Vice President Sara Duterte urged President Marcos to seek advice from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) when addressing the country’s problems, stressing that Filipinos abroad are the “best consultants” on global best practices.

Speaking to reporters in The Hague on Thursday, Aug. 28, Duterte said her recent travels have shown that Filipino communities abroad possess first-hand knowledge of what works in different parts of the world.

“Siguro dapat gawin nila yung ginagawa ko, di ba? Umiikot ako sa iba't ibang Filipino communities around the world (Maybe they should do what I’m doing, right? I go around different),” she said.

“The overseas Filipinos and the overseas Filipino Workers ang pinaka the best na mga consultants, kasi sila yung nakatira, nakaikot sa buong mundo, nakatrabaho sa iba't ibang lugar. Alam nila ang best practices (Overseas Filipinos and OFWs are the best consultants because they live, travel, and work abroad. They know the best practices),” she added.

Duterte explained that engaging with OFWs can provide government leaders with realistic and practical ideas for implementation back home.

“Ano ba yung nakita ninyo? Ano ba yung pangarap natin para sa ating bayan? Ano ba yung doable doon sa ating bayan na best practices galing sa, sabihin na natin sa Kuwait, sabihin na natin sa Australia, sabihin na natin sa Netherlands (What have you seen? What are our dreams for the nation? What is doable in the Philippines that comes from best practices in places like Kuwait, Australia, or the Netherlands),” she said.

The Vice President also used humor to underscore her point, saying she might as well charge the administration for the unsolicited insights she continues to offer.

“Naku, libreng advice na naman ito. Magbibigay na naman ako ng libreng advice sa administrasyon (Here I am giving free advice again),” she quipped.

“Hindi man ako libre na consultant ng administration. Okay. Ako mag-charge na ako ha, ng consultation fee sa libreng konsulta ng administration na ito sa akin (I’m not a free consultant of the administration. Maybe I should start charging a consultation fee for the free advice this administration gets from me),” she added.

President Marcos is set to head to Cambodia for a State Visit from Sept. 7 to 9, and then to New York for the United Nations General Assembly from Sept. 21 to 27.

Vice President Duterte’s remarks were made on the sidelines of her engagements with the Filipino community in the Netherlands, part of her series of foreign trips.

Duterte has been meeting overseas Filipinos in various countries, often highlighting their role not just as economic contributors through remittances but also as a valuable source of insights for national policy.

The Vice President’s comments come amid ongoing investigations into anomalous infrastructure projects and the administration’s quest for accountability and transparency in bureaucracy.