The House Committee on Appropriations was forced to postpone deliberations on the proposed ₱900-million budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for 2026 after no qualified representatives appeared during the scheduled hearing on Friday, September 12, as reported by RH Milky Rigonan.

The session at Nograles Hall in the House of Representatives was delayed for more than two hours as lawmakers debated whether to proceed without Vice President Sara Duterte or her senior officials present.

According to Rep. Pepito Alvarez, the committee received a letter from Duterte’s office saying that only a director-level official would attend. However, members of the panel rejected this, stressing that only the Vice President herself, or at the very least her chief-of-staff or an undersecretary, could defend the OVP’s budget before Congress.

“Dapat head of agency or at the very least a Usec ang pupunta rito to defend the budget of the agency. Noting the inconsistency in the letter, I personally advised them not to come if Usec. Zuleika Lopez could not attend,” Alvarez said.

Lawmakers cited protocol, noting that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sends undersecretaries to represent his office in both the House and the Senate. They stressed that the OVP must observe the same level of respect for the budget process, rather than sending a director-level representative.

The committee ultimately decided to defer the OVP’s budget hearing to Tuesday, September 16, after Duterte reportedly assured members that she or a higher-ranking official would attend to properly defend the agency’s proposed ₱900-million budget request