AS the value-added-tax (VAT) bill hangs in Congress, several lawmakers at the House of Representatives took time out to fly to Las Vegas to watch the boxing match of Manny Pacquiao on Saturday, reports reaching House media said Thursday. Negros Occidental Representative Ignacio Arroyo, Bacolod Representative Monico Puentevella, Isabela Representative Rodolfo Albano III, Davao Oriental Representative Joel Mayo Almario, Abra Representative Luis Bersamin, and Agusan del Sur Representative Rodolfo Plaza were identified as having made the trip.
Plaza, who is in Las Vegas, told INQ7.net that his US trip was official, as he was scheduled to meet the Filipino community in Texas on March 24.
He admitted that the House of Representatives paid for his plane ticket and gave him 1,500 dollars in allowance. But he added that his everyday expenses would come from his own pocket.
“It’s not our fault that we went here because we already made advance schedules before we learned that the session will be extended until Friday,” Plaza said in a telephone interview from Las Vegas.
“There is nothing wrong if we go here and watch his (Pacquiao) fight because he’s the pride of our country,” Plaza said.
“We have to give our support to him. I don’t think we are remiss with our duty in Congress,” he stressed.
House Deputy Secretary-General Noel Albano could not confirm whether the other congressmen were in the US on official business.
But if this were true, Albano said the legislators could not be faulted.
“They cannot be faulted for making plans ahead. And even if they learned that the session will be extended, it’s still their call whether to push [through with] their personal plans,” he said in a telephone interview.
Senators are deliberating on the VAT bill. The House has passed its version of the measure that is expected to raise revenues for the cash-strapped government.
