THE OFFICE of the Vice-President (OVP) on Wednesday said that it would no longer seek confidential and intelligence funds for its 2026 budget, its spokesperson said, amid questions over Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s 2022 secret fund expenditure.

“There are no confidential funds, we did not request that,” OVP Spokesperson Ruth B. Castelo told reporters, as the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) hiked the OVP’s budget to P903 million from the initial P803.6 million the agency allocated for 2026.

Ms. Castelo added that the almost P100-million increase will be used for the hiring of more personnel and the purchase of information technology (IT) equipment to improve its office functions.

“We requested for additional personnel services — of course, there is a cost to the additional employees — to fulfill the functions and other IT equipment,” she said.

Party-list Rep. Renee Louise M. Co said that the VP must first prove her innocence before granting the OVP a budget increase for 2026.

“We want accountability, not just delicadeza. Confidential or not, we cannot entrust the larger budget to VP Sara because the identity of Mary Grace Piattos and other corruption anomalies are still unanswered,” she said in a statement.

“Either prove her innocence in the impeachment trial first or resign from the OVP before a budget increase can be justified.”

The House of Representative had held an inquiry over Ms. Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds allocated for the OVP in 2022 and the Department of Education, when she sat as its secretary in 2023.

This is also among the charges against Ms. Duterte when she was impeached by more than 200 congressmen last February. She has denied any wrongdoing.

Her other ouster charges include unexplained wealth, and plotting the assassination of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., his wife and the Speaker. Her impeachment trial awaits in the Senate.

Meanwhile, Ms. Castelo added that the Commission on Audit (CoA) had given the OVP an unmodified audit opinion for its 2024 annual audit report.

“Unmodified opinion means that the financial statements were fairly presented. It is honest, it’s transparent,” she said, noting an 85.6% utilization rate for its 2024 budget.

The OVP said that state auditors had affirmed that financial statements within the 2024 Annual Audit Report were “accurate, reliable, and compliant with applicable laws, regulations, and accounting standards.”

An unmodified opinion is given when auditors conclude that the financial statements, as a whole, are free from material mis-statements, which could arise from either error or fraud.  — Adrian H. Halili

MEASURES RESTORING the regulatory powers of the National Food Authority (NFA) and creating dedicated government agencies for water resources management have been filed in the Senate.

Under Senate Bill No. 284, Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment (RICE) bill, Senator Francis G. Escudero sought to grant the NFA the authority to import rice for its buffer stocking requirement in cases of emergencies.

“This bill will not restore the quantitative restrictions abolished by the Rice Tariffication Law. Rather, it will enable targeted state intervention to protect public welfare, support farmers, and ensure food security,” Mr. Escudero said in the explanatory note of the bill, filed on Wednesday.

“Rice is the staple crop of the Philippines, with each Filipino consuming around 136 kilograms each year. Given its central role in the Filipino diet, regulation is needed to protect families from the price fluctuations of this essential commodity.”

The bill proposes to reduce buffer stock requirement for rice to nine days from 15 days.

The NFA will also be granted the authority to sell rice to accredited NFA retailers, government and non-government agencies, or through public auction.

“The NFA shall dispose, on a monthly basis, a maximum of twenty 25% of its total existing buffer stock unless directed by the NFA council to dispose of a larger portion,” the bill said.

The Rice Tariffication Law of 2019 removed the NFA’s regulatory powers to import rice and intervene in the market if rice prices are elevated.

The proposed RICE bill also grants the Department of Agriculture (DA) the powers to impose a floor price for palay (unmilled rice) to protect farmers.

“The DA shall have the authority to set and enforce national, regional, or provincial floor prices of palay below which rice traders shall be prohibited from purchasing palay from farmers,” the bill stated.

The proposed measure also allows the agency to seize hoarders of rice stocks in accordance with Republic Act No. 12022, Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage law.

The bill also enforces strict penalties against practices that distort supply and pricing of rice, with violators facing a fine of up to P2 million or imprisonment of up to two years. Traders also risk revocation of their license, trading permits, or accreditation.

A similar measure was earlier filed before the House of Representatives by Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.

WATER RESOURCES AGENCIES
Separately, Senator Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva on Tuesday filed a bill that seeks to create the Department of Water Resources and Water Regulatory Commission for a “more efficient, transparent, and effective management of the sector.”

The still-unnumbered Senate Bill, National Water Resources Management bill, tasked the agencies to craft policies and plans for the effective management of the country’s water resources.

The bill provided that the functions of the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), River Basin Control Office, Manila Bay Coordinating Office, Water Supply and Sanitation Unit, and Water Resource Management Office will be absorbed by the new department.

It also transfers functions of the Department of Public Works and Highways, with regard to planning, programming, administration monitoring and management of the National Sewerage and Septage Management Program. It will also perform functions of the now-dissolved Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission.

Meanwhile, the Water Regulatory Commission will be established as an independent body, which will adopt the economic regulatory units and functions of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, NWRB, and the LWUA.

The Commission will be composed of five full-time members, including a chairperson and four members, all of whom will appointed by the President. — Adrian H. Halili