Villanueva slammed for ‘defending’ Sara, OVP
ADMINISTRATION lawmakers yesterday reminded Sen. Joel Villanueva to respect inter-parliamentary boundaries as they took him to task for questioning the decision of the House Committee on Appropriations to reduce the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) P2.037 billion proposed national budget for 2025 by more than half.
Reps. Jude Acidre (PL, Tingog) and Raul Angelo Bongalon (PL, Ako Bicol) said Villanueva should not “interfere in matters that are solely within the discretion of the House of Representatives, such as the chamber slashing by almost P1.3 billion the 2025 budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).”
Villanueva over the weekend questioned the House panel’s decision to bring down to P733 million the OVP’s proposed budget for 2025 after Vice President Sara Duterte refused to answer questions from lawmakers related to how her office spent its P2.3 billion allocation in 2023.
Villanueva has said he could not “stomach” the House’s move to slash the OVP’s budget by more than half, pointing out that the House has previously granted Duterte’s budget without any questions, starting with the record-breaking amount of P2.3 billion for the OVP’s 2023 budget which was equivalent to an increase of 223 percent from its previous budget.
Villanueva, who was interviewed by the media, also said that the OVP should be shielded from political motivations.
Acidre underscored the need for maintaining proper focus during the ongoing budget debates, saying Villanueva should just “concentrate on fortifying his arguments on the Senate floor, where the real discussions on the national budget will take place.”
“Rather than casting aspersions on the House for fulfilling its sworn duty, Sen. Villanueva should just allow us to craft the budget on our own terms and in the way we see fit.
Darating din naman ito sa Senado so pwedeng doon niya ipahayag ang kanyang mga saloobin (The Senate’s turn will come so he can express his sentiments there),” Acidre said.
Acidre said speaking now against the House would expose Villanueva to accusations that he cannot defend his position to his fellow senators. “Pangit po tingnan (It doesn’t look good) and we ask our dear senator to refrain
