Duterte to take private plane to Singapore to 'save money'

IN A BID to "save money," President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to take an eight-seater private plane when he travels to Singapore on April 26 to participate in a regional conference, Malacañang said Monday, April 23.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said the President will be doing away with his usual practice to take commercial flights when traveling abroad since it is costlier compared to flying on a private plane.

"(Duterte wants to take a private plane) to save money. It’s expensive to charter a plane. And a leaner delegation would mean lesser cost for the taxpayer," the presidential spokesman said in a Palace briefing.

He also explained that the President wants a smaller Philippine delegation for his Singapore trip.

Duterte's most trusted aide, Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher Go, and a nurse, will join the President in the private plane, Roque said.

"The private plane is an eight-seater plane so it's a very small plane. I think other than SAP Go, all the other people in plane will be staff complement of the President, including a nurse. So it's a very small team (who) will fly with him," he added.

Roque's remark came after opposition lawmaker, Magdalo Representative Gary Alejano, dubbed as "wasteful junket" the President's trip to Hong Kong with his family and some members of his Cabinet.

Duterte proceeded to Hong Kong on the night of April 11 to meet the Filipino community there on April 12 after his trip to Boao, China, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attended a business forum.

Alejano had called Duterte a "hypocrite" for firing public officials allegedly taking unnecessary foreign travels, while he himself allowed his Hong Kong trip to be a "big waste of taxpayers' money."

The President will fly to Singapore on Thursday, April 26, to grace the 32nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit.

Duterte is expected to join fellow Asean leaders in a working dinner and a retreat scheduled on April 27 and 28, respectively. (Ruth Abbey Gita/SunStar Philippines)