COA Says Travels of Other Officials Charged under Marcos Jr.’s Office; Millions Remain Uncollected by OP
MARCOS JR. – The Office of the President was flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA) over a P14.4 million uncollected foreign travel expenses.
For 2026, the office of Pres. Bongbong Marcos is asking for over P1 billion for the local and foreign travels of the Chief Executive. The Office of the President is also poised to get the lion’s share in terms of the requested Confidential and Intelligence funds for next year.
Out of the P6.793-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2026, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) proposed that the Office of the President will be given P4.5 billion CIF for next year. It is almost half of the requested P10.77 billion CIF for all government offices and agencies.
However, amid the budget deliberations, the Commission on Audit (COA) revealed that it has flagged the office of Marcos Jr. over uncollected foreign travel expenses of other government officials who join him in his trips. Based on a report on PhilStar, the uncollected foreign travel dues amounts to P14.4 million now.
In the 2024 report of the Commission on Audit, it stated that the office of Marcos Jr. booked airfare and hotel accommodations for the public officials who join him in his overseas trips. However, the OP has not secured reimbursements from the respective government agencies of the officials who joined the President.
Based on the report, Pres. Bongbong Marcos has travelled to 11 countries in 2024. The said foreign travels include the trilateral meeting with the president of the United States and the prime minister of Japan. The P14.4 million uncollected foreign travel expenses dates back from the travels since 2022.
COA recommended the Office of the President to issue demand letters to the government offices which must reimburse the travel expenses of the government officials who joined Marcos Jr. in his trips. Based on the report, the auditors also suggested the following steps to the OP:
- creating a billing and reimbursement policy,
- requiring formal agreements before officials join foreign trips, and
- strengthening monitoring of unpaid receivables.
As for the Palace, Malacañang press officer undersecretary Claire Castro claimed that the OP has already collected 55% of the uncollected foreign travel expenses or P7,887,555.64 already. She claimed that the demand letters issued included a deadline for the settling of the remaining balance.
Recently, amid the massive corruption issues in the Philippines, Malacañang claimed that Pres. Bongbong Marcos and his family are open to a lifestyle check.