Vice President Sara Duterte along with her office did not attend the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations deliberations on Tuesday concerning the proposed 2025 budget of their agency.
“Why would we do a budget hearing for the Office of the Vice President (OVP)? Only two people call the shots on our country’s budget,” Duterte said in Filipino in a video interview provided by her office.
She pointed out a discrepancy in the approved budget for classroom construction, initially set at P19 billion. However, the House version of the appropriations bill increased this to P24 billion by reallocating P5 billion intended for classroom repairs into the construction budget, leaving only P1 billion pesos for repairs.
The Vice President referenced a Basic Education hearing in May, where a congressman questioned delays in classroom construction. Education Undersecretary Epimaco Densing admitted a lack of knowledge about how the school sites were selected and noted a discrepancy in the amount listed in the General Appropriations Act (GAA). The initial figure of P14.7 billion had increased to P17 billion without clarity on how the list was generated.
“That is one of the reasons why I resigned from the Department of Education (DepEd). I will no longer allow them to continue that next year and I will be held accountable for their actions,” Duterte said.
Nonetheless, she announced the OVP has submitted all the necessary documentation, including a detailed presentation on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2025 despite her absence.
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