Office of the Vice President budget, tinapyasan ng Kongreso ng 1.29B o mahigit sa kalahati

- The Office of the Vice President’s annual budget has been slashed by more than one half as recommended by the House Committee on Appropriations

- In an announcement made by Rep. Stella Quimbo to the press, she said that they have recommended a reduced budget of the OVP from the DBM recommendation of P2.03 billion to P733.2 million, or a reduction of around P1.293 billion

- The Congressional recommendation is similar to the level of the budget of former Vice President Leni Robredo

- In a video of the press announcement shared by the Inquirer on social media, Rep. Quimbo said that she and her colleagues are considering transferring the excess to line agencies of the government

The Office of the Vice President’s annual budget has been slashed by the House Committee on Appropriations by more than a half.

In an announcement by Rep. Stella Quimbo, she said that she and her colleagues at the Committee on Appropriations have recommended a reduced OVP budget of P733.2 million from the original Department of Budget and Management (DBM) recommendation of P2.03 billion.

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Mga kongresista, nagpalitan ng maaanghang na salita sa hearing kahapon dahil sa OVP budget

This translates to around 1.293 billion reduction or more than half of the original proposed budget as recommended by the DBM.

In a video shared by the Inquirer on Facebook, Rep. Quimbo said she and her colleagues have taken into consideration what she said were redundant social programs and issues with the implementation and the rate of utilization of the funds.

“So sabi namin, why don't we just transfer these funds to other govt agencies na subok na subok na?” Rep. Quimbo said in a statement to the press.

The current budget recommendation of Congress for the OVP appeared to be similar to the level that was recommended and approved for the said office under then Vice President Leni Robredo.

Sara Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio, commonly known as Inday Sara, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who currently serves as the 15th vice president of the Philippines. She is notable for being the third female vice president, the third vice president from Mindanao, and the youngest vice president in the country's history. Duterte held the position of secretary of education until July 19, 2024. She is the daughter of the 16th president, Rodrigo Duterte, and has served as the mayor of Davao City from 2016 to 2022 and from 2010 to 2013. Additionally, she was Davao City's vice mayor from 2007 to 2010.

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Pusit, hinain ng kongreso sa House budget hearing ng OVP

It can be recalled that VP Sara Duterte and OVP representatives were noticeably absent during the resumption of the budget hearing at the House of Representatives. At the beginning of the hearing, committee chairperson, Rep. Stella Quimbo, read a letter from the Office of the Vice President and decided to wait for an hour for any OVP representatives. It can be recalled that during the budget briefing of the OVP last August 24, the committee decided to defer its termination today, September 10. After an hour of waiting for a representative from the OVP, the hearing continued.

In a related news, the Vice President has denied allegations that she committed plagiarism. The work that was being alleged was the book that she authored "Isang Kaibigan." According to VP, it was really easy to write a short story based on one's personal experience. She also gave the public an idea about the next book that she will be writing about betrayal.

Source: KAMI.com.gh