Lawmakers are calling for the establishment of a “permanent office” for the Vice President of the Philippines, recalling that the second highest official of the country has been renting various locations for his or her office for the past generations.
The Office of the Vice President (OVP) holds “no institutional entitlement,” Sen. Sonny Angara said during a budget hearing.
“The vice president has no official residence, no official vehicle so talagang medyo dehado po ang OVP (the OVP is really at a disadvantage),” he said.
Sen. Nancy Binay, daughter of former Vice President Jejomar Binay, said it is their job to give “dignity” to the Office of the Vice President.
“When my father was vice president, lagi niyang reklamo mas malaki pa ‘yung budget ng barangay namin sa Makati kaysa sa OVP,” Binay said.
[When my father was vice president, he always complained that the budget of our village in Makati is even bigger than the budget of the OVP.]
“Kaya ang biro niya demotion iyon [pagiging vice president],” she said.
[That’s why he always joked that being vice president was a demotion.]
Incumbent Vice President Leni Robredo has been using the Quezon City Executive House as her office since her election in 2016.
