Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
MANILA, Philippines— The fight for the 2025 budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) is like the song “The Impossible Dream,” Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said on Wednesday.
“To dream the impossible dream, to fight an unbeatable foe…” Dela Rosa sang in response to queries about the OVP’s budget.
Voting 18-0 with one abstention on Tuesday, the Senate maintained the P1.3 billion cut in the OVP budget, leaving it with only P733 million for 2025.
Malacanang’s original proposal was P2.03 billion, but it was reduced to P733 million in the House of Representatives.
Dela Rosa declined to say how the Senate decided to adopt the House version during a caucus, before voting on it on third and final reading.
“Huwag na lang nyo kami pag away-awayin (Don’t make us quarrel). We respect the leadership of the Senate,” he simply said in an interview in the Senate.
Dela Rosa, however, added that some senators like him “tried to make adjustments.” He did not elaborate.
Told about the OVP’s alleged failure to submit pertinent documents that would justify an increase in the budget, Dela Rosa said “justification is not needed.”
“We don’t need justifications. We need mercy. Justification is not needed,” he said.
When asked if he thinks an increase in the OVP budget is still possible in the bicameral conference committee, the senator said: “Hindi nga nakalusot dito sa atin sa sa caucus , dun pa sa bicam pa.”
Dela Rosa does not think that Vice President Sara Duterte’s recent tirades against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. could have affected the budget of her office.
“Marami pa rin kami ha…pero sige lang, we support our leadership if that is the decision of the leadership of Senate,” said the senator, who is known to be an ally of the Vice President.
Duterte, during the weekend, claimed that she had already contracted an assassin to kill Marcos, his wife Liza, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she is killed.
In a press conference, Duterte made it very clear that she was not joking.
“May kinausap na ako na tao. Sinabi ko sa kanya, ‘Kapag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez.’ No joke, no joke. Nagbilin na ako,” the Vice President said.
(I already talked to someone. I told him, ‘If they kill me, kill Bongbong Marcos, Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez.’ No joke, no joke. I’ve given instructions.)