Senator Jinggoy Estrada on Saturday urged lawmakers to give the Office of the Vice President (OVP) its proposed P2 billion budget for 2025 for it to “function properly.”
“Paano naman magpa-function ang OVP kung tatapyasan mo ng pondo? (How will the OVP function if you reduce their budget?) Remember, she is the second highest official of the country and she deserves some respect and dignity,” said Estrada in a radio interview.
“Palagay ko naman majority of the senator will agree na kailangan irestore (I think the majority of the senators will agree that it needs to be restored),” he added.
Estrada’s statement comes days after a House panel recommended a P1.29-billion slash for the budget of Vice President Sara Duterte’s office.
House Committee on Appropriations Senior Vice Chairperson and Marikina Representative Stella Quimbo explained that the decision was made amid the “lack of information” on the proposal.
Estrada said that it is only right to scrutinize the proposed budget, but added that it should be justified.
“I don’t see anything wrong about it as long as it is justified. But if they can’t justify, kailangan manghimasok na kami, (we need to intervene),” he said.
Meanwhile, Senator Francis Tolentino said the discussion regarding the OVP budget will depend on the plenary.
“Kung magkatugma [o] hindi magkatugma sa desisyon ng mababang kapulungan, ito na yung pagpasok sa bicameral conference committee, pa-plantsahin yun doon kung ano talaga yung budget na maaprubahan,” he said.
(If it matches [or] does not match with the decision of the lower house, that is when the bicameral conference committee will enter to even out what the approved budget would really be.)
Duterte, on Wednesday, stated that she was prepared to work with “zero budget” amid rumors that the OVP will be defunded or made to work with reduced budget, which she stated was an “attack” on her.
“Handa kami. Handa ako sa Office of the Vice President na mag-trabaho kahit walang budget. Maliit lang ‘yung opisina namin. Maliit lang ‘yung operations namin kaya kayang-kaya namin na mag-trahabo kahit walang budget,” Duterte said in a recorded interview.
(We are ready. I am ready in the Office of the Vice President to work even without a budget. Our office is small. Our operations are small so we can afford to work even without a budget.)
