VP Sara Duterte attends Senate plenary deliberations on OVP’s budget

Vice President Sara Duterte (File photo from HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES)

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte physically appeared before the Senate on Wednesday to attend the chamber’s plenary deliberations on her office’s proposed 2025 funding.

Duterte’s attendance came days after Sen. Grace Poe announced that the Senate had retained the P733-million budget for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) approved by the House of Representatives in its 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

Poe heads the Senate finance panel.

According to her, the decision was made because the OVP failed to submit documents to clarify some issues regarding the proposed budget.

“Yes. We reached out several times to the Office of the Vice President requesting them to submit documents to clarify issues regarding their budget, but they have not submitted as of today,” Poe had told reporters then.

“So, we decided to retain the GAB amount pending submission and review of these documents,” she added.

The OVP’s proposed budget was initially at P2.037 billion.

It was reduced by P1.29 billion in the lower chamber.

Hence, the OVP’s budget up for approval in the Senate amounts to P733 million.