Statement of OVP Spox on Proposed Budget of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s Office for 2026
SARA DUTERTE’S OFFICE – The Office of the Vice President stressed that more programs will be accomplished by the OVP if the funding is bigger.
Ahead of the budget deliberation by the Congress, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte already claimed that she expects budget cuts from the fund requested by the OVP for 2026. According to the Vice President, the President and the House Speaker are still the same people.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s office is seeking for a P902.8 million budget for 2026. According to the OVP, the amount is enough to fund the projects of the office. This year, the OVP operated with a budget of P733 million which resulted to the elimination of some of its programs.
Under the P733 million budget approved for the OVP this year, the medical assistance program, the nutrition program, and the burial assistance program are among those that were slashed. The OVP actually asked for a P2 billion budget but, after the budget deliberation, the lawmakers agreed on a P1.3 billion cut from the proposed budget of Duterte’s office.
For this year, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s office is asking for P902.8 million but is not inclusive of confidential and intelligence funds. It is the second time around that the OVP does not requests for CIF amid the ongoing alleged misuse of the CIF of the offices held by Duterte. Recently, OVP spokesperson Atty. Ruth Castelo spoke on the office’s proposed budget.
According to Castelo, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s office is ready for any eventuality with regards to the budget that they are asking for 2026. She stressed that they will continue to do their duty regardless of how much the Congress will approve.
“Whether they increase it or decrease it, it’s the same thing for us. We will still do whatever needs to be done. There will just be more programs that can be accomplished and completed if the funding is bigger,” she said.
Furthermore, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s office also claimed that they are ready in case the Congress will give them the same P733 million budget for 2026. According to Atty. Ruth Castelo, they will not complain.
Amid the budget deliberations, Pres. Bongbong Marcos ordered a “sweeping review” on the proposed P881.3-billion budget of the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways). Based on a report on Inquirer, DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon is given 7 days to ‘clean’ the agency’s budget proposal.
For next year, here are the proposed budget for the different key departments in the government:
- Department of Education (DepEd) — P928.5 billion
- Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) — P881.3 billion
- Department of Health (DOH) — P320.5 billion
- Department of National Defense (DND) — P299.3 billion
- Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) — P287.5 billion
- Department of Agriculture (DA) — P239.2 billion
- Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) — P227.0 billion
- Department of Transportation (DOTr) — P197.3 billion
- Judiciary Department — P67.9 billion
- Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) — P55.2 billion
Here are the target recipients of the proposed P10.77 billion confidential and intelligence funds for 2026:
- Office of the President — P4.5 billion CIF
- National Intelligence Coordinating Agency — P1.141 billion CIF
- Department of National Defense — P1.848 billion CIF
- Other executive offices including the Anti-Money Laundering Council, National Security Council, and the Philippine National Police — P2.292 billion CIF
Previously, the OVP said that Vice Pres. Sara Duterte is ready to defend her office’s proposed budget but her attendance to the hearing depends on her schedule.