Report Released by COA over Budget Spending of Marcos Jr.’s Office
COA – The Commission on Audit flagged the office of President Bongbong Marcos over the P14.4 million uncollected foreign travel dues.
The President is given a budget for his local and foreign travels every year. In 2024, Marcos Jr. has been to 11 countries outside the Philippines including the United States and Japan which were part of his trilateral meeting with their leaders.
For 2026, Marcos Jr.’s office is asking for more than P1 billion for the President’s local and foreign trips. Usually, aside from First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, members of the Cabinet of the President join some of the foreign travels of the Chief Executive. The expenses must be reimbursed by their respective offices or government agencies after the travels are often initially charged under the OP.
However, recently, the Commission on Audit or COA flagged the office of Pres. Bongbong Marcos over uncollected foreign travel dues. Based on a report of The Philippine Star, the auditors cited in their 2024 report that the uncollected foreign travel dues have reached P14,403,827.6 since the start of the term of the President in 2022.
COA stated in its report that the Office of the President booked the airfare as well as the hotel accommodations for the government officials who came with Pres. Bongbong Marcos in his foreign travels in 2024. However, Marcos Jr.’s office was supposedly unable to collect reimbursement from the government officials’ respective offices.
According to COA, some of the debtor-agencies that need to reimburse the Office of the President for what it has paid include the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and the Department of Finance among others.
The Commission called for a stronger monitoring and billing system with regards to the reimbursements from other government agencies. Based on the report, the auditors advised the office of Pres. Bongbong Marcos to immediately issue demand letters. COA also recommended the following measures to the President’s office:
- creating a billing and reimbursement policy,
- requiring formal agreements before officials join foreign trips, and
- strengthening monitoring of unpaid receivables.
Malacañang claimed that it has already collected over half of the P14.4 million uncollected foreign travel dues. Based on the report, Palace press officer undersecretary Claire Castro also claimed that they already sent out demand letters which came with deadlines. According to her, they have already collected P7,887,555.64.
With regards to foreign travels, Malacañang previously hit Vice Pres. Sara Duterte over her remarks on her frequent travels abroad.