Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero Revals Take on House Hearing of OVP Budget Proposal for 2025
CHIZ ESCUDERO – The Senate President gave his take on the House of Representatives’ hearing on the budget proposal of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for 2025.
The budget proposals of the different offices of the government go through the scrutiny of the finance committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate prior to passage. Recently, the House held an inquiry for the proposed budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
The Office of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte is seeking for a P2 billion budget for 2025. According to the Department of Budget and Management, the budget proposal does not include Confidential Funds.
To recall, the OVP was surrounded by controversy and bashing in 2023 for its speedy spending of the P125 million confidential funds in 2022. In its next budget proposal, the CIF was slashed.
During the recent hearing of the 2025 budget proposal of the OVP at the House of Representatives, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte has a heated exchange of statements with the House members.
Duterte snubbed the question of ACT Teachers Party List Representative France Castro on the OVP’s spending of the Php 125 million Confidential Funds in 2022. She also did not respond to Castro mentioning the Commission on Audit’s disallowance.
The Vice President also asked House Committee on Appropriations Senior Vice Chairperson Rep. Stella Quimbo to replace the presiding officer of the inquiry to which Quimbo refused.
The Marikina Representative stressed that it is not within the call of Vice Pres. Duterte to fire the presiding officer of the hearing. The recent heated exchange of statements is not the first words sparring that the Vice President got involved in over the OVP budget proposal.
During the Senate hearing on the 2025 budget proposal of the OVP, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte also had a heatex exchange with Senator Risa Hontiveros after the latter mentioned that Php 10 million is allotted by the OVP for the distribution of the book authored by Vice Pres. Duterte.
Recently, Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero revealed his take on the behavior of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte during the budget hearing. Based on a report on Inquirer, the Senate President raised a speculation that the Vice President is not used to being asked and being not agreed on.
“Tila hindi sang-ayon at sanay si Vice President Duterte na tinatanong siya at hindi siya sinang-ayunan,” the Senate President said.
Escudero also observed that Duterte is not a friend of some of the members of the House. Based on the report, he hopes that there will be changes in the next hearing.
“Maliwanag sa napanood ko kahapon na una: Hindi isang kaibigan si Vice President Sara sa ilang miyembro ng Kamara at sa Kongreso kahapon. Sana magbago ‘yun sa susunod na pagdinig,” the Senate President said.
Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero refused to give a comment on what he would do in case he was at the House hearing. He stressed that he does not need to tell them what and what not to do.