OVP’s 2025 budget talks deferred anew; panel terminates hearings

MANILA, Philippines — Deliberations on the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) proposed allocations for 2025 have been deferred again by a House of Representatives panel after no one from the office showed up to defend their budget request.

At the tail-end of the four-hour hearing on Tuesday, appropriations vice chair and Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon moved to defer the OVP proposed budget out of disappointment with Vice President Sara Duterte’s absence.

“I wish to express my frustrations with questions. I am totally prepared because I was not able to ask questions during the last budget hearing, but the questions remained unanswered, Madam Chair.  What is more frustrating, Madam Chair, is we have a vice president who had an interview yesterday but was a no-show at the budget hearing of her office’s proposed budget,” Bongalon said.

“What I am questioning here is the importance of her attendance and the need to scrutinize the budget […] having said that, Madam Chair, I move that we defer the termination of the deliberation of the proposed budget of the Office of the Vice President subject to conditions — either number one, reduce the proposed budget of the [OVP] and number two, place the certain funds on hold until further discussions are held.  I so move, Madam Chair,” he added.

Bongalon’s motion was approved by appropriations senior vice chairperson and Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo after it was duly seconded.

After this, Bongalon also moved to terminate the committee’s budget hearings, which was approved by Quimbo too.

Deliberations on the OVP’s budget were initially deferred last August 27, after Duterte refused to directly answer lawmakers’ questions, replying by either saying that she forgoes the opportunity to defend the budget in a question-and-answer format or by insisting that they have already coordinated with the Commission on Audit (COA) regarding the notice of disallowance.

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

The second round of deliberations was rescheduled to Tuesday, September 10, but neither Duterte nor any OVP representative showed up to defend their proposed budget.  Instead, Duterte wrote a letter to Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and panel chair Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co to state that they have already submitted the necessary documents to the House panel.

READ: VP Sara skips House hearing on 2025 OVP budget, sends letter instead

Earlier, Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante called Duterte out for skipping the House’s hearings, noting that not even the country’s second-highest official can insult Congress.

Minority lawmakers like Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas also slammed Duterte for her absence, saying that while the vice president “may not like” being questioned about her office’s expenses, but “she is accountable to the people” as a public official.

“She may not like being questioned about the OVP expenses, she may not like sitting with us here in the House, but Madam Chair, she is accountable to the people, and she has a sworn duty to the Constitution as the head of the agency to be here para ipagtanggol o malaman natin ang budget niya (to defend or so we can be informed about the budget),” the lawmaker said.

READ: Castro, Brosas slam VP Sara Duterte for skipping OVP budget hearing