OVP ready to face Senate scrutiny over proposed budget

The Office of the Vice President is preparing to defend its proposed 2023 budget in the Senate, OVP spokesperson and lawyer Reynold Munsayac said Friday.

“Nagpapasalamat po tayo sa ating budget sponsors at sa mga miyembro ng House of Representatives sa mabilis na pagpasa ng budget ng OVP,” Munsayac said in a statement.

[We are grateful to our budget sponsors and to the members of the House of Representatives for their swift action on the OVP budget.]

On September 29, 2022, the OVP will defend its budget in the Senate as they are also preparing to give light to inquiries.

“Inaasahan po natin na magtatanong din ang ating mga senador ukol sa ilang provisions sa OVP budget pero handa naman po tayo ipaliwanag mabuti ang lahat ng mga ito,” Munsayac said.

[We are expecting to be questioned by our senators regarding provisions of the OVP budget, but we are ready to explain these to them.]

The OVP has proposed a budget of ?2.3-billion to fund its Projects, Programs, and Activities (PPAs), primarily for social services and livelihood programs.

Deliberations on the OVP budget have been terminated at the plenary and at the appropriations committee level.

Davao de Oro First District Representative Maricar Zamora, one of the sponsors of the Plenary Budget Deliberation for OVP and the Department of Education, said the OVP’s projected expenditure will fund initiatives “that will cascade to the people in the regional and the provincial level.”

Zamora also stressed that the OVP satellite offices strategically situated across the country would help boost the Vice President’s thrust to bring the government’s support closer to the people.

“It is the intention of the Vice President to be more accessible to the people in terms of the delivery of social services,” Zamora said.

PPAs are expected to expand as additional projects will roll out soon, including the Magnegosyo Ta ‘Day (MTD) — a livelihood program primarily catering to women. The MTD springboarded the Rainbow Magnegosyo, which focuses on members of the LGBT community. Beneficiaries were given short and basic courses on business management before providing them with monetary capital.

Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte was present in the House budget deliberations to support her office’s team. — Sherilyn Untalan/RSJ, GMA News