MANILA, Philippines – The Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Wednesday, January 15, said that its medical and burial assistance programs received no funding in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), effectively halting their implementation.
“There is no approved budget for the Medical and Burial Assistance Program of the Office of the Vice President under the 2025 GAA,” the OVP said.
The OVP added that, due to the lack of funding, the agency has “no funds to implement the medical and burial assistance program.” It also noted that in 2024, the OVP was able to provide assistance to 187,028 individuals.
In December 2024, Congress decided not to reinstate the P1.3 billion that was cut from the P2.037-billion funding request for 2025 of the office of Vice President Sara Duterte. This left the OVP with P733-million in its purse for 2025. It’s worth noting, however, that her predecessor, former vice president Leni Robredo, was able to implement similar projects with a budget that was often comparable to or even less than this amount.
Congress decided to slash Duterte’s budget, as approved by the bicameral conference, due to her repeated no-show last year from the House budget deliberations for her office. Her obstinacy all but handed solely to the lawmakers decisions on the OVP budget.
Since breaking away from the Marcos administration, Duterte has been in full battle mode, engaging in public disputes with the lawmakers. During her appearances before the Senate and the House, she focused more on attacking her critics than addressing the budget issues at hand.
Members of the House of Representatives, who were once her allies, have been investigating her alleged misuse of confidential funds both in the OVP and during her tenure at the Department of Education.
In August 2024, Duterte engaged in a word war with opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros after the latter questioned the alleged duplication of her social programs with those of existing government agencies. Duterte responded by saying that the OVP implemented its own programs because seeking help from other government agencies was often politicized.
Due to her absence from budget briefings, the House panel on appropriations recommended a zero budget for the OVP’s social services, which had previously been allocated P947 million. In September 2024, the Vice President said that her office was “ready” to operate with a zero budget if Congress ultimately decided to defund the OVP.
Critics argued that if Duterte were truly committed to helping people, she could learn from her predecessor how to collaborate with non-government organizations and private groups to extend aid. – Rappler.com
