MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte skipped the Senate deliberation on the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) proposed 2027 budget on Tuesday, October 20, prompting queries from Senate leadership.
Senate President Win Gatchalian raised the matter with OVP Chief of Staff Atty. Zuleika Lopez, noting the standard expectation for agency heads to personally defend their respective funding allocations.
“May I know for the record kung nasaan ang ating butihing Vice President?” Gatchalian asked during the hearing.
In response, Lopez explained that Duterte was in Davao City on official family representation duties for the inurnment of a long-serving city planning official.
“The Vice President is actually representing former president Rodrigo Duterte in the inurnment of our long serving city planner in Davao City. The schedule for the inurnment is today, October 20,“ Lopez said, adding, “She is the representative of the former president.”
While Gatchalian accepted the explanation, he expressed anticipation that the Vice President would make an appearance during the upcoming Senate plenary deliberations for further scrutiny of the agency’s finances.
For the upcoming fiscal year, the OVP is seeking a ₱785.204-million budget, marking an 11.7% reduction or a ₱104.032-million decrease compared to its ₱889.236-million allocation for 2026.