By Prince Golez
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s foreign trips are for the country’s well-being, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile said.
In a recent interview with SMNI in their program “Dito sa Bayan ni Juan,” Enrile said Marcos Jr. has to accept invitations to go on foreign trips to further elevate alliances and partnerships.
“Anong gusto nilang gawin ng Presidente? Uupo sa Malacañan? Hindi pupunta sa mga ibang bansa na hihingi ng tulong o kaya makipag-usap ukol sa mga problema, lalo na sa seguridad ng bansa,” the former senate president said.
“Kailangang mag-biyahe ang Presidente araw-araw kung kinakailangan. ‘Yung mga iba diyan, oo nga nandito, pero iba naman ang agenda nila. ‘Yung biyahe ng Presidente, para sa bayan ‘yun eh,” he added.
Enrile also claimed that Marcos Jr.’s overseas trips are “out of his control.”
“He has to fit his time, available time according to the schedules of the meetings of various countries where we have an interest. Kung hindi naman siya pupunta, sino ang magtatanggol sa atin doon,” he also said.
The 99-year-old abogado made the statement in response to the 2022 annual audit report that the Office of the President (OP) spent P403,087,594 million for local and foreign trips.
The OP’s foreign travel expenses went up to P392,307,409 last year from P25,255,163 2021, the Commission on Audit said.
Its local travel expenses, on one hand, decreased to P10,780,185 in 2022 from P11,536,738 in 2021.
Meanwhile, the OP is requesting a budget of P1,408,894,000 for local and foreign missions and state visits in the proposed 2024 budget. This’s year allocation is P893.97 million.
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