Despite this significant reduction, Vice President Sara Duterte thanked the Senate for approving a P733.2 million budget for her office, after the Senate followed the decision of the House of Representatives to reduce the original proposed P2.037 billion.
Duterte attended the plenary hearing and shook hands with the senators before the approval of her reduced budget. One of her allies, Senator Bong Go, called on the senators to restore the OVP's funds for social assistance to help the poor. Go stated that the OVP should not lose funding for social services because there are programs allocated for this purpose.
Another ally, Senator Ronald dela Rosa, proposed the approval of the reduced budget, which was supported by Senator Cynthia Villar. According to Senator Grace Poe, the sponsor of the budget and chair of the finance committee, Senator Go still has the opportunity to propose the restoration of the OVP's social welfare funds during the amendment phase.
In a press briefing after the session, Duterte said that she had left the decision to the Senate on whether to restore the full or only part of the P1.3 billion cut from the budget. "We are grateful to the Senate for responding and taking action on our budget," Duterte said.
