Vice President Sara Duterte nor any of her representatives did not show up at the resumption of House appropriations panel’s deliberation for the proposed 2025 budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Tuesday, September 10.
The Vice President and the rest of the OVP skipped the second round of deliberations after Duterte refused to answer questions from lawmakers last week, placing the status of her funding request for 2025 in limbo.
House Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Stella Quimbo said they would wait for an hour for Duterte or someone from the OVP to show up, but it was clear that no one would attend.
In a statement, the OVP said they would not be going to the hearing that day for the same reasons the Vice President gave in an interview released before the House discussions.
“As stated in a letter addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives sent earlier today, the OVP has submitted all necessary documentation to the House of Representatives – Committee on Appropriations, including a detailed presentation on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2025,” the OVP said.
“The OVP has submitted all necessary documentation to the House of Representatives – Committee on Appropriations, including a detailed presentation on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2025. We defer entirely to the discretion and judgment of the Committee regarding our budget proposal for the upcoming year,” Duterte also said.
Duterte likewise mentioned that she had already pointed out what she mentioned at the last meeting.
Duterte gave a taped interview to the media in which she accused Speaker Martin Romualdez and House Appropriations Chairman Zaldy Co of “controlling” the national budget and lowering the amount of money that had been allowed for her offices in the past.
The OVP seeks a budget of P2.037 billion for 2025, which is more than the P1.885 billion they are asking for this year.
The House gave a parliamentary courtesy to Duterte in 2022 and 2023, skipping over budget discussions at the committee level without being asked any questions.
However, Congress did not give the Vice President a free pass this year after she resigned from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s cabinet as an Education Secretary.
Arlene Brosas, the Gabriela party-list representative and House Deputy Minority Leader, said Duterte’s snub serves as “an insult” to Congressmen.
“Madam Chair, isang insulto sa mga mamamayang Pilipino at sa mga kinatawan dito sa loob ng Kongreso na hinalal ng mamamayan. Ang hiling natin, makapagpaliwanag ng accountability kasi maraming pa po tayong tanong kaugnay dito,” Brosas said.
“She may not like our questions last hearing, Madam Chair. She may not like being questioned about the OVP expenses. She may not like sitting with us here in the House. But, Madam Chair, she is accountable to the people and shehas this sworn duty to the Constitution, being the head of the agency, to be here,” she added. (TCSP)
