House realigns P1.29B to govt aid programs

VICE President Sara Duterte has a lot of belt-tightening to do in 2025 after the House Committee on Appropriations slashed her office’s proposed P2.037 billion budget by a whopping 63.8 percent, approving only P733.198 million after she refused to answer questions from lawmakers related to how her office spent its P2.3 billion allocation in 2023.

Marikina City Rep. Stella Quimbo, senior vice chairperson of the appropriations committee, said the 139 members of the panel voted unanimously to implement the budget cut totaling P1.293 billion, which will be rechanneled to two pro-poor programs of the Department of Health (DOH) Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Assistance for Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS).

Both programs will receive P646.58 million, or half of the P1.293 billion that was slashed from the OVP’s original budget proposal.

Quimbo said the reduced budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), which is contained in the committee report approved on second reading Wednesday night, is still subject to plenary deliberations starting September 16, 2024 and after that, in the bicameral conference committee.

Expenditure items under the OVP that took a hit from the budget reduction were Financial Assistance (P945.445 million), Professional Services (P92.408 million), Utility Expenses (P5 million), Supplies and Materials (P200 million), and Lease Expenses (P48.306 million).

Quimbo explained that the reduction on lease expenses was prompted by the finding that while previous vice presidents only maintained a single office, the OVP under Duterte opened and maintained two extension offices and 10 satellite offices in various regions of the country.

These new offices were blamed for the sharp increase in lease expenses to P53 million, or P4.41 million each month, compared to the P4.1 million per year under former Vice President Leonor Robredo.

She also said that with Duterte refusing to appear at all before Congress to explain her office’s budget, legislators did their own review of the expense reports and found several that were considered copycat programs of regular agencies.

“Number one, there were too many offices. Number two, there were a lot of social programs that were in fact, redundant. Why does the OVP have its own medical assistance program when we have the MAIFIP in DOH? Then there was the burial assistance, educational assistance and several other types of assistance, food packs, etc. These are already covered under AICS,” Quimbo said.

Also lopped off was the P92.408 million for consultants and job order hires which was also transferred to line agencies to ensure program implementation.

The one budget item that survived the cuts was the Personnel Services which includes salaries, allowances, and benefits of all OVP officials and employees.

“We did not touch the personnel services. We give great value to that because it affects the workers. That one must be maintained,” Quimbo said.

Just like in the 2024 budget, the OVP was assigned zero confidential fund for next year after receiving P125 million in 2022 and P375.49 million in 2023, which triggered protests from various sectors.

Quimbo said even if Duterte was a no-show during the last budget hearing at the committee level, lawmakers are still hoping OVP officials would show up during the plenary debates where their input on the proposed budget can still make a difference.

“We’re not perfect (in the appropriations committee). This is still a recommended amount, still subject to debate and discussion. If there is something that needs to be funded, we will listen to their inputs. We are inviting all agencies. It has yet to happen that an entire agency failed to show up (during plenary deliberations) so we are still expecting them to be there,” she said.

Quimbo said the House contingent to the bicameral conference committee is expecting plenty of differences that will need ironing out between the House and Senate versions of the appropriations bill.

At the Senate, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the OVP should be given a budget to at least pay for the salaries of its employees and that of the Vice President.

“Kawawa naman ang mga empleyado nila, dahil may mga empleyado ang OVP kailangan nila sumahod at mabigay ang mga benefits. Yan ang effect kapag zero budget, and even the VP deserves a salary (The OVP has employees who need to be paid their salaries and other benefits. Giving the OVP a zero budget will affect its employees, and even the VP deserves a salary),” Gatchalian said.

Senate President Francis Escudero expressed hope that the “seeming impasse” between the OVP and the House of Representatives will soon 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 on a vote.”

He likewise urged all heads of agencies, “regardless of their fears, biases, or prejudices,” to go through the budget process and let Congress do its mandated job no matter how “boring” budget deliberations are. — With Raymond Africa