Lawmakers took notice of Vice President Sara Duterte’s absence amid the onslaught of consecutive storms, accompanied by the southwest monsoon or “habagat.”
In a report by RH 12 Milky Rigonan, Young Guns bloc members La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V and Zambales 1st District Rep. Jefferson “Jay” Khonghun criticized Duterte’s decision to remain in The Hague, the Netherlands, during a national emergency, saying it reflects a lack of concern and poor leadership.
According to reports, she was scheduled to return to the Philippines on Wednesday, July 23, although her arrival has yet to be announced.
While many areas have been submerged, families are being evacuated, and rescuers are saving lives, the Vice President is in another country for personal reasons, Ortega emphasized.
He explained that last year, in July 2024, Duterte and her family had also flown to Germany for a personal trip during the peak of Super Typhoon Carina. It was discovered that she had attended Taylor Swift’s concert, which the Office of the Vice President (OVP) still denies, Ortega claimed.
Khonghun said a government official’s presence and concern for those affected by calamities must be felt—not for political aims, but to serve.
Both legislators said Duterte must explain the timing of her Netherlands trip and where she had acquired the money for it.
She has said, according to reports, that she is headed for South Korea on July 28, implying she will not attend President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on the same day. On August 8, she will be off again, this time to Kuwait.
