Sara Duterte Unbothered by OVP Defunding Amid Claims of Political Targeting
SARA DUTERTE – Vice President Sara Duterte unbothered by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) defunding amid alleged political attacks.
In a video message on Wednesday, Vice President Sara Duterte expressed that she doesn’t mind if the OVP is completely defunded, suggesting it is part of a larger coordinated effort against her.
“We also heard that there will be defunding — the Office of the Vice President’s budget will be defunded. We also heard that it’s possible they will only give the Office of the Vice President a budget of only P1. We are ready. I am ready in the Office of the Vice President to work even without a budget,” Sara said in Filipino in the video.
“Our operations are small. We can certainly work even without a budget. We know that’s part of the attack. So we will continue to do what we need to do for the people,” she added.
Although no formal proposals to reduce the OVP’s budget to P1 have been made, some lawmakers have mentioned redirecting the funds to social services after Duterte skipped the OVP’s 2025 budget deliberations on Tuesday.
Duterte also urged the public not to be swayed by politics, noting that vice presidents have historically faced political attacks.
“Historically, vice presidents have always been attacked because they are the ones people look at who might become the next president. So, all those who want to run for president will attack the vice president first. So don’t give in to the noise of defamation and politics,” she said.
READ ALSO: Sara Duterte No Show at House Deliberation of OVP Budget Proposal for 2025
Additionally, Sara Duterte called on the public to scrutinize the budgets for 2023, 2024, and 2025, hinting at manipulation.
Duterte has previously claimed that Speaker Martin Romualdez and House appropriations committee chairperson Rep. Zaldy Co control the government budget and manipulate it for their own gain.
Watch the video below: