OVP tells House panel Duterte will be absent from budget hearing

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Vice President (OVP) informed the House committee on appropriations that the vice president’s chief of staff – Zuleika Lopez – will be the one to attend its budget briefing.

Lopez will join the proceeding on behalf of Vice President Sara Duterte,

Palawan 2nd District Rep. Jose Alvarez gave the information on Wednesday. 

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Alvarez, who serves as the vice chairperson of the House panel, said that Duterte sent a formal letter to the committee that she would not be able to attend the budget briefing on Wednesday.

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Duterte was seen attending a mass for the Divine Rostro at the Basilica Minore de Peñafrancia in Naga City on Tuesday. 

READ: OVP ok to answer budget questions amid parliamentary courtesy offer

“They sent a letter that instead of the usual head of office presenting, this team will do it instead,” Alvarez said in an ambush interview after the budget briefing. 

The lawmaker explained that Lopez was allowed to attend the agency’s budget hearing as she also serves as the undersecretary.

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He noted that only heads of agencies or undersecretaries can defend the budget briefing. 

He recalled an instance last year where no official from the OVP showed up for the budget deliberations.

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He had advised Duterte’s staff members to skip the hearing since the panel received a letter that an assistant secretary would defend their budget. 

Alvarez said that the House panel will just invite Duterte in the plenary-level budget deliberations, at the same time, observing that there are no contentions to the agency’s budget. 

During the budget hearing, the OVP was not given parliamentary courtesy to waive questions from lawmakers about its budget. 

READ: Sara Duterte shows up alone at OVP budget hearing

Bagong Henerasyon Party-list Rep. Robert Nazal made a motion to extend the same courtesy to the OVP the same way the panel did to the Office of the President on Tuesday.

Nazal noted that the request was not made for “special treatment,” but for “consistency that this committee treats every co-equal branch of government to the same measure of respect and fairness.”

However, ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio objected to the motion, emphasizing that such courtesy must be abolished by the Congress to uphold transparency and accountability in budget talks. 

Alvarez then recognized both motion and objection, and asked the resource persons if they could answer questions about the budget only, in which Lopez agreed to do so. 

In the separate interview, Alvarez noted that the panel would be free to ask any question if there is no ongoing impeachment trial for Duterte. 

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“I told them to confine their questions regarding the budget presentation because there is an ongoing trial,” he noted. /apl