MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Risa Hontiveros seeks to realign some “duplicating” allocations in the proposed funding for the 2025 budget of the Office of the Vice President, including the P10-million allocation for the distribution of Vice President Sara Duterte’s self-authored children’s book “Isang Kaibigan.”
“At the proper time, sa period of amendments, magpo-propose po ako ng amendment dun sa items ng program sa OVP na katulad lamang doon sa mga programa ng mga line agencies natin, including Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Health (DOH), and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE),” Hontiveros said at the Kapihan sa Senado forum.
“Yung item ng P10 million para sa pagmumudmod ng mga kopya ng ‘Isang Kaibigan’ ay papasukan ko rin po ng amendment. ‘Yun naman ang purpose ng interpellation sa hearing eh, para i-explore,” she said.
Pointing out the country’s mostly insufficient funding far better needed in government departments, Hontiveros said the P10,000,000 budget for book distribution is simply “improper.”
“Request yan. Dahil kung meron kang sinulat na libro, kung ikaw ang sumulat niyan, hindi dapat gamitan ng government funds at taxpayers money para ipamudmod,” she said.
Hontiveros and Duterte had a heated exchange during the deliberation of the OVP budget when the lawmaker asked about the Vice President’s book.
Duterte then accused Hontiveros of “politicizing” the OVP budget through questions by a senator.
