THE Department of Interior and Local Government has allowed seven Metro Manila mayors and a governor of a nearby province to watch the Jan. 22 boxing match between Filipino ring sensation Manny Pacquiao and Mexican Erick Morales in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The eight mayors who sought the approval of DILG for a foreign trip to Vancouver, Canada before watching the fight in Las Vegas were Feliciano Belmonte of Quezon City, Marides Fernando of Marikina City, Rosendo Capco of Pateros, Freddie Tinga of Taguig, Enrico Echiverri of Caloocan, Jaime Fresnedi of Muntinlupa and Vicente Eusebio of Pasig.
Rizal Gov. Casimiro Ynares is joining the group, which also includes Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando.
The MMDA chief said the local officials told him that they will personally shoulder their expenses for the trip to Canada, which was supposedly organized to observe how Vancouver officials implement waste disposal and traffic management programs.
Fernando said their flight to Vancouver is scheduled tomorrow. They will have a brief stopover at Las Vegas before coming home.
“Our tour will end on the 21st, giving us enough time to spend sometime in Las Vegas to personally watch the Pacquiao match,” he said.
Other mayors of the metropolis will also watch the boxing match live. These are Lito Atienza of Manila, Wenceslao Trinidad of Pasay and Neptali Gonzales of Mandaluyong.
Local government officials have to seek clearance from DILG before they can leave the country for whatever reason.
