Next for Sara: Japan again, then back to Hague
She’s not done with her international travels yet. Vice President Sara Duterte is embarking on another foreign trip—a visit to Japan next month, where she is set to meet with the Filipino community there.
This will be her third trip to Japan this year.
Duterte disclosed her trip to Japan when she spoke to one of her supporters during an interview on Thursday (Netherlands time) in The Hague, where she visited her detained father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
She initially revealed her next destination in another interview on Wednesday (Netherlands time) after she and her siblings visited their father in his detention facility.
“Yes, [the trip to] Japan will push through. It was already set by the Filipino community there,” Duterte said on Thursday.
Travel spree
The trip will be on Sept. 20 to Sept. 21, or days before the confirmation of charges against her father set by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Sept. 23.
According to Duterte, the event will be a “large gathering” organized by Japan-based Filipinos who want to express their support for the former President.
After Japan, she will return to the Hague on Sept. 23 for the confirmation of charges hearing at the ICC.
Duterte’s extended travel spree has been criticized by the public and even Malacañang itself. But she has defended her successive trips, insisting that they followed the rules for officials traveling out of the country.
Duterte first went to Japan in January for a “private trip” and then again in February with her younger sister, Veronica “Kitty” Duterte.
Her trip to the same country next month will be her 13th foreign travel for the entire year, and her next trip to the Netherlands on Sept. 23 will be her 14th.
Budget defense
As of Friday, Duterte was still in The Hague. Prior to her Netherlands trip, she also went to Kuwait and France to meet Duterte supporters.
Given all her scheduled trips, will the Vice President still have time to defend her office’s proposed budget for 2026 before the House of Representatives?
According to Office of the Vice President (OVP) spokesperson Ruth Castelo, Duterte is ready to face Congress to defend her office’s budget request. The schedule for the House hearing—Sept. 12 and Sept. 15—has already been “pencil-booked” in Duterte’s calendar.
“It’s already in her schedule. It’s pencil-booked already. [But] it all depends on the multiple engagements or commitments she has already made,” Castelo said on Friday.
Asked what Duterte would do if the House compelled her to attend, Castelo said the Vice President is “ready anytime.”
“She’s capable of facing all of that. The only question is the schedule of her engagements,” she stressed.
‘Personal’ trips
Other officials of the OVP will attend, Castelo added, including its finance and human resources officers, assistant secretary, and undersecretary.
However, Castelo said no one from the House appropriations committee has yet approached the OVP about sponsoring its budget before the chamber.
“We don’t yet know who will help us defend our budget,” she said.
Since assuming office in 2022, the Vice President has traveled abroad 18 times.
Of these travels, at least eight were reported as “personal” or “private” trips. One of these was her private trip to Germany in July 2024 at the height of Typhoon “Carina” (international name: Gaemi).
This year, many of her visits were to the Netherlands to check up on and spend time with former President Duterte.
Her most recent trip before her latest appearance in The Hague was on Aug. 19, to Paris, where she attended a gathering of supporters from France and neighboring countries.
Marcos, meanwhile . . .
President Marcos, on the other hand, has traveled abroad 37 times since becoming president in 2022. His most frequent destinations include the United States, Singapore, and Indonesia, each of which he has visited four times already.
He received flak for attending the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix in 2022, though Malacañang described the trip as “productive.”
Marcos attended the event again in 2023, where he said he had “very promising” discussions with then Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
His latest trip was a five-day state visit to India from Aug. 4 to Aug. 8. —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH
