PH's lower house slashes vice president's funding in proposed 2025 budget

26/9/2024 13:39

        The Philippines' lower house of congress has slashed funding for Vice President Sara Duterte by nearly two-thirds in the proposed 2025 budget, as a deep split between Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr looms over midterm elections next year.
        
        The lower house, led by House Speaker Martin Romualdez, a cousin of the president, voted 285-3 late on Wednesday to approve budget spending of 6.352 trillion pesos ($113.5 billion) for 2025, a 10% increase over this year.
        
        Funding for the vice president was cut by more than 1.3 billion pesos, leaving Duterte's office with 733 million pesos.
        
        Romualdez said the proposed budget, which has to be reconciled with the Senate's version, would be enough for the vice-president's office to maintain its services.
        
        Duterte appeared only once in the lower houses during budget deliberations, and pushed back strongly against scrutiny of her spending by some members of Congress. Her subsequent absences sparked criticism and calls from lawmakers to significantly reduce or cut her budget entirely.