Palace OKs VP trip to 5 countries

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang has allowed Vice President Sara Duterte to travel to five countries for three weeks as lawmakers criticize her for snubbing the invitations to attend the impeachment proceedings against her.

Duterte was authorized to visit the Netherlands, South Korea, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom from April 23 to May 15 “while on leave of absence at no cost to the government,” a letter dated April 22 and signed by Executive Secretary Ralph Recto showed.

“This supersedes travel authority issued in your favor, if any, for your personal trips to the aforementioned countries on 23 April – 14 May 2026,” the letter, which circulated online yesterday, read.

A copy of the travel authority surfaced on the same day House justice committee chairperson and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro scored Duterte for skipping the impeachment hearings and for producing press releases and social media content instead of issuing a testimony under oath to answer the allegations against her.

Luistro also accused the vice president of “ghosting” and “gaslighting” the committee and of zeroing in on peripheral matters instead of the core issues.

Duterte is facing impeachment complaints over the supposed conspiracy to kill President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and then House speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and her supposed failure to properly account for the confidential funds allocated to her office, among other accusations.