OVP

OVP FY 2027 proposal and NEP recommendation: The FY 2027 OVP agency-specific NEP recommendation was PHP 785.204 million against its PHP 779.901 million agency proposal. Presenter Atty. Kelvin Jerome Tenido said the recommendation was 11.7% below FY 2026. He separately identified PHP 15.554 million in automatic RLIP appropriations, a different funding source. No increase or restoration was proposed in this hearing.

No OVP funding increase or restoration proposal: No member or OVP official proposed an increase or restoration to the FY 2027 OVP budget in the reviewed hearing. Rep. Roberto Nazal moved to end the briefing without further interpellation, but Rep. Antonio L. Tinio objected and Nazal agreed to hold that procedural motion while members asked questions. The later motions ended and suspended proceedings; they did not amend an appropriation.

Mandate, operating model and stated priorities: The Office of the Vice President (OVP) presented itself as a direct bridge to underserved and marginalized communities, working with nine agencies to extend social protection, social security, government presence and emergency relief. It said its mandate is direct access to basic social services, delivered nationally through the central office, 10 satellite offices and a Tondo extension office. The presentation described nine core initiatives for 1.4 million target beneficiaries: microenterprise grants; school supplies, rainwear and dental kits for last-mile learners; youth leadership exposure; disaster relief; family sustenance; hot meals; free transport; wheelchairs; and burial support for Islamic rites. It framed these as targeted help with household shocks, education and commuting costs, hunger, disability and bereavement.

FY 2027 proposal and allocation structure: Atty. Kelvin Jerome Tenido said the FY 2027 agency-specific NEP recommendation was net of RLIP and 11.7% below the FY 2026 appropriation. The presentation put FY 2027 personnel services at PHP 235.776 million including RLIP (29.4% of the total including automatic appropriations), PHP 561.651 million for maintenance and other operating expenses (70.1%), and PHP 3.3 million for capital outlay (0.41%), chiefly for ICT and equipment under the OVP information-systems plan. It also identified PHP 193.103 million, or 24.6% of the FY 2027 NEP agency-specific budget, for goods and grants under socioeconomic programs, excluding logistics and other operational costs. The office attributed a PHP 102.147 million proposed-budget decrease from FY 2026 primarily to use of the 2025 budget level and cost adjustments, including mandated salary increases. In later questioning, Rep. Sarah Jane I. Elago cited PHP 220.232 million for personnel services, and Atty. Rosalynne L. Sanchez described the amount as about PHP 220 million. Those figures arose in questioning; Tenido's PHP 235.776 million presentation figure included RLIP.

Program delivery and reported results: For FY 2025, the OVP reported serving 1,395,867 individuals and groups against a 1,047,935 target, supported by 417 strategic partnerships; it also reported completing all planned projects, a 98% average service-satisfaction rating, 2,906 stakeholder engagements, a 93% utilization rate, PHP 851.836 million obligated and PHP 687.848 million disbursed. As of June 30, 2026, it reported a target of 1,511,168 beneficiaries and 773,858 served in the first semester (51% of target), plus 85 partnerships, completion of all planned projects and accompanying activities, a 97.96% satisfaction rating against a 90% target, and 2,724 stakeholder engagements. It reported PHP 961.11 million in total released allotment, 43% obligated, and a 62% disbursement rate equivalent to PHP 256.318 million.

Continuing public-service plan: Atty. Kelvin Jerome Tenido said the FY 2027 DBM-recommended agency-specific amount would sustain socio-economic programs and nationwide access to basic social services. He characterized the office as complementing other agencies' work and said the FY 2027 agency-specific recommendation would support continued efficient, accessible and responsive public service.

Budget briefing rules and sequence: Deputy Speaker Jose C. Alvarez said the briefing concerned the Office of the Vice President budget and asked members to avoid questions on matters already forwarded to the Senate. He set the questioning order as minority, majority and then independents, with five minutes for each member and a bell to signal that questions should be wrapped up. Alvarez said the budget before the committee had already been reduced and was much lower than the prior year's, without stating a figure in this opening exchange.

