Manila, Philippines – Davao City Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte is under fire from some of his colleagues at the House of Representatives following his bid to seek an overseas travel clearance for a two-month trip to 16 countries.
In a press briefing on Wednesday, Dec. 10, Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said the duration and breadth of the travel clearance are “not ordinary.”
Duterte, son of former president Rodrigo Duterte who has been in the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, since March on charges of crimes against humanity, filed the travel permit request earlier this week but did not elaborate the purpose.
He made a multi-country trip earlier this year following his father’s arrest.
“Nagkaron na ng trip si Congressman Pulong noong March. So many of us are asking, how frequent would one need to travel abroad? That’s a question that most of us do share,” Adiong told a press briefing.
“If you ask me my personal take on that is that — this is not something that is regular. This is not the usual and ordinary travel that one congressman requests to be granted. Kasi we are talking of 16 countries in two months,” the lawmaker said.
Adiong said Duterte’s bid could alarm the public at a time when an investigation into a corruption scheme involving public works has implicated names.
“We’re talking about the ongoing investigation and the fear of the public that some of these names were mentioned already might use this as a way to evade the investigation. We understand that,” he said.
Another House lawmaker echoed Malacanang’s rhetoric.
“It is up to the SecGen to decide on the merits of this request,” Manila 1st district Rep. Ernesto Dionisio, Jr. said during the briefing.
