Rep. Duterte seeks House’s OK to travel to 16 countries
Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte has asked House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III for permission to visit, for the second time this year, at least 16 countries, according to a letter from the lawmaker.
Duterte’s office confirmed to reporters on Tuesday the veracity of his letter in which he requested a travel authority from Dy. But he insisted it was supposed to be a confidential document that was leaked to the media by someone in the House of Representatives.
“This is to request for a travel clearance for my upcoming travel to Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, United States, Australia, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy and Singapore from the 15th of December 2025 to 20th of February, 2026,” Duterte said in his letter.
The Davao congressman also requested that he be allowed to attend House sessions and hearings virtually for the duration of his trips abroad.
No public funds
“Rest assured that the expenses that will be incurred from this trip are from my personal funds alone. In addition, this is also to seek your kind indulgence in allowing this Representation to attend the scheduled plenary sessions and meetings virtually from the aforementioned dates. It is with esteemed appreciation if this will merit your preferential action and approval,” Duterte added.
In March, the House leadership approved his request to visit the same set of countries, plus Northern Ireland. Sources told reporters that former House Secretary General Reginald Velasco issued the travel authority for Duterte’s trip from Mar. 20 to May 10.
It is unclear why Duterte is making the trip, but his previous multicountry travel was made after his father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, was arrested on Mar. 11 and taken into custody by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is based in The Hague, the Netherlands. The older Duterte is facing charges for crime against humanity before the ICC over the drug war he waged as Davao City mayor and as chief executive.
His daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, has also gone abroad multiple times this year. She has gone to The Hague five times to visit her father, as well as to Hong Kong, Kuwait, South Korea, Australia, Japan, Qatar and Malaysia, among others. She said, however, that her visits to Japan and Australia were personal in nature.