Palawan office concern and move to manifestations: Deputy Speaker Jose C. Alvarez said it was disappointing that Palawan had no OVP office, then said the committee would allow a few questions before a motion to finish the hearing. The Committee Secretary recorded three additional vice chairs present, and Alvarez called on Rep. Roberto Nazal, who had been recognized to speak.

Request for equal procedural courtesy: Rep. Roberto Nazal asked the committee to extend the Office of the Vice President the same courtesy he said it had given the Office of the President the previous day: passing its budget without interpellation. He described the Office of the President as a co-equal branch, said the Vice President was facing impeachment proceedings, and characterized the OVP proposal as modest and not increased. He framed the request as consistency and equal respect rather than special treatment.

Motion to end the budget briefing: After brief manifestations from members, Nazal moved to terminate the OVP budget briefing, while stating that members could still raise questions or seek clarifications during plenary sessions. The frozen unit records the motion, not a ruling or its outcome.

Objection to ending the briefing without scrutiny: Rep. Antonio L. Tinio objected after a motion was made and seconded. He argued that the lesson from the previous day's proceedings should be to abandon inter-parliamentary courtesy in budget matters, because public officials must be transparent about use of public funds. He rejected the idea that refraining from scrutiny of the Office of the President would require the committee also to refrain from scrutinizing the OVP, and warned against extending that practice to the judiciary. He said the OVP appeared ready to answer budget questions and therefore maintained his objection.

Motion held while questions proceed: Deputy Speaker Jose C. Alvarez proposed not immediately dividing the body: he asked whether the OVP resource persons would take questions and said the briefing could then be terminated afterward. Undersecretary Zuleika T. Lopez said the OVP was ready to answer. Alvarez asked Rep. Roberto Nazal to hold the motion in abeyance; Nazal agreed, noting that the resource persons had accepted questions insofar as the budget was concerned. Alvarez then recognized Tinio first and asked that he confine himself to the budget proposal. Tinio registered his objection to treating that as a condition, arguing that budget briefings can also raise policy questions not immediately related to the budget; he set that point aside before beginning his allotted time. The unit ends before Tinio's substantive questioning begins.

Program rules and the You Can Be VP allocation: Rep. Antonio L. Tinio questioned whether the OVP's directly implemented discretionary programs had clear, publicly accessible guidelines. Undersecretary Zuleika T. Lopez said all nine core programs were covered by operations manuals, regularly updated in consultation with the Commission on Audit; she added that some procedures were in the citizens' charter. Tinio noted that You Can Be VP lacked detail online and questioned its proposed PHP 1.1 million allocation for two target beneficiaries, which appeared to imply more than PHP 500,000 each. Lopez acknowledged that the program was not in the citizens' charter and referred the details to Director Norman Valora. Valora said the two learners were targets for local or international engagements with the Vice President, but the program also included a Junior Leadership Program; he said five participants had recently received skills development aimed at helping them mentor other young learners. He said the apparent PHP 500,000 was not a payment to an individual recipient but would support other program activities, and that the two-person count was an eligibility target rather than the whole scope of mentoring and skills activities.

Libreng Sakay fleet and operating arrangement: Tinio then asked how the Libreng Sakay program could account for 1.2 million of the OVP's 1.4 million projected beneficiaries on a PHP 22 million budget, including how many vehicles it used and whether they were purchased or service-contracted. Lopez said the program had nine buses nationwide, with services in Metro Manila and in Tacloban, Bacolod, Davao and Cebu, and said route planning was done with the LTFRB and MMDA rather than by the OVP. Valora said the service operated through memoranda of agreement with transport providers, while two buses were being purchased by the OVP and the remaining seven were from private partners. Tinio asked for the list of private partners; he later said he would await that list.

Passenger counts and transport costs: Pressed on how nine buses could produce the 1.2 million beneficiary figure, Valora said the OVP counted boardings rather than unique individuals. He described buses with capacity of about 46 passengers and an historical average of about 442 passengers per bus per day, operating during 5–9 a.m. and 5–9 p.m. peak periods; he characterized the measure as commutes per day and per year. In the subsequent cost discussion, the OVP said the budget covered salaries and wages, bus conductors, maintenance and fuel. It also stated an expectation of reaching four million passenger boardings by mid-November. The exchange did not provide an annual calculation reconciling the 1.2 million figure or a delivered provider list; Tinio closed by saying he would wait for the providers' list and further material on You Can Be VP.

