House defers OVP budget hearing as asst. sec. not allowed to attend

The House of Representatives deferred the Office of the Vice President's (OVP) budget hearing for 2026 because the OVP initially proposed to send an assistant secretary.

House appropriations committee vice chairperson Jose Alvarez explained that agency heads or at least undersecretaries must attend budget deliberations.

Alvarez advised the OVP not to attend the hearing, noting that sending an assistant secretary would not suffice.

The OVP's proposed budget for 2026 is P889 million.

The OVP denied snubbing the hearing, stating that Congressman Alvarez declined to recognize its delegation and later asked Vice President Sara Duterte not to proceed.

The OVP provided a screenshot of a text exchange where Alvarez insisted that an assistant secretary would not suffice, but then opted to defer the hearing when Duterte herself committed to attend.

Vice President Sara Duterte had committed to attending the rescheduled hearing on Tuesday, September 16.