Stop epidemic of foreign travel by public officials at taxpayers’ expense

OU can tell that President Duterte means business by the frequency and relentlessness with which he now on notice that there will be tighter control and stricter rules for such foreign travel.

As the cleanup has swept through the executive, shocking be the case of Commission on Higher Education chair Patricia Licuanan, who is accused by one congressman of having approved her own travels personally, without securing proper by executive order. Ms Licuanan disputes this allegation; the transgression must be proven by the facts.

- dential Commission on the Urban Poor (PCUP) chairman Terry Ridon, Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) administrator Marcial Amaro 2nd, and the Development Academy beenexposed, and are now rumored for dismissal. We suspect that there will be more in the days ahead.

mirrors the spate of allegations of sexual harassment against As the days pass, more are accused of having transgressed the rules, and once accused, there appears to be no defense.

Filipino taxpayers are now also asking: why are Filipino ex travel perk? Why not the members of Congress, who travel just as frequently, and possibly at greater public expense,

When Sen. Antonio Trillanes went to the US to talk with Sen. Marco Rubio, and take part in public demonstrations to denounce the Duterte government, did Filipino taxpayers pay for his travel? Did he have a travel authority to do this?

This is a fair question to ask because the abuse of foreign travel is more rampant and wasteful than the public realizes. like Chief Justice Maria LourdesSereno, have all done their measure of traveling at public expense.

We think that because of the scale of travel excess and waste, it is time to frame clear and incontrovertible rules for the foreign travel at public expense of Filipino public

Last Wednesday, Malacañang, in a memorandum dated January 3, said all heads of agencies in the Executive Department must now submit quarterly reports on government - randum, signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, unless the purpose of the trip was strictly within the man the trip “not excessive,” and the trip was expected to bring

There should be a similar rule governing the foreign travel of legislators. All should be required toproduce more than proforma approvals by the House Speaker or the Senate President.

abroad is necessary, for the good of the service.

We think it is more prudent to treat skeptically all requests - wise, their travel request should be simply treated as a junket.

The important question that must be answered is why a should shoulder the expense.