Parliamentary courtesy and limits on questions: Rep. Jesus "Bong" C. Suntay raised a point of order, saying a prior motion called for parliamentary courtesy and that Congressman Nazal had agreed to a temporary withholding; he said he would seek a division of the House if the same courtesy was not extended. After Rep. Antonio L. Tinio interjected, Deputy Speaker Jose C. Alvarez said he was directing the proceedings: for questions he considered already before the Senate or outside the budget, he would ask the resource persons whether they wished to answer; if they said they could not, he said he would "roll against it."

Questions, answers and relevance: As Tinio interrupted to ask to proceed with his questions, Rep. Edgar Erice said members could ask each question and resource persons who did not wish to answer could decline. He said that approach would show the contrast he described between the Office of the President's unwillingness to answer and the Office of the Vice President's willingness to answer. Deputy Speaker Jose C. Alvarez agreed in part but said he would rule against a question irrelevant to that day's proceedings; resource persons could simply say that it was irrelevant. Alvarez then gave Tinio the floor.

Erice's budget comparison: Rep. Edgar R. Erice said he did not plan to press the OVP on its budget after comparing vice-presidential budgets across administrations. He characterized the budgets of Vice Presidents Binay and Robredo as each amounting to 0.02% of the national budget and the present OVP budget as 0.01%, calling the current budget self-explanatory. This was Erice's characterization; the OVP gave no response or supporting budget figures in this exchange.

Request for the Vice President's public positions: Erice said the Vice President, as the country's second-highest official, should express her views on public issues. He asked that she state positions on proposed anti-corruption reforms, including the Cadena Act as he described it; political dynasties; and the violent drug war, while distinguishing the Vice President from her father. He said he was not asking Undersecretary Zuleika T. Lopez to answer on the Vice President's behalf, but wanted the request conveyed to the Vice President and a response relayed back if she chose. Lopez did not provide positions on the subjects; she said the OVP would relay the manifestation to the Vice President.

Beneficiary selection for OVP distribution programs: Rep. Renee Louise M. Co asked how the OVP identifies beneficiaries for the Pagbabago bag campaign, wheelchairs, and the burial-kit program, referring to 150,000 learners and 600 clients. Undersecretary Zuleika T. Lopez said the programs had operating manuals and referred the detail to operations. Director Norman Valora said DepEd and people's organizations identify recipient schools, with attention to geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas and last-mile schools; he described the burial kit as intended for Muslim families needing burial within 24 hours, and said wheelchairs or other mobility devices may be requested by organizations, local governments, or walk-in clients. When Co asked how the process begins, Valora said it normally starts through collaboration with DepEd before Brigada Eskwela and through written requests from people's organizations, including for madrasa schools.

Master list and coordination against duplicate assistance: Co asked how the OVP avoids duplicating assistance with local governments, people's organizations, and other agencies. Valora said the office uses a dashboard and master list for DepEd learners to identify duplicate names, and that the supporting documents are verified and signed by DepEd. Asked whether the list was coordinated beyond the OVP, he described collaboration with DepEd, which identifies whether schools have already received assistance, and again said the office focuses on GIDA and last-mile schools identified by DepEd.

OVP charter and policy-research capacity: Co asked what policy work, research capacity, and advice to other agencies the OVP undertakes. Lopez identified an OVP charter bill, House Bill No. 4215, as an institutional project intended to define the office's powers and functions and institutionalize programs beyond any one vice president's term. On Co's follow-up, Lopez said the bill provides for a policy-research office; for the time being, she said Director Shine Fajarda's Strategic Management Office handles coordination with national agencies and the private sector on partnership opportunities.

Requested OVP position on Pax Silica: Co asked whether the OVP had conducted policy research or formed a public position on Pax Silica. Lopez said the team was authorized to answer questions related to the proposed 2027 budget. She added that the Strategic Management Office handles requested OVP comments on proposed legislation and had received letters stating positions on Pax Silica, but said neither the OVP nor Vice President Sara had a position and that the question would be noted. Co asked for an initial submission before plenary deliberations; Alvarez invited a written reply to his committee if the OVP team wished to respond.

