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House urges VP Sara to respect budget process

House of Representatives spokesperson Princess Abante on Wednesday called on Vice President Sara Duterte to "respect" the budget process, including the congressional authority to scrutinize it. The statement comes after Duterte said on Monday that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) will submit a P733 million budget proposal for fiscal year 2026. 'Magre-request siya sa House of Representatives ng budget. Sana, nare-recognize din niya na kasama sa responsibilidad ng Kamara, 'yung hindi lang yung makapag-request siya, kundi kasama sa responsibilidad ng Kamara, suriin 'yung paggamit ng pondo na nailaan sa Office of the Vice President,' Abante told reporters. (She will request a budget, and she should recognize that the House has the responsibility not only to look at her request but also to scrutinize the budget use of her office.) 'Dapat ma-justify rin ng Office of the Vice President (OVP) yung budget na hinihingi nila. So, we will wait and see kung talagang i-recognize talaga ni Vice President Sara 'yung budget role ng House of Representatives at respetuhin 'yung proseso ng pag-approve ng budget,' Abante added. (The OVP should also be able to justify the amount they are asking for. Let's see if she respects the role of the House here and the budget process.) Likewise, Abante dismissed the Vice President's comments that congressional budget deliberations tend to shame the OVP personnel. 'Wala namang pong pinapahiya ang House of Representatives sa budget process. Kasama sa trabaho ng House to scrutinize the use of public funds. Ang importante lang, sumagot, [sumagot] ng tama,' Abante said. (There is no shaming involved here. It is part of the House's job to look at the proposed budget. What is important here is for them to answer questions and answer them appropriately.) 'This is for the Filipino people, who we are accountable to,' Abante added. During the 2025 budget deliberations, the Vice President initially showed up but refused to answer queries on disbursements of P612.5 million worth of confidential fund granted to OVP in 2022, 2023 and 2024, of which p73 million was issued notice of disallowance by the Commission on Audit. A notice of disallowance means that the expenditure is 'either irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant, or unconscionable." The House later reduced the OVP's proposed 2025 budget by P1.2 billion, a move that also gained support in the Senate. —VAL, GMA Integrated News