Senate plenary approves OVP 2026 budget

MANILA, Philippines — The proposed 2026 budget of the Office of the Vice President breezed through plenary approval at the Senate yesterday.

Vice President Sara Duterte attended the session, and met Senate reporters for a press briefing to thank the senators and to wish the reporters a merry Christmas.

But she refused to answer questions from the media about Malacañang’s statement accusing her of destabilization efforts.

Duterte also refused to answer questions about resigned Ako Bicol representative Zaldy Co’s allegations of flood control kickbacks for President Marcos and former speaker Martin Romualdez.

“The reason I went here is to greet you all a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year. And I wish you good health in the year 2026. And we’d like to thank the Senate of the Philippines for approving the OVP year 2026 budget,” Duterte said.

During the session, Duterte ally Sen. Robin Padilla thanked his colleagues for augmenting the OVP’s 2026 budget, after it was slashed by Duterte’s critics in the House of Representatives.

“I am thankful that pressure against the Vice President did not come from our chamber,” Padilla said.

The House decreased the OVP’s proposed 2026 budget to P733.198 million. In its version, the Senate restored the OVP’s budget in the National Expenditure Program at P889.2 million.

No issues on confidential funds misuse were raised during this year’s OVP budget debates, a main contention in her impeachment complaint filed by the House but was shelved by the Senate. Duterte has no confidential funds in her proposed 2026 budget.