Davao City First District Rep. Paolo Duterte on Thursday, December 11, 2025, said online claims accusing him of going on a “world tour” is misleading after he sought for a travel clearance from the House of Representatives for a two-month trip covering at least 16 countries.

“My attention has been drawn to claims online nga kuno nag ‘world tour’ ko. Mao gyud ni ilang buhat kung way kaugalingong credibility – maghimo og istorya sa uban,” Duterte said in a Facebook post.

Duterte uploaded documents showing all his previous trips abroad had travel clearances.

He explained that it is standard procedure to include all possible stopovers or transit countries in a travel authority.

The Davao City lawmaker said that this process has long been followed, including during his previous trips to the Netherlands to visit his father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is detained at the International Criminal Court over charges for crimes against humanity.

“Tanang biyahe nako adunay official travel clearances gikan sa House. Ug para masabtan sa tanan, normal nga practice sa government nga i-apil ang tanang possible stopovers or transit countries sa travel authority. Kung mausab ang ruta o flight, dili na magka-issue sa papel,” Duterte said.

“Mao gyud ni akong gibuhat sauna kada bisita nako sa akong amahan sa Netherlands — standard procedure lang. Dili ni luho, dili ni gimmick — compliance ra gyud ni,” he added.

Duterte slammed his critics for allegedly choosing “drama over facts.”

He said Davaoeños know his “quiet, transparent, and without theatrics” style of work.

“While ang uban sigeg pangita’g relevance, nagtrabaho ko. Walay ‘world tour.’ Trabaho lang. Obligasyon sa pamilya. Ug padayon nga serbisyo para sa inyo. Di ko ma-distract anang political noise nila,” Duterte said.

Deputy Speaker and Misamis Oriental Second District Rep. Yevgeny Vincente Emano said it’s Duterte’ right to travel as long as he still has available leave credits.

“Iya nang katungod. Sa iyang gi-aplayan he will be paying for his own travel.

In a letter to the Speaker, Duterte said his request covers travel to Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), China, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, United States, Australia, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, and Singapore.

“Rest assured that the expenses that will be incurred from this trip are from my personal funds alone,” Duterte said.