‘OVP satellite offices helped 2 million Pinoys’

MANILA, Philippines — After being branded by lawmakers as redundant and a waste of taxpayers’ money, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) said yesterday its satellite offices had delivered social assistance services to two million Filipinos since 2022.

In a statement, the OVP said it extended medical, burial and relief programs nationwide to 2,027,164 people as of Aug. 31.

Of the number, the OVP said more than 1.5 million or around 67 percent of the beneficiaries were given assistance through the OVP’s 10 satellite offices and two extension offices in different areas in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

“The said mechanism aims to bring closer the assistance of OVP to indigent, marginalized and underserved communities since the areas identified were based on accessibility, volume of traffic, mode of transportation, presence of hospitals and high people traffic,” the OVP said.

“Under the proposed 2025 budget, the OVP seeks to serve around 1.4 million Filipinos across the country,” it added.

The OVP’s satellite offices were questioned last week at the House of Representatives after state auditors found out that lease cost for these amounted to P53 million yearly or over P4 million monthly, or what lawmakers called a waste of taxpayers’ money.

The Commission on Audit (COA) said while such amounts for rental expenses were allowed under the procurement law, it would still be inspecting OVP’s satellite offices. — Delon Porcalla