The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is investigating the foreign trips made by 24 local officials, mostly mayors, amid the onslaught of Super Typhoon Uwan, DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Wednesday.

Remulla said the officials could face charges of gross negligence, gross insubordination, and abandonment of posts for leaving the country despite a foreign travel ban imposed ahead of the twin typhoons.

“The 24 local chief executives who left are now under investigation. Despite the directive, they left November 9 to 15,” Remulla said in a radio interview.

On 8 November, Remulla ordered all elective and appointive local officials to cancel or suspend foreign travel from 9 to 15 November, to ensure their presence in their respective areas during pre-disaster preparations, response, and recovery operations.

“It is their moral duty to be cognizant of the approaching calamities. All of us who watch the news, all of us who read the newspaper, all of us who see it on the internet, we know what is coming,” Remulla said in a mix of Tagalog and English.

Under Republic Act No. 7160 (Local Government Code) and Republic Act No. 10121 (Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act), governors, mayors, and local council members are required to lead disaster aid and relief efforts and supervise their local disaster management offices.

Those proven guilty of dereliction of duty could face fines ranging from P50,000 to P500,000, imprisonment of six to twelve years, and perpetual disqualification from public office in grave cases.

Nine of the officials under investigation—eight mayors and one provincial board member from Cebu—had scheduled foreign trips to the United Kingdom this November. Although Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro signed their travel documents in September, four did not secure final travel clearance from the DILG. One of the nine canceled his trip.

Remulla clarified that mayors and councilors must seek permission from the DILG for foreign travel. “That’s what they need to explain because those are clear-cut guidelines. If they asked the local DILG—they probably didn’t—they would have been told those kinds of requirements,” he said.

The DILG chief, however, did not mention Assistant Secretary for Communications and External Affairs Atty. Maria Liavel Badillo-Crisostomo, who drew flak online for posting a TikTok dance video in Vietnam during the height of the typhoons.

Crisostomo’s post went viral as netizens criticized her for being abroad while the country was reeling from the effects of Typhoons Tino and Uwan.