Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday presented the proposed P902.895-million budget of her office based on the approved 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) at the House Committee on Appropriations, with lawmakers seeking explanation on her frequent trips abroad.
For next year, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) requested P56-million for travel funds under its maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) on top of the P59.1-million listed as representation expenses.
At the interpellation of ACT Teachers and Kabataan party-list Reps. Antonio Tinio and Renee Louise Co, Duterte was asked how she was able to fund the travel expenses of her security and staff, after the OVP claimed in a recent press conference that no public funds were used in her travels overseas.
VP Sara explained that travel arrangements with her security and staff depend on the nature of her trips. She said she maintains a lean team, normally with only three trusted OVP personnel, while the security detail is based on the recommendation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
“If I have activities for the Office of the Vice President abroad, the three OVP personnel join the trips. But if the trip is purely personal and I do not have events for the Office of the Vice President, they do not join the trips… But in the case of the security personnel, this is something that is beyond the Office of the Vice President. It is decided by the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” Duterte said.
The vice president disclosed that from July 2024 up to present, she has taken a total of 17 trips to 13 destinations including Germany, Denmark, Japan (twice), Hong Kong, Netherlands (four times), Qatar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Australia, South Korea, France and Belgium.
In the trips to Southeast Asia, Australia, Middle East, Europe and East Asia, Duterte said the OVP spent a total of P7,473,887.70 thus far to cover the travel expenses of her security personnel and staff members.
“No public funds were used for all my travels. I did not charge representation. I did not charge tickets. I did not charge per diem for all my travels in the Office of the Vice President. So, if you can see in the breakdown of the budget of travels for the Office of the Vice President, you can see that there was a zero amount for the vice president,” Duterte said.
VP Sara emphasized that all her international trips were granted travel authority by the Office of the President. She also said not all OVP personnel join her in her travels.
“Security is always recommended by the AFP, but some trips do not have OVP personnel because there are only three trusted OVP personnel who can do the work that I demand from them and sometimes they are not available,” Duterte told lawmakers.
