Sara Duterte OK with zero OVP budget

Vice President Sara Duterte (SCREENGRAB FROM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES VIDEO)

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte in a video message on Wednesday said she does not mind having the Office of the Vice President (OVP) totally defunded, as she sees it as part of an alleged coordinated attack against her.

“We also heard that there will be defunding — the Office of the Vice President’s budget will be defunded. We also heard that it’s possible they will only give the Office of the Vice President a budget of only P1. We are ready. I am ready in the Office of the Vice President to work even without a budget, Duterte said in Filipino in the video.

“Our operations are small. We can certainly work even without a budget. We know that’s part of the attack. So we will continue to do what we need to do for the people,” she added.

While there have been no formal proposals for cutting down the OVP’s budget to P1, several lawmakers said they were considering reducing the proposed funding and transferring it instead to social services after Duterte skipped the deliberations on the OVP’s proposed budget for 2025 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Duterte called on the public not to let politics affect them, reminding them that it was not unusual for the vice president to be politically attacked.

“Historically, vice presidents have always been attacked because they are the ones people look at who might become the next president. So, all those who want to run for president will attack the vice president first. So don’t give in to the noise of defamation and politics,” she said.

She also urged the public to carefully examine the budget for 2023, 2024, and 2025 further implying that it was manipulated.

Duterte previously alleged that the government budget is merely controlled by Speaker Martin Romualdez and House committee on appropriations chairperson Rep. Zaldy Co, and that both lawmakers manipulate it for their own benefit.