Metro Manila, Philippines – Vice President Saea Duterte is seeking around ₱51 million for travel expenses in 2027, with officials saying the funds are for personnel to implement programs in communities nationwide.
The travel spending was raised during the House appropriations committee deliberations on the Office of the Vice President’s ₱785.204-million proposed budget for next year.
Gabriel Women’s Party Rep, Sarah Elago sought details on the allocation and asked how much the agency had spent on travel in previous years.
“Ang travel expenses, ₱51 million ang proposal for the next year. Magkano na ho ang nagastos for 2025 and 2026 to date?” the lawmaker said on Wednesday, Sept.2.
[Translation: The proposed travel expenses for next year amount to ₱51 million. How much was spent in 2025 and in 2026 to date?]
The lawmaker also sought a breakdown of how much of the allocation would be for attendance at ceremonial and executive functions.
OVP officials said the office had a ₱56-million travel budget in 2025, of which ₱12.9 million was spent on foreign travel and ₱32.5 million on local travel.
That amounts to around ₱45.4 million in travel spending for the year, based on the figures provided during the hearing.
The OVP said the allocation does not cover Vice President Sara Duterte, but will cover expenses of OVP personnel and some members of her security detail.
Officials said travel is also necessary to carry out agency programs in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas and so-called last-mile schools.
“All the amounts mentioned earlier cover the travel expenses of all OVP personnel as well as some expenses of the security personnel,” said OVP director Rosalynne Sanchez.
“We go to last-mile schools, GIDA (geographically isolated, disadvantaged, and conflict-affected areas), so we incur substantial travel expenses to implement our programs,” the official added.
The committee requested a more detailed breakdown of travel expenses from 2023 through its proposed allocation for 2027.
The OVP is seeking ₱561.651 million for maintenance and other operating expenses next year, accounting for about 70 percent of its proposed agency-specific budget.
The Budget Department recommended a total agency-specific budget of ₱785.204 million for the OVP, 11.7 percent lower than the current appropriation.
