Sara Duterte confirms flying to Singapore: ‘Yes, I am on leave’

Davao City Mayor and presidential daughter Sara Duterte Carpio. INQUIRER file photo

(Updated: 1:14 p.m., April 7)

MANILA, Philippines — Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on Wednesday confirmed she is on leave and  has flown to Singapore for health purposes.

Duterte-Carpio told INQUIRER.net she secured a travel authority from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to fly to Singapore on Tuesday.

“Yes. I am on leave and I have a travel authority from DILG,” Duterte-Carpio told INQUIRER.net, although she did not detail how long her leave was.

Duterte-Carpio initially refused to disclose the purpose of her travel, but later on issued a statement saying it was meant for “personal health management.”

She said she is on leave from April 6 until Saturday, April 10.

“All protocols for return to Davao City including RT-PCR [reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction] testing & 14-day quarantine have all been pre-arranged,” Duterte-Carpio added.

Duterte-Carpio reportedly flew from Davao to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) before going to Singapore.

Her departure took place while Metro Manila and four other provinces are under the strictest measure of enhanced community quarantine.

The Department of Transportation has said travelers who are not residents of the so-called NCR Plus may enter the bubble if they have outbound international flights from Naia.

There are also no limitations imposed on outbound flights to other countries as long as a traveler has appropriate documents required by authorities in their destination.

JPV