Malacañang has asserted that it is up to Vice President Sara Duterte to decide whether she will attend the plenary deliberations for the 2026 budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
In an interview with a news program on Friday, October 3, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said the Palace will not interfere with Duterte’s decision. However, she emphasized that it is her responsibility to defend the OVP’s proposed budget.
“Kung yun po ang gusto n’yang gawin. Kung ayaw n’yang pumunta sa plenary debate, nasa kaniya po ‘yan. Kargo n’ya po ‘yan dahil ‘yan naman po ay Office of the Vice President at maraming umaasang mga tao diyan na kaniyang mga tauhan. Kung ayaw niyang pumunta, nasa kaniya po ‘yan,” said Castro.
Reports earlier noted that the Vice President — along with OVP representatives — skipped the budget deliberations three times: on Tuesday (September 30), Wednesday (October 1), and Thursday (October 2).
In a letter sent by the OVP to the House appropriations committee on September 30, Duterte’s camp outlined two conditions before she would attend the session:
- The House of Representatives demand the attendance of President Marcos for the ₱27.3 billion pesos budget deliberation of the Office of the President,
- The Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability will produce before the plenary schedule, a Department of Justice (DOJ) document confirming [the lifting of] the Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) on seven of her personnel.
Because of this, Mamamayang Liberal Partylist Rep. Leila de Lima and ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. Antonio Tinio suggested that the OVP’s budget be reduced.
“To manifest my extreme displeasure about the behavior of our Vice President, and in due time, I will move for the decrease in the budget of the [OVP],” said De Lima.
Tinio, for his part, said:
“I will move to reduce the budget of the [OVP] for 2026… I will move that it be cut only to the PS (Personnel Services) component. Ibig sabihin yung pang-sweldo lang po sa personnel. Bakit po? Dahil obligado po, habang nanantili silang empleyado ng gobyerno. At isaalang-alang din po natin na ang mga kawani ng [OVP] ay damay lang po.”