Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa believe that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) deserves to have the budget it needs next year.

In a Viber message to reporters on Wednesday, Pimentel said the OVP should be given “sufficient budget” for it to function in accordance to its mandate.

“Give the OVP sufficient budget to carry out the VP’s constitutional role or responsibility to be ready to be the President at any given second,” Pimentel said.

“Hence OVP should have budget for: staff, office, utilities, library, briefings, meetings (representation), attendance in conferences, travel both domestic and international,” he added.

Meanwhile, dela Rosa maintained that the OVP still needs a budget despite Vice President Sara Duterte’s statement saying her office can still work even if it will be totally defunded by Congress.

“Pwede, pero mahirap. Saan kukuha ng sweldo yung kanyang mga staff, mga tao sa opisina (It’s possible but difficult. Where will her staff, people in the office get their salary)?” dela Rosa said in a press briefing.

The senator, however, said he is confident that majority of his colleagues will support the PHP2.037-billion proposed budget of the OVP for 2025 in accordance to the “time-honored tradition” of lawmakers to extend “parliamentary courtesy” to the Office of the President and the OVP.

“I am sure yung mga kasamahan kong senador will stand by the time-honored tradition na yung top two offices of the government, na bibigyan naman nila ng kaukulang respeto. I’m sure yung mga kasamahan ko dito ay (that my fellow senators will stand by the time-honored tradition that the two top offices of the government, that they will give them due respect. I’m sure my colleagues here are) for the preservation of that tradition,” dela Rosa said. (PNA)