MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte's office rejected Tuesday criticisms that its transfer to new headquarters in Mandaluyong was a luxury.

Office of the Vice President (OVP) Spokesperson Reynold Munsayac explained why Duterte transferred her headquarters from the Quezon City Reception House, where her predecessor Leni Robredo held office.

"Noong nakaraang administrasyon, 2 po ang lokasyon ng Office of the Vice President. May opisina po sa Quezon City Reception House sa New Manila, magandang lugar, magandang lokasyon," Munsayac said in a video message sent to reporters.

(During the previous administration, the Office of the Vice President had 2 locations. One is the Quezon City Reception House in New Manila. It was a nice place, a good location.)

"Pero marami pong empleyado ng Office of the Vice President ang pumapasok naman sa Ben-Lor Building sa Quezon Avenue. Noong pinuntahan namin iyong lugar, medyo masikip, siksikan iyong ibang empleyado. Iyong iba nagsha-share na lang ng lamesa," he said.

(But many of the employees of the Office of the Vice President also report to the Ben-Lor Building in Quezon Avenue. When we went there, it was a bit cramped. Some of the employees even share a table.)

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Munsayac said this is why the OVP moved to a new headquarters, where all of the employees report for work and boost efficiency.

"Mas efficient ho iyan dahil hindi na tumatagal ang pag-iikot ng dokumento. Iyong mga magpapapirma, hindi na kailangang bumiyahe," he said.

(That's more efficient because it no longer takes a lot of time to sign documents, the employees no longer need to travel.)

"So iyan po ay hindi luho. Mas hinangad po namin iyong efficiency," he said.

(That's not luxury. What we wanted was efficiency.)

Munsayac also denied claims that Quezon City Reception House was previously used by the OVP for free, saying it "was paying rentals."

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