THE Office of Vice President (OVP) appeared clueless yesterday as to the whereabouts of Vice President Sara Duterte.
OVP spokesperson Ruth Castelo said the Vice President could be in her office working but could not say for certain where Duterte was.
Castelo was asked on Duterte’s whereabouts during a press conference held a few hours before the Senate started deliberations on what action to take following the Supreme Court’s decision to declare the Articles of Impeachment against her “unconstitutional.”
“Who knows, she (Duterte) could just be right in the office — a few steps away,” Castelo told reporters. “We’ll get back to you on that before we end this conference.”
The press conference ended without Castelo announcing the Vice President’s whereabouts.
Castelo assured the public that the Vice President, who had just come from South Korea where she met with supporters last week, is doing her job despite not being seen in public in the past few days.
“She may not be here physically, hindi lang natin nakikita, pero ‘yung trabaho na kailangan (we just don’t see her but the work needed) for the office is still being done,” Castelo said.
The Vice President did not attend President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28, the same day she was scheduled to return to the country from South Korea.
“Even if she’s not here, she’s still running the office. Kasi may tech naman kami (we have the tech). The instructions come from the VP herself,” said Castelo.
She said the President oversees the OVP’s operations, including reviewing and approving press releases and social media announcements before release or posting.
Castelo also recognized a drop in the Vice President’s ratings in recent surveys, saying it gives Duterte an opportunity to do better and improve her performance.
“Ang (The) findings, if totoo man (if true), we have resolved to do better. The VP herself resolved to work even harder,” she said.
“Impeachment or not, the OVP will work the same or even harder to fulfill the mandate,” said Castelo.
The OVP will be asking Congress for a budget of P903 million for 2026.
Castelo earlier explained it was the Department of Budget and Management that increased the budget proposal to P803.6 million from P733 million, which later reached P903 million after the OVP requested an additional budget for personnel services.
