Sara no-show at House plenary on OVP budget

Saying she had already said her piece and submitted all the required documents in defending the budget of her office, Vice President Sara Duterte yesterday again snubbed a hearing - this time before the plenary on the OVP's allocation for next year.

- NEIL JAYSON SERVALLOS and DELON PORCALLA

In a letter to the OVP's budget sponsor Rep. Zia Adiong dated Sept. 11, Duterte said she is confident about the strength of her proposal and that she leaves the final judgment on the matter entirely in the hands of lawmakers.

She added that her presentation before the House appropriations committee last Aug. 27, where she clashed with some panel members, was already sufficient.

During previous hearings, Duterte refused to give details on questionable disbursements by her office, saying lawmakers were just laying the groundwork for her impeachment.

But lawmakers said Duterte’s behavior was brazen disrespect for the principle of check and balance enshrined in the Constitution.

“In consideration of the foregoing, the OVP leaves the deliberation of our budget proposal in the plenary entirely to the pleasure of the House of Representatives,” Duterte wrote.

Duterte and representatives of the OVP skipped the committee’s Sept. 10 budget deliberations. She went on the defensive when lawmakers cited audit reports that flagged irregularities and mismanaged funds of the OVP and DepEd.

Concerns raised by committee members include the questionable spending of P73 million from the P125-million OVP confidential funds, as flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA) in 2022.

Duterte said her critics misunderstood her behavior during the deliberations, and stressed her office could still function even with “zero” budget.

“Our office is small. Our operations are small, so we can afford to work even without a budget. We know that’s all part of the attack. So, we will continue to do what we need to do for the people,” Duterte said earlier.

The OVP is proposing a P2.037billion budget for 2025, the lion’s share of which would be allocated to socio-economic programs such as the medical, burial, livelihood, disaster, school supplies and educational assistance.