Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero (PNA photo by Avito Dalan)
MANILA – Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero on Thursday expressed hope for a resolution to the current impasse between the House of Representatives and the Office of the Vice President (OVP), and suggested that both parties should set aside their differences.
The House Appropriations Committee has twice deferred deliberations of the OVP's budget proposal for next year after Vice President Sara Duterte refused to defend the budget, alleging political attacks by some lawmakers against her.
"Budget deliberations are usually boring because of the numbers and while this whole thing is adding drama and color to it, I don’t think this is in anyway helping resolve the problems our country and people are facing right now," Escudero said in news release.
"I am hopeful though that the seeming impasse between the OVP and the House will be resolved where either or both would take a step back, set aside their differences/biases, simply follow the process or, at the end of the day, for Congress (in the exercise of its wisdom) to decide on this and other related matters by a vote," he said.
On the issue of the OVP being defunded next year, Escudero said the budget process is still on-going and would rather not preempt the House or the Senate's decision.
"Suffice it to say that it is possible given that Congress has the 'power of the purse' but has never happened to the OVP nor to any agency in recent years to my recollection," he said.
Escudero said while seeming to be nonchalant, Duterte "cares for the programs and projects that she herself proposed to be funded by the Congress.”
With this, the Senate President urged agency heads to” participate in the budget process and allow Congress to fulfill its constitutional duty.”
The PHP2.037-billion proposed budget of the OVP for 2025 has already been "deemed submitted to plenary" at the Senate after being approved at the committee level. (PNA)
