00:00Some Senators want to increase the budget of the Office of the Vice President that was allocated by the Camera.
00:06Oscar Oida has a report.
00:08The Office of the Vice President is hereby terminated.
00:12If the Office of the Vice President allocated the budget for the next year to the Camera,
00:17and where is the P733 million?
00:20In the Senate.
00:22They want to increase the budget allocation.
00:24I think it's Senator Joel Villanueva and Senator Diego Estrada.
00:29So the appetite of other Senators here in the Senate is to add a little more.
00:34Senator Mig Zubiri said that it depends on Senator Grace
00:38on how much he will recommend the budget in the plenary.
00:42Poe is the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and Sponsor of the OVP Budget.
00:48Some Congressmen emphasized how the 73 million confidential funds of the OVP were spent in 2022
00:58that were approved by the Commission on Audit.
01:00In a hearing yesterday,
01:02Congressman Joel Chua insisted that it should be known
01:06how the confidential funds were spent.
01:09These amounts easily surpass the threshold for the crime of plunder under our laws.
01:16The Vice President did not approve of this.
01:19Chua also said that he heard accusations and insinuations
01:25that their committee is conducting a political exercise or an attack on an individual.
01:31Among the accusations in the hearing yesterday,
01:34former DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Mercado,
01:37the former Head of Procuring Entity,
01:40was the first to purchase DepEd equipment.
01:43She said she received a lot of money from Duterte,
01:49who is also a DepEd Secretary.
01:51A congressman asked,
01:53Is this a bribe?
01:55It's kind of a harsh word to use.
01:59A bribe.
02:01Because if...
02:03Or should I say,
02:05it is a means to influence your decision being the hope.
02:12It could be.
02:14Duterte first said that she resigned Mercado
02:18because Mercado solicited from various companies using Duterte's name.
02:23According to Mercado,
02:25there is no money involved because the equipment that will be turned over to DepEd is being solicited.
02:31Duterte was also called to stop the use of witnesses
02:37who do not have credible or questionable intentions.
02:42Oscar Oida reporting for GMA Integrated News.
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