Last March, he requested to travel right after his father was arrested and detained in the Netherlands. Observe closely the countries of the world he visited and will be visiting this month up to February 2026.
Paolo Duterte’s “personal trip” to the Netherlands and Japan was from March 12 to April 15. Before March ended, he revised his request. The travel was expanded as though it was now a world tour: Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, the United States, Australia, the UK, Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy and Singapore, or 17 destinations. From March 20, the tour was to end May 10.
The last regulation for travel authorities was Memorandum Circular 35 s. 2017: even personal or private overseas travel by government officials or employees “without cost to the government” must be covered by a travel authority and approved leave.
In his letter to the then Speaker Romualdez, Paolo said that the “expenditures incurred from this trip are from my personal funds alone.” That was the only disclosure he mentioned. Nowhere in his letter did he state the purpose of the trip. That’s point No. 1: the trip is cloaked in secrecy even if it meant the traveller was using official leave from his government job. That alone is an ethical dilemma.
It goes without saying: the public has the right to know.
This December, Paolo has again requested for a travel authority. The destinations make up point No. 2: he is traveling to the same countries he visited only seven months ago. That is highly unusual.
We quote from his letter to Speaker Faustino Dy III:
“This is to request for a travel clearance for my upcoming travel to Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, US, Australia, UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy and Singapore from 15th of December 2025 to Feb. 20, 2026.”
Compare the 17 destinations in March-May that he will be visiting again. They are the same countries, to the letter, every one of them.
Because he is not forthright with us, let us consider the possibilities of this weird phenomenon from a public official.
One, are the Duterte family bank accounts safekept in these countries? If so, that must be a very long list of bank accounts. Is this the reason why the family can afford frequent trips to the Netherlands, not to mention expenses for shopping?
Every week, there is always a Duterte family member in The Hague. Only a filthy rich family can afford that in the level of a tycoon with billions in the banks. The Dutertes are no tycoons as per their admission. Certainly not in their SALNs.
Two, Paolo being a suspected member of the Chinese drug triad (Arturo Lascañas saw his dragon tattoo during Paolo’s Freemasonry initiation; Lascañas was the worshipful master), do these trips cover personal meetings with triad drug lords scattered abroad?
Third, traveling to the same 17 destinations within 7 months is no mere sightseeing. So what could it be then?
In any case, the possibility of illegal activities in these trips is not remote.
House Speaker Dy is reminded (forewarned?): there are no secrets in this world that can remain hidden for long. His approval will only put him in hot water if it proves later that he is instead an abettor of Paolo’s possible criminal world.
With the world of the Dutertes getting smaller, the purpose of the 17 destinations will soon become shit hitting the fan.
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VERA Files.
Map of Rep. Duterte’s travel itinerary was done with the help of Google Gemini.
