The Office of the Executive Secretary denied issuing travel authority for Vice President Sara Duterte to travel to Laos, contradicting a claim shared in a Facebook post by columnist Ramon Tulfo.
The post circulated an alleged Malacañang travel clearance said to cover Sept. 28 to 30. It also appeared to link the supposed trip to the seizure in Laos of more than 500 kilograms of shabu that was reportedly intended for shipment to the Philippines aboard a private jet.
In a clarification, the Executive Secretary’s Office said it had checked its official records and found no request for, or issuance of, travel authority for Duterte on the dates cited.
Tulfo later issued a public apology to the vice president. In his statement, he said he had initially believed the letter was authentic because it bore what he described as the office’s seal, a signature attributed to Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and a Bagong Pilipinas logo.
Tulfo said he subsequently checked with a source at the Bureau of Immigration and was told there was no record of Duterte leaving the country on Sept. 29-30, 2026. He then apologized to Duterte, saying he was retracting his earlier claim.
The dates in the viral post were listed as Sept. 28 to 30, while Tulfo’s apology referred to Sept. 29-30.
The Executive Secretary’s Office did not confirm the authenticity of the circulating document. Its clarification was limited to stating that its official records contained no request or issued travel authority for Duterte for the dates mentioned.
The alleged travel clearance had been connected online to the Laos drug seizure, but the statements provided did not establish that Duterte traveled to Laos or was connected to the shipment.
