Taxpayers paid P20.68-million on VP Sara Duterte’s security during local and foreign trips

By Jed Queenny Cruz

The Office of the Vice President reported to have spent a total of P20.68 million for Vice President Sara Duterte’s travels especially for her security personnel and other civilian staff. 

The total amount is a combination of the ₱13.207 million expenses for local travels and ₱7.473 million worth of foreign travels.

Earlier this year, the Vice President visited the Filipino communities in Qatar wherein she joined a series of scheduled activities including a Thanksgiving mass, attended Independence Day celebration with Filipino expatriates and had program consultations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and just last month, met with Filipinos in Kuwait as part of her advocacy in overseas welfare.

Since Duterte assumed office last June 2022, OVP’s travel expenses expanded to 111% from the previous term of former Vice President Leni Robredo which only had travels worth P20.11 million in 2022. 

However, Duterte clarified that she has been paying for her and her family’s expenses during travels, especially their frequent flights to the Hague, Netherlands where their father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, is detained under the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crime against humanity in the context of his war on drugs campaign. 

The Office of the Vice President announced that Duterte will be in Japan this month to participate in Filipino community gatherings to know their perception of the ongoing issues in our country. This will be her third time going to Japan this year alone.

Meanwhile, the proposed budget for the OVP next year is still hanging by a thread while Congress discusses funding priorities and debates over the office’s travel expenses and use of confidential funds.