The Senate finance committee on Thursday approved the proposed budgets of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) for 2023.

The OVP’s P 2.3 billion budget was approved in 40 minutes, while the DepEd’s P710-billion budget took around four hours to deliberate.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri urged his fellow lawmakers to give the OVP due courtesy and to immediately approve its budget.

Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel was the only one who interpellated.

During the budget briefing of DepEd, Senators Risa Hontiveros, Pia Cayetano and Sherwin Gatchalian were among those who asked questions.

Vice President Sara Duterte, who also serves as the Education secretary, attended the budget deliberations of both agencies.

The proposed budgets of the OVP and Deped will be soon presented to the Senate plenary. Jaspearl Tan/DMS