Senate keeps OVP budget slash ahead of bicam

Senators Grace Poe and Aquilino Pimentel III —Senate PRIB

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate on Tuesday upheld the move of the House of Representatives to reduce by P1.3 billion the funding of Vice President Sara Duterte’s office, as the chamber approved on second and third reading next year’s proposed P6.352-trillion national budget before its members in the bicameral conference meet with their counterparts in the House.

Voting 18-0 with one abstention, the Senate also decided to scrap the P39-billion allotment for the contentious Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (Akap), which the House leadership had introduced in House Bill No. 10800, or the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

READ: Sara Duterte’s behavior may affect OVP budget – Sen. Pimentel

Several senators previously claimed that the House had bankrolled the failed Charter change drive through a people’s initiative using the funds allotted for Akap in the 2024 national budget.

Duterte family allies

But Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the Senate finance committee, said “The budgets of OVP (Office of the Vice President) and Akap will be determined during [the bicameral committee hearings].”

“We need to consult our House counterparts on these items,” she said in a Viber message.

Also voting to approve the entire P6.352-trillion budget were Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Christopher “Bong” Go, longtime allies of the Duterte family, as well as Sen. Imee Marcos.

Senators Marcos, Dela Rosa and Go are members of the bicameral conference committee, which will meet later this week.

Pimentel abstains

As he did last year, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III again abstained from the vote on the budget, saying he wanted to maintain “a wait and see attitude.”

“Of course, this is in addition to my continuing objection to the very unnecessary presidential certification for a bill, which we process every year and on specified period of the year,” Pimentel said, referring to President Marcos’ decision to certify the passage of the GAB as urgent.

“Adopting this cautious, wait and see approach allows us to ensure that the proposed national budget for fiscal year 2025 … will truly and adequately address the genuine and authentic needs of the Filipino people,” he said.

The opposition senator also appealed to all state agencies to “exercise discipline and eliminate wasteful spending.”

“Let us not forget that our projected budget deficit for 2025 stands at P1.53 trillion, while the national government’s total outstanding debt is expected to reach P17.35 trillion next year,” he said.