OVP ready to defend P130.7-million budget

The Office of the Vice President (OVP) said yesterday it is ready to justify its proposed P130.7-million budget for 2006 submitted earlier to Congress.

Lawyer Rodolfo Ma. Ponferrada, assistant OVP chief of staff, said in a statement that contrary to claims made by critics, the OVP’s budget is not bloated and will mean better public service for all Filipinos.

He said the P50-million increase in maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) from last year was one of the items criticized by Vice President Noli de Castro’s opponents.

"Had the OVP’s detractors studied the... proposed budget more clearly, they would have seen that the bulk of the increase (almost P30 million) is earmarked for assistance to indigent patients in hospitals, livelihood programs, comprehensive integrated delivery of social service programs, medical assistance, death and funeral benefits of the victims of calamities and fortuitous events and other forms of financial assistance," Ponferrada said.

He added that since De Castro assumed office, the number of people seeking help from the OVP’s Public Assistance Center has almost doubled, from around 16,000 to more than 30,000 during the first six months of this year.

Ponferrada said De Castro’s opponents also criticized the OVP’s request for an increase of P5 million in traveling expenses for 2006, also listed under the MOOE.

"Since the Vice President assumed office, he has not traveled abroad using government money except upon the order of the President herself. (Office of the President) funds were used to defray expenses for those trips, such as when the Vice President represented the Philippines during the funerals of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, as well as the inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI," Ponferrada said.

Another controversial item in the OVP’s proposed 2006 budget is the P2.75-million increase in representation expenses, which Ponferrada said was warranted by De Castro’s increased role in the government of Mrs. Arroyo. De Castro also holds the posts of alternate chair of the National Anti-Poverty Commission, price monitoring czar, and presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers.

Ponferrada said the OVP is also requesting an allocation for the purchase of an official vehicle for the Vice President, saying that De Castro still uses his own car since the government has no official car for the Vice President.

"Everyone who knows the Vice President knows how austere he is. Even before the government’s austerity program, we had already instituted reforms to generate savings for the government. We want the public to know that not a single centavo allocated to the OVP would be put to waste," Ponferrada said.

With the Vice President as housing czar, the key shelter agencies accomplished the proclamation of 31 sites, with a total land area of 356.67 hectares, as sites for socialized housing to benefit 23,353 households. Of the 144,756 households provided with security of tenure, 70,927 went to socialized housing, according to Ponferrada.