Rep. Marcoleta defends parliamentary courtesy for OVP budget hearing

Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta criticized lawmakers for not affording parliamentary courtesy to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) during budget deliberations.

The appropriations panel decided to proceed with the OVP's budget discussion without Vice President Sara Duterte or any representative present, despite an initial hour-long delay.

Marcoleta moved to terminate the deliberations to uphold the tradition of respect for the OVP, but his motion was objected to by other legislators.

He questioned whether the House appropriations panel has the right to discard the tradition of allowing the OVP to skip question periods during budget deliberations.

This parliamentary courtesy has been observed for years in the House of Representatives, where the offices of the President and Vice President are accorded due respect.

Marcoleta noted a shift in this practice, citing the decreasing waiting times for OVP representatives in recent budget hearings compared to previous years.

The hearing was suspended after Marcoleta made his motion to terminate the OVP budget deliberations.