VP’s 2024 budget breezes through House body with no questions asked

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter

PHILIPPINE Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s P2.39-billion budget request for 2024 breezed through the House committee on appropriations on Wednesday after her congressional allies voted to end the hearing on “parliamentary courtesy.”

“In line with the longstanding tradition of giving the Office of the Vice President (OVP) parliamentary courtesy, I move to terminate the budget [hearing],” Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander A. Marcos said.

Twenty-one congressmen voted yes. Three from the minority voted against ending the budget hearing.

“Lawmakers will do their best not to antagonize a potential president like Carpio,” Arjan P. Aguirre, who teaches political science at the Ateneo De Manila University, said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “What we are seeing here is an effort to protect a major faction of the ruling coalition who is also seen as a potential contender for the presidency in 2028.”   

He said Congress would probably avoid scrutinizing intelligence funds because this could be viewed as “unwanted and excessive intrusion into the discretionary powers of the Executive.” “The Legislature is known for giving in or worse, serving the interest of the ruling government.”

Party-list Rep. Raoul Danniel A. Manuel later told a budget hearing on the Education department, which Ms. Duterte-Carpio heads, extending parliamentary courtesy to government officials stops Congress from exercising its power of the purse.

“Our tradition of extending parliamentary courtesy stops us in the legislative branch from doing our job,” he said. “There should be checks and balances.”

Presiding chairperson Davao de Oro Rep. Maria Carmen S. Zamora called for the vote after Mr. Marcos’ motion. She suspended the hearing before Deputy Minority Leader and Party-list Rep. France L. Castro could explain why she voted no.

“We highly condemn the committee on appropriations’ move to stop the Makabayan bloc from interrogating the Office of the Vice President on its confidential funds,” Ms. Castro, whose microphone was turned off during the hearing, told reporters.

She had sought to explain her objection against ending the budget hearing. Ms. Zamora instead asked her to submit her explanation to the committee.

The Office of the Vice President has proposed a budget of P2.39 billion for next year, P500 million of which is earmarked for confidential funds.

The Commission on Audit (CoA) has flagged the OVP for spending confidential funds worth P125 million last year.

“I thought the vice-president was brave enough to answer questions regarding confidential funds in 2022?” Mr. Manuel told reporters. “She was present at the hearing physically, yet she did not answer our questions.”

The congressman cited the lack of transparency on how the government spends the people’s money.

Ms. Castro said Ms. Carpio’s confidential funds last year could have built 50 classrooms, adding that these were not part of the 2022 General Appropriations Act.

In a statement, Ms. Duterte-Carpio said her office’s P125-million confidential funds last year were “planned and identified” as early as August.

“There was nothing irregular or unauthorized about its spending and the required liquidation and accomplishment reports have been submitted to the oversight agencies,” she said.

The appropriations body last year swiftly terminated deliberations on the vice-president’s 2023 budget.

Ms. Duterte-Carpio earlier this month defended the Department of Education’s (DepEd) P150-million confidential and intelligence funds in the national budget.

“Education is intertwined with national security,” she told reporters. “It’s important that we mold children who are patriotic, who will love and defend our country.”

The budget for confidential and intelligence funds next year increased by P120 million to P10.14 billion — P5.28 billion in intelligence and P4.86 billion in confidential funds.

Under the 2024 National Expenditure Program, the Office of the President was given P4.5 billion in intelligence funds, while the Department of Information and Communications Technology got confidential funds worth P300 million.

The Bureau of Customs will get P30.5 million, while the Department of Foreign Affairs was allotted P5 million in confidential funds.

The Department of Agriculture was allotted P50 million in confidential funds, the Defense department was given intelligence funds worth P60 million, and the Presidential Security Group was allocated P60 million.

The budget for state colleges and universities fell by 5.7% to P105.58 billion.

Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman has said the budget for education infrastructure has a capital outlay of P25 million for the lowest tier to P50 million for highest tier per state university.

While the 2024 budget has increases for defense and big-ticket infrastructure projects, increases for education are measly, Mr. Manuel earlier told the committee on appropriations. “It does not address learning loss and is riddled with forms of pork.”