House Conducts 1st Hearing over Budget Proposed by Office of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte for 2026
SARA DUTERTE – The Vice President and all the staff of the OVP were no show at the hearing in the House of Representatives over their proposed budget for 2026.
Currently, both the Senate and the House of Representatives are looking into the proposed budget of the different offices of the government as well as the different state departments and institutions. Vice Pres. Duterte’s office is seeking for a P902.8 million fund for 2026.
Previously, ahead of the budget talks, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte claimed that she already sees cuts from the proposed budget of the OVP for 2026. According to the Vice President, the President and the House Speaker are still the same people. She expects that the budget for her office will allegedly be reduced when the proposal reaches the House of Representatives.
Despite her claim, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s office said that they are ready to defend the P902.8 million proposed budget of the OVP for 2026. The OVP did not include in its proposal a requested confidential and intelligence funds.
The OVP also previously claimed that Vice Pres. Duterte is ready to defend the proposed budget of her office but her attendance to the hearings set by the Senate and the House of Representatives depends on her schedule.
Recently, the House of Representatives conducted its first hearing on the proposed budget of the Office of the Vice President for 2026. Based on a report on Inquirer, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte and the OVP staff were no show at the said budget inquiry.
According to Palawan Representative Jose Alvarez, the vice chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, he advised Duterte’s staff to skip the House budget hearing after it stated in a letter that an assistance secretary will be the one to attend the budget inquiry.
Based on the report, the House Committee on Appropriations Vice Chairman stressed that Lemuel Ortonio, the assistant chief-of-staff of Duterte, is an not undersecretary-level officer. According to him, the OVP staff were advised to skip the hearing if USec. Zuleika Lopez will not appear at the inquiry.
“Knowing that and consistent with the tradition of the House that it’s either the head of agency or at the very least, an undersecretary who should defend the budget of the agency […] I advised them to refrain from attending if Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez is not present,” Alvarez said.
Meanwhile, reportedly, the Palawan Representative confirmed that he was able to secure a commitment from the OVP for Vice Pres. Sara Duterte to attend the next budget hearing on Sept. 16.
Previously, the OVP said that the budget appropriation for the Isang Kaibigan book is no longer included in the 2026 proposed fund of Duterte’s office.