By Billy Begas
The scheduled deliberation on the proposed budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) did not push through on Tuesday, September 26, due to a “conflict in schedule.”
The respective budgets of the two offices both under Vice President and Secretary Sara Duterte will be deliberated on Wednesday instead.
The OVP and DepEd budget was supposed to be deliberated after the Office of the President (OP).
“I just would like to inquire on our schedule for today because as written in our schedule for today, after the Office of the President, there should be OVP and Department of Education… What is the estimated time that the budget deliberation for OVP and the DEPED will be deliberated today?” asked ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro.
House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin said that the OVP and DepEd sought a new schedule.
“The Office of the Vice President, as well as the office of the Secretary of the Department of Education, has conveyed a message to the Committee on Appropriations as well as the Committee on Rules of a possible conflict in schedule,” Garin said.
“The deliberation of the proposed budget of the OVP as well as the DepEd has been temporarily moved tomorrow considering that we also have other agencies in the pipeline,” she added.
During the deliberation of OP’s budget, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman asked for a copy of OVP’s request for additional funds in 2022, which included the controversial P125 million confidential funds that were spent in 11 days.
ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, the sponsor of OP’s budget, provided Lagman a copy of OVP’s request to the Department of Budget and Management.
