Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go recently expressed his full support for the budget of the Office of the Vice President led by Vice President Sara Duterte, stressing that the OVP will need strong budgetary support to realize its mandates and deliver what is expected of it.
“As the second highest office in the land, the Office of the Vice President is mandated to perform executive, ceremonial, and advocacy functions as well as collaboration with stakeholders and organizations in both the public and private sectors, to develop and promote programs that will uplift the lives of the Filipino people,” Go said.
The senator also noted that the Vice President position will be even more crucial as this is the first time in a very long while that the country has a sitting president and vice president who are allies.
He added that the Vice President will play a vital role in nation-building, economic recovery and addressing educational gaps in the country as secretary of the Department of Education.
“She will work closely with the President and, on top of that, she will also spearhead one of the most important agencies in the country, the Department of Education,” Go said.
Noting that a chunk of OVP’s 2023 budget will be allocated for good governance and social services, he expressed his confidence that the leadership of Duterte will ensure that the programs will be beneficial to Filipinos.
Meantime, the lawmaker is also backing the proposed budget of the Commission on Human Rights, saying that the CHR has been diligently working to improve the human rights situation in the country
He then urged the agency to further intensify its efforts and promote a more holistic approach that will ensure the protection of the human rights of every person, including victims of crimes caused by the perpetration of illegal drugs.
“We are very much aware that the past administration became a subject of many criticisms from the Commission on Human Rights. It is your agency’s task and it is your duty to fight for the human rights of every person,” Go said.
To recall, former President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs and criminality bore positive results as the Philippine National Police earlier reported that the crime rate in the country significantly decreased by 73.76 percent from 2016 to 2021.