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‘I am hopeful though that the seeming impasse between the OVP and the House will be resolved where either or both would take a step back,’ says Senate President Chiz Escudero
MANILA, Philippines – Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero urged Vice President Sara Duterte and House members to set aside their biases and adhere to the budget process amid escalating tensions between them in relation to the proposed 2025 budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
“I am hopeful though that the seeming impasse between the OVP and the House will be resolved where either or both would take a step back, set aside their differences/biases, simply follow the process or, at the end of the day, for Congress (in the exercise of its wisdom) to decide on this and other related matters by a vote,” Escudero told reporters on Thursday, September 12.
The Senate President was responding to a question on whether the OVP should receive zero budget due to the Vice President’s refusal to answer budget issues, as well as her absence at the September 11 House budget deliberations.
“I therefore urge and encourage heads of agencies, regardless of their fears, biases or prejudices, to go through the budget process and let Congress do its Constitutionally-mandated job,” he added.
Instead of addressing questions about the OVP budget at the hearing of the House committee on appropriations, Duterte released a three-part series of taped interviews produced by the OVP, where she accused House leaders of “controlling” the national budget. She also alleged that the budget hearings would just be for her political harassment.
The Vice President had accused Speaker Martin Romualdez and House appropriations committee chairman Zaldy Co of interfering with the 2023 budget of the Department of Education (DepEd) during her stint as education secretary, a claim Co denied.
The Vice President also said she was prepared to operate with a zero budget if Congress decides to defund her office. However, lawmakers have consistently denied any discussions about providing the OVP with zero funding.
On Thursday, the House appropriations committee recommended slashing the proposed OVP budget to P733.198 million from its original proposal of P2.037 billion, to be realigned to the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program, and the Department of Health’s Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients project.
This is not final yet, as the House will still need to debate the budget at the plenary next week. While the Senate has completed committee-level deliberations on the OVP budget, it has yet to begin its plenary debates on the 2025 budget.
“The budget process is still ongoing and I would not want to preempt the House or Senate,” Escudero said.
“Budget deliberations are usually boring because of the numbers and while this whole thing is adding drama and color to it, I don’t think this is in anyway helping resolve the problems our country and people are facing right now,” he added.
Duterte attended the first House hearing on the OVP budget last August 27, but her continued refusal to answer lawmakers’ questions about her past confidential expenses and current budget utilization frustrated House members, who then labeled her as an entitled brat. (READ: Sara vs the House: Inside the ugliest live political feud of the Marcos era)
Since leaving the Marcos Cabinet, Duterte has claimed that she is the target of political harassment by administration allies. – Rappler.com
