VP Sara finds budget defender in Villanueva

Sen. Joel Villanueva —(Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte has just found an unlikely defender in the Senate.

Sen. Joel Villanueva on Friday rued the move of the House of Representatives’ budget panel to cut the outlay for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) by over 60 percent.

“I respect the decision of the House … but in my own personal point of view as a senator, I cannot stomach [the move] to slash the OVP’s budget by more than half,” Villanueva told members of the Senate media via Zoom.

READ: House panel slashes VP Duterte’s budget by over 60%

The senator pointed out that the House of Representatives had previously granted Duterte’s budget without any questions, starting with the record-breaking amount of P2.3 billion for the OVP’s 2023 budget, an increase of 223 percent from the OVP’s previous budget.

That figure excludes P125 million in “intelligence funds” the OVP allegedly disbursed over 11 days in December 2022.

For 2024, the House approved a budget of P1.752 billion, also without question.

For 2025, the OVP asked for a budget of P2.03 billion, but Duterte refused to answer lawmakers’ questions on how she spent taxpayers monies.

The House appropriations committee thus cut her budget to P733 million, the OVP’s budget in 2022.

But for Villanueva, “tradition” is more important than accounting for tax monies.

“I am a product of the House of Representatives … When I was there, the traditions are very important to us. It may not be part of the law, it may not be part of the rules of both houses, but we always submit to the traditions of our institutions,” he said.

READ: Dela Rosa defends Sara Duterte as OVP budget cut looms

Claiming impartiality

The senator, who had served for three three-year terms as   party list representative, was referring to the practice of lawmakers to swiftly approve the expenditure program of the OVP and the Office of the President during the committee deliberations.

Villanueva, who is not a party mate or a close political ally of the Dutertes, said he was not defending the OVP’s budget because of Duterte.

“It’s the ‘Office of the Vice President.’ You don’t look at ‘who’s in there, who’s running the show.’ I will never look at the personality behind [the office],” he stressed.

“It’s not about who is occupying the post … If you ask me, I disagree [with what the House committee did] and I will [choose to] hold the traditions of the House,” he added.

READ: VP Sara Duterte may be liable for graft – Dalipe

On Thursday, the House committee on appropriations unanimously voted to reduce by P1.3 billion, or about 63 percent, the OVP’s request for financial assistance, consultants, utilities and supplies and rental expenses for next year.