OVP allots P20 million for Sara Duterte’s travel

OVP allots P20 million for Sara Duterte’s travel | Daily Tribune

The Office of the Vice President (OVP) has set aside around P20 million for Vice President Sara Duterte’s travel expenses for fiscal year 2026.

“For 2026, the allocation is P20 million. This is the lowest allocation since 2023, and highest allocation gain was P31.5 million,” Atty. Kelvin Gerome Tenido, chief of the OVP Budget Division, told reporters in a press briefing at the OVP central office in Mandaluyong City on Thursday.

As of 31 July 2025, the OVP reported spending P20.68 million for travel expenses. Of this, P13.21 million went to local trips and P7.47 million to foreign travels.

“For 2025, around P20 million has been spent for the travels of the Vice President, including the expenses of the security personnel,” Tenido said.

The agency clarified that the budget for overseas trips also covers expenses of security personnel and staff, stressing that the Vice President herself does not use public funds for all her international travel.

The OVP has proposed a total budget of P902.885 million for 2026, higher by P170 million from the current year’s P733 million. It has not requested any confidential funds for 2026.

Officials said the agency is preparing for its budget hearing at the House of Representatives on Friday, September 12.

“The OVP is currently preparing for the budget hearing for tomorrow, and we are ready to answer any questions that will be asked of the team for tomorrow,” OVP Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio said.

“So we are collating all the necessary documentation for us to be able to properly defend the proposed budget of the OVP,” he added.

Asked whether confidential funds will be tackled despite not being requested, Ortonio said: “Again, we will try to answer all the questions that will be asked tomorrow of the OVP. We are prepared.”

The OVP also said it has not been confirmed if Duterte will attend the budget hearing.

“In relation to the attendance of the Vice President to the budget hearing tomorrow, she has not yet provided a final answer if she will go to the hearing for it,” Ortonio said.