Palace defends increase in Marcos’ travel expenses

Malacañang on Wednesday defended the significant increase of the travel expenses of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

In a statement, the Presidential Communications Office said that the increase in the travel expenses covered both local and foreign travels.

According to the Commission on Audit, the Office of the President's (OP) traveling expenses in 2022 increased by P367 million compared with 2021 due to Marcos' official trips in at least six countries.

The PCO said that the OP "has received a huge volume of invitations for international events, conferences, high-level meetings, and state visits, among others."

"The OP has acceded to some of these requests, knowing that the country and the public, in general, will benefit immensely from the President’s participation in these engagements," the PCO added.

Marcos earlier defended his foreign trips, saying that his participation and attendance at the events abroad would help other countries to "think" about the Philippines.

Marcos also said the public should look at the return on investments of his previous trips.

"Kapag hindi tayo bumiyahe at nagpakita sa mga conference na 'yan, hindi tayo iniisip... wala sa isip nila ang Pilipinas. Iniisip lang nila dito tayo sa Vietnam, diyan tayo sa Indonesia... diyan tayo sa China o kung saan-saan, hindi Pilipinas ang iniisip. Kailangan nating ipakita ano ang ating ginagawa para naman mapaganda ang potential na investment nila na dadating dito sa Pilipinas," Marcos said early this year.

[If we don't show up in those conferences, they won't be thinking of us. The Philippines won't be on their minds. They will think of Vietnam, Indonesia, China and not the Philippines. We should show them what we're doing to improve potential investments here in the Philippines.]  

He also stressed that he needs to introduce himself to the world.

"I'm the new kid on the block. Nobody knows who I am. Kailangan ko magpakilala. Kasi sabi, 'Oh bago ito, sino ba 'to? May alam ba ito? Tama ba 'yung mga ginagawa o ano bang klaseng tao 'yan?'" Marcos said.

[I need to introduce myself. They might say, who is he? Does he know anything? What kind of person is he?]

Local trips

Meanwhile, when it comes to local trips, the PCO said Marcos has been going around the country to ensure that various programs, projects and assistance of the government reach its intended beneficiaries as part of the post-COVID recovery efforts. 

"Moreover, directly connecting with the local governments, local communities and sectoral groups is an integral part of the President’s decision-making process," the PCO said.

The PCO also said the Marcos administration has been availing opportunities to generate more foreign investments in our post-pandemic recovery initiatives.

"At the same time, we also hope to elevate our position in the international community through stronger bilateral ties and improved relations with multilateral or international organizations," the PCO said.

In total, the COA said the OP's traveling expenses reached P403 million in 2022, a 996% increase as against the 2021 spending of P36.8 million. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News