan bloc and the majority congressmen.

READ: OVP budget deferred after Duterte evades questions at House hearing

The Makabayan lawmakers said that giving a free pass to the OP would affirm the “bratty behavior” displayed earlier by Vice President Sara Duterte toward the panel.

Duterte’s appearance before the same House committee on Aug. 28 to defend the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) 2025 budget was marked by testy exchanges between her and some lawmakers after she refused to answer questions about her office’s use of confidential funds in 2022 and 2023.

Unprecedented move

As a result, the House decided to take the unprecedented move of setting another hearing for the OVP budget on Sept. 10. In previous years, approval of both the OP and OVP budgets took only minutes.

In Monday’s hearing, House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas argued that extending parliamentary courtesy to the OP would make it appear there was a “double standard,” when the OVP wasn’t accorded the same. Filipinos would also be deprived of their right to be informed how the President spent government funds, she added.

At the start of the proceedings, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin assured the House panel that he was there “as a manifestation of the President’s commitment to honor and respect the Congress as our partner in upholding the country’s national interest as well as in promoting the welfare of our people.”

But as soon as the OP concluded its budget presentation, Abra Rep. Ching Bernos asked that the panel observe tradition by extending parliamentary courtesy to the President’s office and terminating the proceedings.

Lawmaker objects

Kabataan party list Rep. Raoul Manuel opposed the motion, citing President Marcos’ earlier pronouncement that all government agencies must undergo the same process in the budget deliberations.

“If we terminate the deliberations, we are affirming the Vice President’s being a brat,” Manuel said.

Due to his objection, a vote was called and the OP’s budget hearing was terminated after 48 lawmakers voted in favor of Bernos’ motion and only three—the Makabayan lawmakers—against it.

Brosas, the Gabriela women’s party representative, said in her manifestation, “We have crucial questions about the foreign policy,” warning the Philippines’ growing closeness with the United States was “very concerning” amid tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

She pointed out that she also wanted to ask if the government was pursuing charges of obstruction of justice against former President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter for allegedly not disclosing televangelist Apollo Quiboloy’s whereabouts after publicly claiming they knew where he was hiding.

“We scrutinized the budget of the OVP here and now we’re giving courtesy to the OP. This is [a] double standard. We are depriving Filipinos of the information on how the President utilized funds,” Brosas said.