OVP BUDGET
THE Senate formally approved the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) 2025 budget of P733 million in under 10 minutes, with no senators raising objections.
Vice President Sara Duterte was present during the plenary deliberations.
Initially, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa moved for immediate approval, but Senator Christopher Bong Go intervened, expressing a desire to restore funding for the OVP’s social services.
Despite this, the budget was approved as proposed by the Senate finance committee.
The approved amount aligns with the House of Representatives’ earlier decision to reduce the OVP’s budget from the P2 billion proposed in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) to P733 million.
This reduction was due to the OVP’s failure to submit requested documents clarifying budgetary concerns.
Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, stated: “We reached out several times to the Office of the Vice President requesting them to submit documents to clarify issues regarding their budget but they have not submitted as of today.”
The budget cut primarily affects the OVP’s social service programs, with funds reallocated to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Health (DOH).
