MANILA – Around 200 personnel of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) are in danger of losing their jobs following the reduction of the office’s budget to P733 million for next year.
According to Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, among those who will be affected are personnel from the OVP’s various satellite offices across the country and some assigned to the central office in Mandaluyong City.
“Meron kasi kaming mga OVP personnel na ‘yung charges nila, nakita namin na natanggal ‘yung budget source nila,” Duterte-Carpio said in a press conference.
She added: “So meron talagang mga OVP personnel, particularly sa satellite offices, na mawawalan ng trabaho. Marami-rami din ‘yun. Approximate lang itong sa akin,” she added.
Also to be affected are some projects being implemented by the OVP, specifically the free bus rides and financial assistance provided in its satellite offices.
Duterte-Carpio said the OVP’s satellite offices are still currently functioning and will continue to do so until December 31, 2024. However, it is unsure how the operations will change come 2025.
The Senate on Wednesday afternoon approved the P733-million budget proposed by the Senate finance committee after no senators raised questions.
The Senate panel adopted the House of Representatives’ decision to reduce the OVP budget to P733 million from the P2 billion as originally proposed in the National Expenditure Program submitted by the Executive Department to Congress./PN
