The Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Wednesday, August 6 clarified that the P903-million proposed budget contains no "confidential funds."
“That means the budget of P903 million is already approved kasi wala po talagang confidential funds na nakalagay doon,” OVP spokesperson Atty. Ruth Castelo emphasized during the press briefing.
Castelo also thanked Senator Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian, who earlier said his Senate Committee on Finance is willing to approve the OVP budget as long as no confidential funds are included.
“Thank you, Senator Win. Hindi na nga mababawasan yung P903 million budget,” stated Castelo.
“Pagkakasyahin natin ulit kung ano yung makakayang programa hanggang sa ika-12 buwan, hanggang December. But we also accept assistance from the private sector,” she added.
No cash donations
Castelo further clarified that the OVP does not accept cash donations for any of its projects. Instead, the office only accepts in-kind support from private donors.
“We do not accept cash donations. So, donations to the office are given only in kind,” she said.
She noted the valuable role that private sector support has played, especially in relief operations.
“Mas marami yung nailalaman namin sa food box at saka dun sa relief bags na pinapamigay… With the augmentation coming from the private sector, napupuno natin yun at mas maraming naliligayahan na yung nabibigay natin,” she noted.
'₱903M enough'
The Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Wednesday said its proposed ₱903 million budget for 2026 is sufficient to sustain its existing programs.
“The budget, the ₱903 million budget of the Office of the Vice President is already allocated per program,” the OVP said in a statement.
When asked about the potential reduction of the OVP’s budget back to P733 million its 2025 level, Castelo said the office remains prepared.
“Well, the Office of the Vice President is ready for any eventuality. So kung babawasan nila or ibabalik nila sa 733 million for 2025, we cannot do anything. But we will proceed. We will still pursue the programs that we already have,” she said.
She also explained how the P903-million budget is broken down by program, citing an increase in the disaster response allocation from P30.25 million in 2025 to P56.62 million in 2026.
“Of course, this will necessarily include inflation and then the additional personnel that we will need to complete a bigger project,” Castelo said.
This comes before the Senate start the session on the impeachment of Duterte on the same day.
It may be recalled that last year, the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability filed two measures following a series of hearings on the alleged 'misuse' of controversial confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
