GUESS who’s going to Vegas?
Besides rich Filipino boxing aficionados, more than a dozen congressmen are flying to the United States to watch the World Boxing Council super featherweight championship fight between Manny Pacquiao and Erik Morales Saturday night (Sunday morning, Philippine time).
The exact number of lawmakers could not be ascertained because both the committees on games and amusement and youth and sports have been silent on the reported exodus to America.
Even Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye was evasive when asked if indeed a large contingent of 30 congressmen (some of whom were reportedly with the group of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo) would be spending this weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada at ringside in the Pacquiao-Morales match.
“They belong to another branch of the government and that is not the jurisdiction of the executive. Any action has to be dealt with by the House of Representatives,” Bunye said yesterday during a briefing in Malaca?ang.
The Inquirer confirmed that among the members of the congressional delegation who are already in the United States are Representatives Rodito Albano (Kampi, Isabela), Rodolfo Plaza (NPC, Agusan del Sur), Luis Bersamin (Kampi, Abra), Luis Asistio (NPC, Caloocan) and Eric Singson (LP, Ilocos Sur) and Ignacio Arroyo (Kampi, Negros Occidental).
Arroyo and his brother, the First Gentleman, flew to the US yesterday.
No, says Mikey
Rep. Mikey Arroyo (Lakas, Pampanga) had refused to join the trip.
“I heard about it, but I don’t know [who are going]. I’m not part of the contingent,” said the President’s son who hoped his colleagues did not dip into the scarce government resources to pay their way.
“If you’re going to support Manny, that’s good but not at the expense of the government and its austerity programs,” said the young Arroyo.
He also questioned the timing of the trip due to the non-passage of the value-added tax bills, which are still pending in the Senate.
“Although I’d like to support my friend Manny, the special session is important,” the young Arroyo said.
Several other congressmen, who could not be identified as of press time, will try to catch a flight today.
Mayo Almario, chair of committee on games and amusement, might miss the trip if he cannot get an earlier flight. His ticket is confirmed for March 21.
But a staff member said Almario’s trip was a “personal” one as he would be accompanied by his family.
No authority
A congressman is given a $150 travel allowance per day and an all-expense-paid trip (transportation and accommodation) if he or she is on an official trip.
But Rep. Ace Barbers, chair of the accounts committee, did not sign any travel authority concerning the Las Vegas match.
“Negative. Congressmen are going to watch the fight, but [using] their personal funds. The trip was not sanctioned by the House,” said Barbers who added that only he and De Venecia could sign a travel order to authorize the release of House funds.
He said Almario had been issued a travel authority, but it had nothing to do with the championship match.
He said congressmen could not even avail themselves of the travel allowance because the travel authority “must be signed and submitted to the committee on inter-parliamentary relations and diplomacy prior to the trip.”
But he was quiet on whether congressmen could badger the Speaker to sanction the trip upon their return.
Official meeting
Reached on his mobile phone, Plaza, who is already in Las Vegas, said his trip was official because he’s “going to Texas to meet with the Filipino community on March 24.”
“This is an official trip. Congress paid for my plane ticket, [and] also gave me a $1,500 allowance,” he said.
He said Pacquiao was the pride of the country. “We have to support him. I don’t think we are remiss in our duties in Congress.”
He said Speaker Jose de Venecia was mulling over a special session starting Monday so that the bicameral conference committee could refine the measures prior to the adoption by the two chambers, voting separately.
Finish him off fast
Malaca?ang is hoping that Pacquiao finish his Mexican opponent quickly, but not because it wants the Vegas-bound congressmen back in Manila early to attend a special session on crucial tax measures.
“We hope this will be finished early. There is speculation that if it is not decisive, it could be risky [for Pacquiao] because of the judges,” said Bunye in a briefing in Malaca?ang yesterday.
Best wishes
“But I believe Manny Pacquiao will win decisively,” he said.
Like most Filipinos, the press secretary has not forgotten Pacquiao’s monumental clash with Juan Manuel Marquez last May which ended in a draw.
“We’d like to have a decisive victory for our countrymen,” Bunye said. “We would like to send our best wishes to our champion that he might continue to win and bring honor to the country.”
Las Vegas odds makers favor Pacquiao over his Mexican foe Morales.
Asked if he was worried that congressmen would extend their stay in Las Vegas to either celebrate Pacquiao’s win or ease the pain of his loss, Bunye said: “That’s for them to take up with the House Speaker [De Venecia].”