Magnegosyo grants, outcomes and oversight records: Elago argued that parliamentary courtesy should be removed from budget deliberations involving the highest offices, regardless of a proposal's size, so that every programme, activity and peso receives meaningful scrutiny. She then asked how Magnegosyo assistance was distributed among nearly 10,000 reported beneficiaries since 2023 and whether recipients received uniform amounts or proposal-based assistance. Director Norman Valora said individual grantees receive P15,000 each, while civil-society organizations receive about P150,000 based on their feasibility studies; he said CSOs undergo OVP accreditation and groups have a minimum 20 to 25 clients or members. Asked for measurable evidence that enterprises grew or were sustained, Valora said the OVP monitors individual grants after 90 days, acknowledged that not all recipients succeed, and said it sometimes refers them to appropriate agencies. He committed to provide the committee a list of clients and beneficiaries. Elago also requested the programme manual of operations and success indicators, citing the need to avoid duplication with similar assistance and to show that subsidies reach their intended purpose.

You Can Be VP activities and participant reporting: Elago questioned the You Can Be VP programme after noting that the OVP report listed two beneficiaries despite what she described as a large allocation, and asked what related activities and projects were funded. Valora said the programme conducts monthly huddles or kumustahan with programme focal persons, sometimes by Zoom, as well as mentoring, exposure through OVP events and a planned Junior Leadership Program by Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao clusters. He said programme funds were used for those activities rather than handed directly as cash to recipients. Elago said the reported figures might not capture the programme's service scope, urged reconsideration of its performance indicators, and requested a committee submission detailing funded activities and the number of participants or recipients.

Authorized posts, staffing and personnel services: Elago asked how the OVP's proposed personnel-services allocation related to its plantilla, permanent and contractual workforce, and compensation. Atty. Rosalynne L. Sanchez said the OVP had 248 authorized plantilla positions, covering permanent and coterminous posts, with 182 actual employees; she added that 69 casual and contractual personnel were on top of plantilla positions. Sanchez then stated about PHP 220 million for personnel services, after Elago cited a PHP 220.232-million proposal. Earlier presenter Tenido had given PHP 235.776 million including RLIP; a following fragment appears to say RLIP was excluded from the later amount, but the transcript does not explicitly reconcile the two totals.

Travel spending and requested breakdowns: Elago said the FY 2027 proposed travel-expense line was PHP 51 million and asked for spending in 2025 and 2026 to date, including the amount for ceremonial and executive functions. Sanchez said the 2025 travel budget was P56 million, of which P12.9 million had been spent on foreign travel and P32.5 million on local travel. She said the cited travel amounts covered OVP personnel and some security expenses, and linked the spending to programme delivery, including travel to last-mile schools and GIDA areas. Elago said she would await detailed figures from 2023 through the FY 2027 proposal; the frozen exchange does not supply the requested 2026-to-date or ceremonial/executive-function breakdown.

Termination of the OVP budget briefing: Rep. Ma. Isabel L. Sagarbarria moved to terminate the committee's hearing on the proposed FY 2027 OVP budget under House Bill No. 10858. Rep. Roberto Nazal seconded, and Deputy Speaker Jose C. Alvarez recognized the motion. Alvarez then asked Nazal to change his earlier ‘static’ motion to a ‘dynamic’ one so the briefing could be terminated together; Nazal separately moved to terminate the budget briefing. The chair later thanked the OVP for answering the questions and ultimately declared the briefing terminated under Sagarbarria's motion.

Suspension of the committee hearing: Before the session ended, Sagarbarria separately moved to suspend the committee hearing on House Bill No. 10858 at Dandaya Hall until September 3 at 9 a.m. Alvarez treated this as another motion and, stating there was no objection, ruled that the hearing was suspended. He set the continuation for September 3, 2026, at 9 a.m.; the procedural outcome was a suspension of the hearing alongside termination of the OVP briefing.