The House Appropriations Committee has recommended a significant reduction of P1.3 billion from the proposed P2.04 billion budget for the Office of the Vice President (OVP), bringing the allocation down to P733.2 million.
This decision was made during a committee session, with panel vice-chairperson and Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo leading the deliberations.
Quimbo explained that the reduction mainly targets financial assistance programs, with the entire P947.4 million funding for these initiatives being eliminated. Additionally, the lease expenses for 12 OVP satellite offices were cut to P48 million, raising concerns about the necessity and redundancy of these offices compared to those of previous vice presidents.
“Tila napakaraming opisina. Bakit? Whereas previous vice presidents didn’t have those nationwide offices. Bakit napakaraming social programs na i-implement, tila redundant,” Quimbo remarked, questioning the proliferation of OVP offices and social programs.
According to Quimbo, the decision to slash the budget was influenced by the OVP’s low budget utilization rate in previous years and identified implementation problems within its social programs.
“Ang dami pong natirang pondo mula sa social programs. At the same time, meron ding lumabas na mga problema, implementation problems resulting in lack of implementation details,” she added.
The funds saved from these cuts will be reallocated to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for its Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations and to the Department of Health (DOH) for Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients.
Quimbo expressed hope that Vice President Sara Duterte and her staff will actively participate in the upcoming plenary debates next week to discuss the implications of the budget cuts. NewsWatch Plus has reached out to the OVP for a statement, but as of now, no response has been received.
