MANILA – Vice President Sara Duterte, who is also the Department of Education secretary, has withdrawn her request for P650 million in confidential funds for the proposed 2024 budget.
In a statement to Sonny Angara, the Vice President said she dropped the bid due to the “the divisive nature of the issue” and emphasized her commitment to keeping the country peaceful and strong.
The Office of the Vice President clarified that its role is to propose a budget supposedly supporting the safe implementation of programs to alleviate poverty and promote the general welfare, .
Originally, Duterte sought P650 million in confidential funds, with P500 million allocated to the OVP and the rest for DepEd. During the Senate’s plenary debates on the proposed budget, Angara officially announced the withdrawal of the request for confidential and intelligence funds for both of the department’s Duterte manages.
Senator Pia Cayetano, who sponsored the DepEd budget, conveyed that the department would no longer pursue confidential funds.
Critics argued that the OVP do not have the mandate for confidential and intelligence funds.
