SENATE, Pasay City — At least five senators have expressed support for the move to increase the 2025 budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), according to Senator Joel ‘TESDA-man’ Villanueva after discussing the issue to his colleagues during the budget hearings in the Senate.

“I’ve spoken to like four or five members na pareho ng aking pananaw na increase-an ang budget ng OVP mula doon sa General Appropriations Bill (GAB) na ipinasa ng Congress,” Villanueva pointed out.

While refusing to give specifics on what they talked about, the administration lawmaker stated that he, himself, has been consistent and vocal about his stance on the ₱1.29 billion cut made by the lower chamber in the OVP’s funding for next year.

“As I mentioned earlier, I’m also in that position to somehow increase the budget, not necessarily restore everything. I’m sure, I’m sure, there’s no problem with what the House did,” he reiterated.

“But to increase—that, I hear a lot from our colleagues. And I, for one, would like to put some more. Because it’s like, if you look at the office, and we shouldn’t be looking at whoever is sitting there as the vice president, right? We should not be looking at the personalities involved here. So, I’m looking at the office, and I feel like we need to put some more social funds that our vice president can use. Because that’s the vice president’s office,” he added.

Last September, the House of Representatives recommended slashing the proposed OVP budget of ₱2.037 billion for 2025 to only ₱733.198 million.

The budget cut, according to Marikina representative Stella Luz Quimbo, the panel’s senior vice chairperson, was intended to realign the OVP funds to other government agencies like the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Health (DoH).

Meanwhile, asked about allegations of a proposed ₱2 billion increase in the OVP’s budget, Villanueva maintained that he could only speak for himself, emphasizing that he can’t see a justified reason for the OVP’s fund—which was greenlighted by the President himself — to be slashed in half.

“I don’t look at personalities, I don’t look at whatever some politicians are looking at right now, I’m just after the office itself. The office of the vice president deserves more. So, I’m looking at increasing the budget of the Vice President. We have yet to discuss the exact amount. (But), for me, at least a hundred, a hundred fifty is decent enough to increase the budget. So, we’ll see,” he noted.

Villanueva likewise asserted that being the chairperson of the Senate’s panel on labor, he assured that part of his considerations include those employees of the OVP office who would be laid off and affected by the budget deduction.