16-8-2023 (MANILA) The Commission on Audit has revealed a staggering 1453% increase in the Office of the President’s (OP) travel expenses for foreign trips in 2022. According to the auditors, the expenses surged by approximately P367,052,245.96, soaring from P25,255,163.95 million in 2021 to P392,307,409.91 in 2022.
The remarkable rise in expenses can be attributed to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s foreign travels during the initial stages of his term in 2022, as highlighted in the 2022 annual audit report. State auditors characterized this as a “significant increase” and attributed it to the official travels undertaken by President Marcos to attend foreign summits and state visits in Singapore, Indonesia, the United States of America, Cambodia, Thailand, and Belgium.
Philstar.com reached out to the Office of the President and the Presidential Communications Office for their comments on the matter. We will update this story as soon as we receive their response. The Commission on Audit clarified that foreign travel expenses encompass all costs incurred in the transportation and movement of government officials and employees outside the country, including transportation fees, travel per diem, passport and visa processing, and other related expenses.
In contrast, expenses related to domestic trips experienced a decline, decreasing from P11.5 million in 2021 to P10.8 million in 2022.
President Marcos assumed office in June 2022, while 2021 marked the last full fiscal year under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Interestingly, the Office of the President has requested an almost 58% increase in its 2024 budget allocation for both local and foreign visits compared to 2023. This amounts to a staggering P1.41 billion, which constitutes over one-tenth of the OP’s planned budget for 2024.
