JAKARTA — Vice President Sara Duterte has been designated as in-charge of the Office of the President of the Philippines while President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is in Indonesia and Singapore for state visits.

Marcos’ Special Order No. 75 dated Sept. 2 mandates Duterte to “oversee the general administration of the Executive Department” while the President “is outside the Republic of the Philippines from September 4-7, 2022.”

“To ensure continuity of government service, it is necessary to designate an officer-in-charge to take care of the day-to-day operations in the Office of the President,” the order read.

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“All departments, agencies and instrumentalities of the government shall assist the Vice President in the discharge of her functions as stated therein,” it added.

The same order also underscores that “all acts of the vice president for and on behalf of the President… shall be deemed acts of the President, unless disapproved or reprobated by the President.”

Marcos will be in Indonesia from Sunday until Tuesday, and in Singapore until Wednesday.

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In his pre-departure speech, Marcos said he hopes to strengthen economic ties with the two neighboring countries, and expects to return home with "a harvest of business deals."

"My state visits to our ASEAN neighbors will seek to harness the potential of our vibrant trade and investment relations. As such, an economic briefing, business forums, and meetings have been organized to proactively create and attract more investments and buyers for our exports in order to accelerate the post-pandemic growth of our economy," he said Sunday morning.

Marcos arrived in Jakarta Sunday afternoon, and is set to meet with the Filipino community in Indonesia.

— with report from Raffy Cabristante, ABS-CBN News

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