The House Committee on Appropriations recommended reducing the 2025 budget of the Office of the Vice President by around P1.3 billion, its vice chairperson said Thursday.

In a press briefing, Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo said the Office of the Vice President’s proposed budget of P2.037 billion will be cut by P1.293 billion, leaving P733.198 million.

“I’ll just clarify that this is not yet the final approval of Congress. This is just a recommendation of the Committee of Appropriations to the plenary,” Quimbo said.

According to Quimbo, the P1.293 billion will be realigned to the Department of Health (DOH) for their Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) Program and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for their Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program.

She said the panel members have approved on second reading the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) with the recommended reduced budget of the Office of the Vice President and that the amended measure is set for plenary debates from September 16 to 25.

“Hopefully if we are able to follow our schedule, hopefully nothing eventful happens, we will be able to finish the third reading of the General Appropriations Bill by September 25,” Quimbo said.

Quimbo stressed that the move to slash the Office of the Vice President’s budget was a “unanimous decision” of panel members.

“This decision is a committee decision. The Committee on Appropriations has 139 members. With respect to the budget cut of the OVP, this is a unanimous decision among members,” she said.

“It is clear that many people are involved in approving the budget, not just two people,” she added.

Vice President Sara Duterte previously accused House Speaker Martin Romualdez and panel Chair Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co of controlling the national budget.

“The Philippine budget is controlled by only two people. It is controlled by Cong. Zaldy Co at and Cong. Martin Romualdez. That is the truth,” Duterte said in an interview.

Quimbo urged Duterte or her staff to attend the plenary debates since she skipped the second hearing on the budget of her office.

“We hope they will come. It’s a very important part of the process. So even if they will not be the one to answer, they should have a spokesperson,” she said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS