CONGRESSMEN who will attend the boxing match of Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley on May 7 in Las Vegas will be missing the resumption of plenary sessions.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate will resume their committee hearings and plenary sessions on May 9.
Although he sees nothing wrong with lawmakers watching the fight live, Kabataan party-list Representative Raymond Palatino said they should just make sure that they are not using public funds for their travel abroad.
“Not wrong if they use private money. But they will be marked absent because we have a session on May 9. We might have a problem on quorum,? Palatino said.
Asked whether congressmen who will be watching the fight live in Las Vegas should seek a travel authority (TA) from the Office of the Speaker, Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales Jr. said: ?I don?t really know if there were congressmen who requested for TAs.?
Gonzales opted to watch the fight of his colleague and the eight-division boxing champion in his house.
Davao City Representative Karlo Nograles meanwhile intends to watch the bout with his constituents.
Karlo?s father, former House Speaker Prospero Nograles, was criticized years ago for flying to Las Vegas to watch the Pacquiao?s fight against then WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto.
In the November fight of Pacquiao in Dallas, Texas, at least 14 lawmakers sought TAs from Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
Meanwhile, Malaca?ang assured that soldiers and policemen will still be on alert despite the generally peaceful atmosphere normally observed every time the Filipino boxing icon steps into the ring.
?We are used to the fact that authorities recorded a zero crime rate when Congressman Pacquiao fights. However, this does not mean that we will scale down our security measures,? deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.
Although there is no specific terrorist threat received by intelligence officers following the demise of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden last May 2, Valte said it is better to be extra careful at these times.
