Kabataan Rep slams VP Duterte for absence in OVP budget hearing

Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel criticized Vice President Sara Duterte for her absence during the plenary debate on the Office of the Vice President's (OVP) 2025 budget, calling it a betrayal of public trust.

Manuel stated that elected officials are accountable to the public and must answer questions concerning the national interest.

The plenary debates for the OVP's budget began on Monday at 10 a.m. and Manuel noted that they waited for almost 17 hours.

Deputy Majority Leader Marlyn Primicias-Agabas confirmed that the OVP was the only agency whose budget deliberation did not proceed.

Primicias-Agabas also mentioned that checks of the OVP's holding room and inquiries with the Committee on Appropriations secretariat revealed no OVP representatives were present nor had any explanation for their absence been provided.