MANILA, Sept. 2 (PNA) – The Senate Finance Committee submitted on Tuesday for plenary deliberation and approval the proposed PHP 222-million budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for 2015.
It took less than 15 minutes for committee chairman Senator Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero to scrutinize the OVP’s proposed program of expenditure which is only 2.46 percent higher compared to this year’s PHP 217 million budget.
The OVP has actually submitted a PHP 231-million budget but the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) cut it to PHP 222 million.
”The difference will actually be given to them (OVP). It was temporarily placed in the DBM in relation to the computerization program of the government,” Escudero explained to the media.
Undersecretary Benjamin Martinez Jr., chief of staff of the Vice President, said PHP 86 million of the PHP 222 million will be used for public services such as medical and dental, burial, transport assistance and relief missions of the OVP.
”Actually, the Vice President did not ask for bigger budget. We just make the most out of what we have,” Martinez said.
In the first half of 2014 alone, the OVP extended medical assistance to 2,806 recipients, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 20,562 since 2010.
The OVP has also served 33,157 beneficiaries under medical and dental missions and 18,928 people with its relief missions for the first half of this year.
Martinez said the Vice President was not able to attend the committee hearing due to his previous commitment in Bukidnon. (PNA)