The House Committee on Appropriations deferred anew its deliberations on the proposed 2025 budget of the Office of the Vice President after none among the OVP officials, including Vice President Sara Duterte, showed up to defend it on Tuesday, (September 10).

The decision was reached shortly after Sagip Partylist Rep. Rodante Marcoleta moved for the termination of the OVP budget study that would allow the proposed allocation to remain as it was presented.

The motion received an overwhelming rejection on 45 negative and 3 affirmative voting

Supporting Marcoleta’s motion to grant the OVP the customary parliamentary courtesy were Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab and Davao Occidental Rep. Claude Bautista.

Before raising the motion, Marcoleta and Abang Lingkod Partylist Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano engaged in a heated altercation over the OVP budget issue.

Instead, the House appropriations panel decided to defer consideration of the OVP budget proposal for next year.

Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Jil Bongalon, vice chair of the committee, moved for the deferment of Duterte’s budget. No objection was interposed by any congressman.

“I wish to express my frustrations with questions. I am totally prepared because I was not able to ask questions during the last budget hearing, but the questions remained unanswered, Madam Chair,” said Bongalon.

The budget proposal will reportedly be presented to the plenary where lawmakers, this time, all of them, will have a chance to debate for or against it.
However, the appropriations panel is expected to impose a mean slash of the P2.037 billion budget proposal in retaliation to Duterte’s snub.

Instead of showing up for the OVP budget deliberation on Tuesday, the vice president sent a letter to Speaker Martin Romualdez pointing out that she already said her piece.

It will be recalled that the appropriations panel hearing on August 27 resulted in a decision by the lawmakers to defer the OVP budget proposal.

This, after Duterte refused to respond to questions raised by committee members, most of which centered on the alleged adverseCommission on Audit report on OVP’s use of its confidential and intelligence fund in 2022.