The Senate Finance Committee has agreed to a budget of 733 billion pesos for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for 2025. This is much less than the 2 billion pesos originally planned. The total budget for the country, called the General Appropriations Bill, is 6.352 trillion pesos.
Senator Grace Poe, who leads the finance committee, explained that they asked the Vice President’s office several times to share important documents to help understand their budget needs, but they didn’t receive any. So, they decided to keep the budget amount as is until they get more information.
In September, the House of Representatives approved the budget, cutting the Vice President’s proposed amount by 1.29 billion pesos.
Senator Poe mentioned that they also decided to leave out funding for a program called Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita (AKAP) from the budget report. The Senate will discuss whether to include it later, depending on whether the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) can explain why it’s needed.
Some senators had concerns about AKAP because it was thought to be used for political purposes during a campaign for changes to the constitution. Senator Imee Marcos noted that AKAP funding was added to the budget for 2024 without the senators knowing.
Senator Poe assured that 35.190 billion pesos will still go to the Commission on Elections, which is important for the upcoming national and local elections, including the first-ever elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Even though there’s a bill trying to postpone these Bangsamoro elections, the budget for them will stay as is. The Senate also reduced the budget for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation by 5.7 billion pesos.
Senator Poe talked about the importance of keeping the country safe, especially after a recent issue with a mayor. She said the Senate supports funding a system that will help identify people entering and leaving the country, making it harder for bad actors to use private planes for illegal activities.
“This budget is not just numbers; it shows what we care about and how we plan to invest in our country’s future,” she said. “Every part of it is important, and we need to know how each peso is spent.”
The Senate will start discussing the budget in detail on Wednesday.
