Malacañang confirmed it had approved Vice President Sara Duterte’s planned trips to five European countries and South Korea, pushing back on her claim that travel documents arrived too late for her to depart.
Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the travel authority was issued a day before Duterte’s scheduled departure — not at the last minute, as the Vice President had alleged. Duterte had announced on April 23 that she was cancelling the trips, which covered the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, and South Korea, spanning April 23 to May 15.
Castro made clear that the cancellation was Duterte’s own decision, and that future requests would face no obstacles. “If she wants to take a vacation or hold a world tour, her request would be granted, considering that she does not have an immigration lookout bulletin order and a precautionary hold departure order,” Castro said.
Duterte, for her part, sent a message to the Palace after calling off the travel: “You will be receiving a new request soon. Please ensure that the necessary documents be processed and issued promptly, allowing sufficient time for travel preparations rather than only a few hours before the intended departure.”
Castro, though, shifted the focus to a more pointed question — not whether Duterte could travel, but whether she should. With the Middle East in crisis and the Anti-Money Laundering Council having flagged bank transactions connected to Duterte and her husband, Castro asked: “Is it prudent to take a vacation?”
“What matters most now is why the Vice President changed her mind. What made her change her mind is the P6.7-billion question,” Castro said.
Duterte has been absent from House impeachment hearings where she faces allegations of misuse of funds and betrayal of public trust. The complaints against her also include accusations of conspiring to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
