MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio is set to defend the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) proposed P903-million budget for 2026 before Congress, a request that comes under heightened scrutiny following her impeachment earlier this year over the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
OVP spokesperson Ruth Castelo said Duterte-Carpio has already made time for the budget deliberations, scheduled on Sept. 12 at the House of Representatives and Sept. 15 at the Senate.
“She’s ready anytime. Kaya naman po niya talagang harapin ‘yan lahat. Ang magiging deperensya lang po natin nga ay ‘yung sa schedule, ‘yung pag-schedule ng engagements,” Castelo said.
She added that the Vice President’s finance and human resources officials, along with assistant secretaries and undersecretaries, will also attend to help present the agency’s budget.
Castelo clarified that while the OVP has been informed of the hearing dates, it has yet to receive invitations from lawmakers who will sponsor and defend its budget in both chambers.
“Wala pong invitation. ‘Yung two dates pa lang po ang nabigay sa atin. But if there is any invitation, I’m sure the Office of the Vice President will oblige,” she said.
The proposed budget is P170 million higher than this year’s P733-million allocation. Notably, the OVP has dropped its request for confidential funds for 2026 after public backlash over the P612.5-million confidential funds flagged in previous years.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate finance committee, has described the proposed budget as “feasible” provided it excludes confidential funds.
Meanwhile, House appropriations panel chair Mikaela Suansing assured Duterte-Carpio and other agency heads of fair deliberations, saying lawmakers also expect the same courtesy./PN
