DSWD Denies Vice Pres. Duterte’s Claim they Reject Referrals from OVP
DSWD – Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian spoke on Vice President Sara Duterte’s claim.
The budget proposals of the different offices and agencies in the Philippines go through the scrutiny of the Senate and the House of Representatives prior to passing. This year, the budget proposal of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) was controversial.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte got involved in a spar with some Senate and House members due to different instances. During the deliberation of the budget proposal at the Senate, Vice Pres. Duterte got into a heated exchange with Senator Risa Hontiveros after the latter mentioned the P10 million budget allotted for the distribution of the book authored by Duterte.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros also mentioned the similar assistance program that the OVP has with the other government agencies. According to Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, it is because her office has referrals that were rejected by the other government agencies.
Duterte accused the other government agencies of “politicizing”. Hontiveros moved to make a motion to re-allocate the assistance program funds to relevant agencies.
Recently, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) denied the allegations of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte that there are referrals from the OVP that not accepted by their agency. Based on a report on GMA News, the department even guaranteed proof to prove their claim.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian claimed that both the point persons of the social welfare department and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) could not find an instance when their office rejected the referral from Duterte’s office.
“In fact, ang sabi niya [OVP handling officer “Director Norman”] wala rin ho siyang alam kasi lahat naman ng referral daw nila ay malugod namin tinatanggap. We can furnish you the screenshots but we have to ask permission of Director Norman if he will also consent,” the Social Welfare Department Chief said.
Gatchalian also mentioned that the office of Duterte has given the DSWD a plaque of recognition acknowledging them as their “valued partner”. Based on the article, he stressed that it was middle of 2024 when the OVP gave their office a plaque of recognition and he is ready to submit a copy of it. The social welfare department is also allegedly ready to submit an award from Duterte’s office.
Aside from a spar with Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte also had a spar with some House members. From the P2 billion that the OVP is requesting, Duterte’s office is granted P700 million by the House.
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