OVP proposed P733 million as 2026 budget, almost same as 2025 – Duterte

Vice President Sara Duterte speaks to the members of the media during a press conference at the Office of the Vice President in Mandaluyong City on Friday, February 7, 2025. INQUIRER.net / ARNEL TACSON

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday said her office proposed a budget of P733 million for next year, basically just maintaining its current budget for 2025.

“For the 2026 budget, we submitted a proposal of P733 million, which is not far from the approximately P700 million that was given last year for the OVP,” said Duterte in a press conference in Davao City.

According to Duterte, she is essentially keeping the same budget the national government allocated for her office in 2025 simply because she believes requiring a higher amount would likely be denied.

READ: House finalizes P1.3-B cut in 2025 OVP budget

“Since we’re not allied with the administration, and we already saw that last year—of course, if you don’t align with them or you are not an ally, you won’t be given funding for the projects of your office,” explained Duterte.

The vice president also wants to prevent her staff from being “humiliated,” especially before the House of Representatives and the Senate during the budget deliberations.

“So I decided that the budget given for this year would be the same for next year. We only added a small amount to account for inflation in the 2026 budget,” she told reporters.

All these views stem from the time when OVP’s proposed budget for 2025 was cut down from P2.037-billion to P700-million.

House lawmakers decided to reduce the OVP’s budget after Duterte repeatedly refused to directly answer their queries concerning the use of the public funds.

Duterte is also accused of misusing both the Department of Education and the OVP’s funds from 2022 to 2024. /apl