VP Binay decries 10-percent cut on his office budget

Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday decried the 10-percent budget cut on the Office of the Vice President (OVP), noting that other government bodies at the level of “mere commissions" were given higher budgets. Binay said his office had initially requested a budget of P195 million for 2011. Instead, the OVP was allotted P177.1 million, which is P7.9 million less than its 2010 budget. "Malaki pa yung iba commission lang, kami constitutional office (Mere commissions got a bigger budget than our office, which is a constitutional office)," Binay said during the Senate budget hearing on the OVP budget. He specifically cited the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) under the Office of the President (OP), which was allocated more than P2 billion for the year 2011. In response, Senator Franklin Drilon, who heads the Senate finance committee, jokingly assured the Vice President: "I can assure you that when the OP crafted the budget, it is not in accordance to height," referring to Binay’s short physical height. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, however, sympathized with Binay. He said that he will request for an augmentation of the OVP budget, noting that it has the smallest budget yet it was cut by P8 million more. "Kawawa naman yung OVP (The OVP budget is pitiful)," Enrile said, eliciting words of thanks from Binay. OP cuts down budget too Nevertheless, the OVP is not alone in its budgetary plight. Executive Secretary Paquito "Jojo" Ochoa said that even the OP has voluntarily cut down its budget. The OP budget for 2011 is P4.075 billion, a 4.32-percent decrease from the P4.259-billion budget for the current year. The budget decrease comes in the wake of the OP decision to abolish at least 10 agencies under its wing. The Palace allocated almost P304 million for the said offices in 2010. Ochoa likewise said that under the 2011 budget, they have reduced the amount of intelligence and confidential funds under the OP by P250 million. There was initially P150 million in intelligence funds allotted for the OP proper and P500 million for the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC). "It's spread over all the (other) programs," he said. On the other hand, the OP has allotted P83 million for the newly-created Truth Commission.—JV, GMANews.TV