As OVP skips plenary debates anew, House again reschedules talks

House of Representatives plenary. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has approved a motion rescheduling the plenary debates on the Office of the Vice President (OVP) proposed budget, after neither Vice President Sara Duterte nor any authorized representative showed up for the second straight day.

During the session on Tuesday, Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Northern Samar 1st District Rep. Paul Daza appealed to include OVP’s budget deliberations at the plenary for Wednesday again, to ensure that Duterte’s office is given another opportunity to be present.

OVP on Monday sent an officer to aid budget sponsor, Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, during the interpellations but the representative did not carry a letter of authorization with him.  The same officer did not return even as the House waited until 3:00 a.m. of Tuesday.

“Yesterday in the schedule, included (was) the Office of the Vice President.  We waited the whole day, and there was no appearance yesterday, so the House jointly — the Minority and the Majority — moved to include in the schedule today, again the [OVP] to give ample time and another opportunity for the OVP to come here personally so we can have a deliberation on the OVP budget,” Daza said.

“It’s already 9:00 p.m., we waited the whole day, and there’s still no appearance from what I was told, from the Office of the Vice President.  We want to make sure that we give ample opportunities for the [OVP] to make an appearance, for our sponsorship and debate of all agencies, so in that light […] please allow me to make a motion to include again for tomorrow’s schedule, at 10:00 a.m., the OVP, Mr. Speaker,” he added.

The Majority concurred to the motion, which was eventually approved by Deputy Speaker Yasser Balindong.

On Monday, Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan confirmed that the House was really scheduled to deliberate the OVP proposed budget at 10:00 a.m., but the absence of an authorized representative forced the chamber to ask other agencies to go first.

In a press briefing, Libanan was asked regarding Duterte’s absence at the plenary debates — particularly reports that the Vice President was seen on an island beach over the weekend.  Libanan said they do not mind that because it was on a weekend, as the important thing now is for Duterte or any official representative to show up for their schedule at the plenary.

READ: Sara Duterte, OVP rep no-show yet at House plenary debate on budget 

When asked to clarify if OVP was really expected to be tackled at the start of the plenary debates this 10:00 a.m., Libanan confirmed this, noting that the representative sent by the office did not carry with him any written authorization.

This is not the first time that Duterte skipped hearings on her office’s proposed budget.  Last September 10, at the second round of talks at the House committee on appropriations, neither Duterte nor any member of the OVP showed up to respond to questions.

These absences — coupled with Duterte’s refusal to directly answer questions regarding her office’s past budget utilization — prompted Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel to call the Vice President’s actions as a betrayal of public trust.

READ: Sara Duterte skipping budget debates ‘betrayal of public trust’ – solon 

OVP was originally allocated a P2.037 billion budget under the National Expenditures Program (NEP), but lawmakers from the House decided to cut this down to just P733 million due to Duterte’s behavior and revelations that some OVP programs suffered from low budget utilization.

READ: OVP hit for using only 0.4% of its Magnegosyo Ta Day funds 

During the budget deliberations also, it was also revealed that some OVP programs suffered from low utilization, like in the case of Magnegosyo Ta Day where only 0.04 percent of funds as of December 2023 — P600,000 out of P150 million — were used.