House panel approves OP, OVP budgets in minutes

The House committee on appropriations approved on Tuesday the budgets of the Office of the President (OP) and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for 2017.

The OP's proposed budget is P20 billion, while that of the OVP's is 428.6 million.

The House committee approved the OVP budget in three minutes, while it approved the OP budget in less than 10 minutes without any questions.

Vice President Leni Robredo could not make it to the House budget hearing due to a prior engagement. In the Senate hearing on the OVP budget, she personally presented her office's proposed budget.

In 2016, the OP received P2.86 billion while the OVP got P504 million. The OP's 2017 proposed budget increased substantially to P20 billion because of the Philippines’ hosting of the ASEAN Summit next year.

“Later on, kapag na-approve na ‘yun, depende kung sino gagamit na agency. Isasabog din naman ‘yun,” Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno had  earlier said.

In his budget message to the 17th Congress, President Rodrigo Duterte dubbed the 2017 national expenditure program as a “budget for real change.” 

The DBM is proposing a P3.35-trillion national budget for 2017, or 11.6 percent higher than the 2016 budget of P3.002 trillion.

During budget deliberations at the Senate, Robredo told senators her office would be needing a smaller budget since the OVP transferred from the Coconut Palace to the "Executive House," formerly known as the "Boracay Mansion," in New Manila, Quezon City. 

She also said she would spend less on personnel and accommodations, adding she keeps a "lean staff" during travels and does not stay in the "best hotels." — VDS/KBK, GMA News