A LAWMAKER at the House of Representatives claimed on Monday that his conscience was ?very clear? and that he had ?no guilt feelings? when he watched the boxing match between Filipino Manny Pacquiao and Mexican Erik Morales in Las Vegas on Sunday despite allegations that he spent government money for the trip. Agusan del Sur Representative Rodolfo Plaza alleged that he was misquoted in some reports, which said that a 1,500-dollar allowance given to him for his travel to Texas to meet his constituents was used to watch the boxing event.
“It’s understandable that government officials who watched Pacquiao’s fight were being criticized. Nonetheless, my conscience is very clear. I have no guilt feeling,” Plaza said in a telephone interview from Las Vegas.
“I can assure you that no government money was spent in Las Vegas. Everything I spent there came from my own pocket,” he stressed.
He said the allowance that he got from the House would be used when he meets with his constituents in Texas on Thursday. From Las Vegas, Plaza will fly to Texas on Wednesday.
“In fact, that 1,500 allowance is not enough. For my place alone, it would cost me 500 dollars a day, excluding food. In the end, we would still have to draw from our own pockets,” he said.
Asked about Surigao del Sur Representative Robert “Ace” Barber’s statement that foreign trips were only allowed if congressmen would attend international organization meetings or conferences, Plaza said he was not aware of that ruling.
“Nonetheless, I was given the authority to travel,” he said.
The lawmaker defended his trip to Texas, saying that it is necessary to establish good relationships with Filipino communities in other countries.
“That’s how we can bring development to our provinces,” he said, “There is nothing wrong and nothing to lose.”
Under the Philippines? new overseas voting law, Filipinos abroad vote only for public officials elected nationally such as the President, Vice President, and Senators. House legislators are picked by voters based in the Philippines.
