QUEZON CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Quezon City) –Members of the House of Representatives wanted to provide the Office of the Vice President (OVP) a bigger budget as they lauded the programs implemented by Vice President Leni Robredo.

Robredo, who physically attended the budget briefing of the Committee on Appropriations on Monday, said her office sought a P723.39-million budget for 2021, but the Department of Budget and Management only approved P679.74 million.

But now, even that lower budget may end up being slashed to zero!

This development came about after several lawmakers uncovered a video of Robredo telling a U.S. crowd shortly after she assumed her position that the only power vested by the Philippine Constitution on the the Vice President “was to wait for something to happen to the President.”

“We can’t allocate taxpayer funds to someone who is simply waiting in the sidelines,” the lawmakers said.

QUEZON CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Quezon City Bureau) – Vice President Leni Robredo couldn’t be happier today after several lawmakers recommended that the 2021 budget of her office (OVP)  be increased.

The OVP initially proposed a budget of P723.39 million, but the Department of Budget and Management recommended only P679.74 million for the office for 2021, a cut to the P708.02 million that it received in 2020.

But the lawmakers, Camarines Sur 3rd District Rep. Gabriel Bordado, Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and Kabataan party-list Rep. Sarah Elago lamented the fact that the proposed budget greatly undermines Robredo’s efforts to provide merienda (snacks) to the news media and other OVP guests  who come to the Boracay Mansion, her official residence.

“In this time of the Covid-19 pandemic where the cost of food and other essentials has doubled if not tripled, we need to make sure that the OVP has sufficient funds to keep serving merienda. It’s a Filipino thing, and it’s the right thing to do,” Elago told The Adobo Chronicles.

When asked where the additional money will come from, Elago said it should be taken off the 2021 budget of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) since “they are not doing anything anyway.”