Other agencies have smaller budget than VP Robredo's office — Defensor

There are other government agencies that have smaller budget allocation than the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for 2021, Anakalusugan party-list Representative Mike Defensor pointed out on Wednesday.

Defensor made the remark amid supposed claims from the supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo that her office has the "smallest slice" of the proposed P4.5-trillion national budget for next year.

“Let’s set the record straight in fairness to President [Rodrigo] Duterte, who proposed the P4.5-trillion national budget for next year. The P679.7 million he recommended for the OVP is not the tiniest allocation in the bureaucracy as was made to appear,” Defensor said in a statement.

According to the lawmaker, other important agencies of the government will a budget that is equivalent to the amount allocated to the OVP for next year.

“For instance, P85.2 million is budgeted for the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), P146 million for the Anti-Red Tape Authority, P344.5 million for the Dangerous Drugs Board, and P172.3 million for the Commission on Filipinos Overseas," he said.

"Maybe, we should increase the budget for the AMLC so it could catch money launderers,” he added.

Moreover, a total of P387.6 million or 57% of the OVP's proposed budget for next year is for "subsidy/financial assistance" or dole outs, he continued.

Defensor said the President and his economic team have proposed cuts in the budget for some government agencies and offices due to financial difficulties caused by the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

“This is the reason why the OVP funding for next year is P28 million less than this year’s P708 million. The President himself is proposing an P11-million reduction in the budget for his own office,” he added.

Defensor even said that the OVP's budget has already increased by 59% since Robredo's first full year in office back in 2017, when her office was only allocated a budget of P428.6 million.

"Since then, Congress has been padding her budget. Her subsidy/financial assistance went up from P177.6 million in 2017 to P277.6 million in 2018 to P387.6 million this year and next year," he said.

"Congress has been generous to the Vice President. Her supporters have no reason to complain,” he added.

During the House appropriations panel deliberations on the OVP budget for 2021, at least three lawmakers proposed to augment the office's appropriations to continue reaching out to more people affected by the pandemic.

Robredo welcomed the suggestion of the lawmakers to increase the budget of her office.

"We will be very much honored if our budget will be increased. As I've said, we have been so used to making do with what we have but an increased budget will allow us to do more things with the little that will be given to us. So it is very, very much appreciated," he added.

The House appropriations panel has terminated the budget briefing for the OVP, which means that it can now be deliberated in the plenary. -- BAP, GMA News