MARCOS ADMINISTRATION

The Office of the President has requested a P1.018 billion travel budget for 2026, a 21% decrease from its P1.29 billion allocation in 2025. This funding is intended to cover both local and foreign trips, including state visits by President Marcos. The proposal is outlined in the 2026 National Expenditure Program.

Presidential Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro defended the request, stating in a Thursday briefing that the President’s local travels are essential for monitoring communities, particularly during calamities like flooding. She also highlighted the President’s frequent foreign travels as a means to encourage international investment in the country.

Should the proposed budget remain unchanged, President Marcos’s total travel spending over his first four years in office would surpass that of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s full six-year term. From 2023 to 2026, Marcos’s travel budget would reach P4.611 billion, exceeding Duterte’s P4.063 billion from 2017 to 2022. President Marcos recently concluded his 36th foreign trip since 2022, a state visit to India from August 4 to August 8.

In a separate matter, the Department of Budget and Management has proposed a P17 billion budget for the Philippines’ hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Manila next year. The majority of this amount, P10.7 billion, would be managed by the OP. This is in addition to the P5.2 billion the OP requested in the 2025 General Appropriations Act to prepare for the chairmanship. The remaining funds will be distributed among other government agencies, including the Philippine National Police, the Presidential Communications Office, and the Bureau of Fire and Protection. The President’s decision to host the summit a year earlier than scheduled followed the civil war in Myanmar, the originally designated host country.