Vice President Leni Robredo has been granted a P900 million funding by the House of Representatives for 2021, Anakalusugan Representative Mike Defensor confirmed.

The amount includes a P229 million increase in comparison to what she received this year.

According to Defensor, the additional funding will most likely be allocated for Robredo’s “financial assistance/subsidy”.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that President Rodrigo Duterte is going to sign the proposed 2021 budget on Monday.

Defensor reiterated that the P183 million increase for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the House are part of the amendments that the two chambers made in the “programmed” or tax-funded portion of the budget.

“None of that amount was added to the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines that will save lives and livelihood, revive the economy and return the country to pre-pandemic normality,” he said.

“They augmented it by P72 billion, but this was relegated to the ‘un-programmed’ part of the budget that could be used only if there is excess tax revenue, a new tax or a loan,” he added.

Amid the $92.0 billion debt of the country, Defensor shared that the government is planning to borrow funding for the procurement of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccines.

“We could have funded this from taxes instead of relying on lenders for money to buy badly-needed vaccines,” he said.