Senate panel clears OVP's P902.9-M budget in under an hour
MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) proposed budget for 2026 passed the Senate finance panel in under an hour Monday, September 29, despite Vice President Sara Duterte facing corruption allegations.
The OVP is seeking P902.895 million for 2026, most of it earmarked for welfare programs.
The swift approval contrasts with the contentious hearings for the vice president's funding in 2024. At the House of Representatives, Duterte’s budget also sailed through with only a few questions from opposition lawmakers.
Pro-Duterte senators supported Duterte's budget in full, with Sen. Bong Go even moving to increase it.
“Kung pwede lang po, Mr. Chair, kung allowed po ito bawasan po ang budget ko sa opisina sa Senado kahit konti ilagay na lang po sa OVP,” Go said. (If it is possible, Mr. Chair, if it is allowed, to decrease my budget in my office in the Senate and even just by a little bit, give it to the OVP.)
Senate Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri said that this was an allowed amendment, and made the motion to do so.
Even senators not necessarily aligned with Duterte supported the allocation. Sen. Jinggoy Estrada backed the OVP’s budget and Go’s motion.
“Tutal naman mayroon nagsabi ng isang senador na malaki insertion natin. Ibigay na natin sa Office of the Vice President para maging working vice president siya,” Estrada said. (After all, there is a senator that said that we had big insertions. Let us just give it to the Office of the Vice President so she can be a working vice president.)
Estrada did not name names but appeared to allude to accusations that he profited from budget insertions for Bulacan flood control fund fraud.
How OVP's budget bid compares to previous years
The OVP’s proposed budget is much lower than its budget in the first few years of Duterte’s term. The OVP had P2.3 billion in 2023, and P1.8 billion in 2024.
It is, however, is still an increase from last year. In 2025, Duterte’s budget was trimmed down to P733 million after Duterte’s confidential funds came into question, which was followed by a subsequent impeachment complaint based on suspected corruption.
The OVP faced allegations of mishandling its confidential funds, with P375 million being spent in 2023.
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