5 days ago
OVP to seek P733-M budget for 2026 — Sara Duterte
Vice President Sara Duterte said Monday that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) would submit a P733 million budget proposal for fiscal year 2026, which is the same amount approved for her office this year.
Duterte said that she is no longer expecting a higher budget allocation for the OVP since she is not allied with the Marcos administration. That is why, she said, she decided to propose the same amount next year, with only a few adjustments considering the inflation.
'Hindi siya kalayuan doon sa approximately P700 million na ibinigay noong nakaraang taon para sa Office of the Vice President. Hindi siya malayo sa 2025 budget,' she said at a press conference.
(That is not far from the approximately P700 million given last year to the Office of the Vice President. That is not far from the 2025 budget.)
'Inaasahan ko naman na hindi ibibigay 'yung budget ng [OVP] dahil nga hindi naman kami kaalyado ng administrasyon at nakita na natin 'yun nung nakaraang taon, na syempre kung hindi ka sumusunod, hindi ka kaalyado, ay hindi ka ay hindi ka mabibigyan ng pondo para sa mga programa ng opisina mo,' she added.
(I expect that a higher OVP budget will not be given because we are not an ally of the administration and we saw that last year, that if you do not follow them, you are not an ally, then you will not be given funds for the programs of your office.)
Duterte also said that she does not want to see members of her office being "embarrassed" by lawmakers both from the House of Representatives and the Senate during the budget deliberations.
She also said that she is still unsure whether or not she will attend the deliberations for the proposed 2026 budget of the OVP.
Last year, the House decided to reduce the budget of the OVP from the originally proposed P2 billion to P733 million amid Duterte's refusal to answer lawmakers' questions on OVP budget use, including confidential funds.
The Senate retained the House-introduced budget cut despite calls from Duterte's allies to restore some of OVP's proposed funding for social services.
The Vice President lamented the budget cut, saying that around 200 OVP personnel could lose their jobs and some projects of her office would have to be halted.
'Wala kaming madagdag na project for 2026. Tutuloy pa rin lahat... maliban lang sa PANsarap at medical at burial assistance,' Duterte said.
(We will have no additional projects for 2026. Everything will continue... except for PANSarap and medical and burial assistance.)
Despite a significant P1.4 billion budget cut under the 2025 General Appropriations Act, Duterte said her office, so far this year, continued to provide service to the people.
She said that the OVP's medical assistance program provided aid to 127,984 beneficiaries, while the burial assistance program had 25,495 beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, over a million passengers were given free bus rides under the OVP's Libreng Sakay Program. Thousands of students and indigent Filipinos were also given help through other projects of the OVP.
'Naging mas mapaghamon ang pagpapatakbo namin ng mga programa na ang pakay ay pagbibigay ng solusyon sa ilang mga pangunahing suliranin ng mga Pilipino. Ngunit ang mga batikos at sistematikong atake laban sa OVP ay hindi naging sapat para tayo ay humina, huminto, at mabigo,' Duterte said.
(It became more challenging for us to run programs that aim to provide solutions to some of the major problems of Filipinos. But the criticisms and systematic attacks against the OVP were not enough to weaken, stop, and fail us.) — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
