Sara Duterte’s 2026 P903-M budget gets swift Senate panel approval

MANILA, Philippines, September 30 ------ In less than an hour, the Senate finance committee swiftly approved the P903 million proposed 2026 budget of the Office of the Vice President.

The senators present — mostly from the minority bloc and allies of Vice President Sara Duterte — raised no questions and instead expressed support for her budget, which came under congressional scrutiny in 2025 over alleged misuse of confidential funds. The same issue was also among the charges included in Duterte’s archived impeachment trial.

For 2026, the OVP is seeking a P902.8-million budget, a 20% increase from its P744-million allocation in 2025. It’s important to note, however, that the OVP’s original proposal was only P733 million for 2026. It was the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) that increased it to P902.8 million. It was only Senator Erwin Tulfo who asked the OVP questions, but his queries were not about how the office spent the 2025 budget, but more on calling for the return of the P39-million slashed funding. “My question now is, I noticed that from P942 million, binawasan po ito ng ini-slash ng P902.8 million, nawala yung P39.143 million. Ang tanong ko po ngayon, Mr. Chair, ano po mga proyekto o programa na maapektuhan po nito, ito pong slash po ng P39.143 million, Mr. Chair?” Tulfo asked.

Rosalynne Sanchez, director for administrative and financial services at the OVP, said the budget cut would affect the office’s information and communications technology (ICT) equipment. “The amount that was not considered by the DBM only pertains to ICT equipment. So out of our original request, only a portion of that was included in the NEP (National Expenditure Program). So, we will just reprioritize the ICT equipment that we will procure, and we will work within the budget that was provided in the NEP,” Sanchez said.

After Tulfo’s question, Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri manifested to grant the OVP parliamentary courtesy and waive questions from the chamber. “The budget of the Vice President is already a lean and mean budget. Wala na pong dagdag. Kawawa na nga po Mr. President. Maybe we can afford them courtesy, and we can approve the budget after the manifestations,” Zubiri said.

During the 2025 budget briefing last year, the Vice President traded barbs with Senator Risa Hontiveros as she accused the senator of “politicizing” the proceedings. Hontiveros was not present at Monday’s budget hearing.

Source: rappler.com