September 24, 2024 | 6:12pm
MANILA, Philippines — House lawmakers on Tuesday, September 24, said that Vice President Sara Duterte should resign if she has no intention of fulfilling her duties as the official holding the second highest position in government.
“Kung hindi na po siya interesado sa kanyang pong duties and functions as the vice president, we can ask the vice president to step down,” Rep. Jil Bongalon (Ako Bicol Party) said at a press conference.
(If she is no longer interested in her duties and functions as vice president, we can ask her to step down.)
This is the response of lawmakers to Duterte’s refusal to attend the proceedings for the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) proposed 2025 budget. No authorized representative was also present at the OVP’s scheduled plenary debate on Monday.
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Asked about their reaction to Duterte’s alleged vacation at a beach in Camarines Norte over the weekend, Bongalon said there is no problem with that.
However, the lawmaker said that if Duterte is serious about her duties as vice president, she should have returned to Manila by Sunday or coordinated with Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong (Lanao del Sur, 1st District). He added that this would have allowed Adiong to prepare for questions during the plenary.
“In other words, this means she really has no intention to attend the plenary hearing to sponsor and defend the OVP’s budget,” Bongalon said in Filipino.
Shared sentiment. Rep. Jay-Jay Suarez (Quezon, 2nd District) also said the sentiments expressed by lawmakers at the press conference on Monday are also shared by other House members because it is a government official’s job to show up.
“This is not about her, this is about the Office of the Vice President, the second highest position of the land. And you have to show respect and due courtesy to that office and to simply show up and do your work. I think it’s the least that she can do for the Office of the Vice President,” Suarez added.
Setting a ‘bad precedent’
While Duterte provided a letter dated September 11 to Adiong, Rep. Ramon Gutierrez (1-Rider Party) said the letter did not specify that she would be absent, the reason for it or indicate that there would be an official representing the OVP at the plenary.
“It will set a bad precedent because other departments or government agencies might follow suit, thinking, ‘It’s okay not to attend plenary debates. We can just send a representative or any high-ranking official from the agency,’” Bongalon said in Filipino.
Why agencies need to be present. Lawmakers emphasized that the budget sponsor is not the one who will be spending the agency’s budget, which is why a representative from the agency should be present to help explain its expenditure program.
“The congressman defends the budget, but we are not the disbursing officer. We are not the ones spending the budget. We justify the budget, we defend the budget, but we are not the ones spending it,” Rep. Jefferson Khonghun (Zambales, 1st District) said.
When the agency is present at the plenary, Bongalon said the budget sponsor has the opportunity to consult with the agency head to ensure that they accurately convey its perspective when answering questions from other lawmakers.
Since the House budget proceedings are scheduled to end on Wednesday, September 24, Gutierrez said the lower chamber “will be extending maximum leniency” to the OVP.
The House will only determine how to handle the agency’s 2025 budget once the OVP has exhausted all its opportunities to attend, Khonghun said.
What will happen if OVP doesn’t show up?
During the press conference, reporters asked lawmakers whether a reenacted budget for 2025 would be possible if the House fails to pass the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) on time due to further potential delays caused by the OVP.
According to Section 25 (7), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, a reenacted budget refers to the budget of the previous fiscal year that remains in effect until Congress passes a new General Appropriations Act (GAA).
This occurs only when the GAA for the following year has not been approved before the current year ends.
For Khonghun, a reenacted budget will not happen because lawmakers will not allow the vice president to sabotage the House of Representatives’ schedule in passing the GAB for 2025.
Suarez added the OVP is the only agency that “has not fully complied with the requirements of the law,” noting that all other agencies and departments have been fulfilling their duty in the process of having their respective budgets approved.
Bongalon also said that a reenacted budget would harm other departments and agencies as they might not receive the necessary budget increase to fund their programs.
The OVP’s proposed 2025 budget was rescheduled for Tuesday, September 24, but may be postponed to Wednesday, September 25, if no authorized representative appears at the session hall for its plenary debate.
The OVP has requested a P2.026 billion budget for 2025, but this was slashed to P733 million by the House appropriations committee on September 11 due to issues surrounding the agency’s alleged misuse of funds.
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