Sara: I can work with zero budget

Claiming alleged efforts in Congress to strip her office of funding, Vice President Sara Duterte said she could still function even without a budget.”

- NEIL JAYSON SERVALLOS

Duterte said she was aware of talks to defund the Office of the Vice President following her clash with lawmakers over the OVP’s proposed P2.037-billion budget for 2025 and her accusations against Speaker Martin Romualdez and House appropriations committee chairman Rep. Zaldy Co that they have hijacked control of taxpayers’ money.

“Our office is small. Our operations are small so we can afford to work even without a budget. We know that’s all part of the attack. So we will continue to do what we need to do for the people,” Duterte said in a taped interview sent to reporters yesterday.

After clashing with lawmakers two weeks ago over budget mismanagement, Duterte and officials of the OVP skipped Tuesday’s scheduled budget deliberations before the House of Representatives’ appropriations committee. Instead, her office released a taped interview where she accused Romualdez and Co of hijacking billions in additional funds meant to build and repair classrooms.

The Vice President said neither she nor officials of the OVP attended the hearing as she was expecting a “scripted” political sideshow attack on her person.

“During the budget hearing last Aug. 27, you could see they have prepared an audiovisual presentation. They also prepared a script to take cues from,” she said.