MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations on Tuesday readily approved the proposed P10.15 billion budget of the Office of the President, part of the proposed P7.2-trillion National Expenditure Program for 2027.
This is 64 percent lower than the P28.029 billion allocated for the OP this year.
After only 16 minutes of deliberation, the motion was approved 37-5 despite objections from minority lawmakers, who called for a tighter scrutiny of the OP’s spending plan, particularly its confidential and intelligence funds amounting to P4.58 billion.
Kabataan Partylist Rep. Renee Co, Kamanggagawa Partylist Rep. Eli San Fernando, Gabriela Partylist Rep. Sarah Elago, and 4K Partylist Rep. Iris Marie Montes also called for closer scrutiny of the Office of the President’s (OP) budget.
Their calls came amid allegations of corruption in flood control projects that have put the Marcos administration under increased scrutiny.
“The people want transparency. We need to be fair. This Congress needs to be fair in applying the principle of transparency. Congress demands transparency for the Office of the Vice President, so it should be the same for the Office of the President,” Tinio said in Filipino in his manifestation.
Meanwhile, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said the significantly lower spending plan was due to the “lower operational requirements of our units and completion of our activities” particularly those related to the country’s hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summits and related meetings.
The Palace official likewise said they expect lawmakers to amend the proposal OP.
