Manila: Malaca±ang stated on Monday that Vice President Sara Z. Duterte was the one who abandoned the government, countering her assertions that the administration had neglected the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

According to Philippines News Agency, during a press briefing, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro addressed Duterte's comments made at an event in Hong Kong over the weekend. Duterte had claimed that the government had turned its back on the OVP. Castro refuted this by stating that the Vice President was given the opportunity to defend her proposed 2025 budget but chose to skip the plenary deliberations at the House of Representatives, leading to a reduction in the OVP's budget allocation.

Castro further explained that the Vice President was not prevented from securing a proper budget for the OVP if she could adequately justify the need for it. "In fact, she was given the opportunity to defend her proposed budget," Castro emphasized. She likened the situation to defending a thesis, stating that one must justify their submission and cannot simply expect approval without explanation.

Castro reiterated that it was Duterte who distanced herself from the administration, not the other way around. "No one left her. It was her who abandoned the government," she concluded.