Is it really necessary for Philippine congressmen – considering the enormous work that lay ahead in connection with reconstruction in typhoon-destroyed communities - to go to Las Vegas? This question is floating around the House of Representatives after it was reported that more or less 50 congressmen are bound for the U.S. to watch the much anticipated fight of the year.
We’re referring to the match between six-time world champion Manny Pacquiao and Puerto Rican boxer Miguel Cotto on November 14. At stake is the welterweight crown. Despite numerous calls fort them not fly overseas, House Speaker Prospero Norgales is keen to push through his plans to watch the brawl at the MGM Grand.
In fact, Nograles has made public his scheduled flight on the eve of the fight and he’ll be back on November 16 (November 17 in Manila).Not only that he designated himself as a cheerleader for the Filipino champion; he’s also looking forward to be the flight seatmate of Pacquiao’s mother, Nanay Dionisia.
Granted that Nograles will shoulder his own expenses for airfare and hotel accommodation, it’s still not appropriate for him and his colleagues to go abroad while many Filipinos are in the midst of recovering from the havoc wrought by the storms. There’s no doubt that at present, all the victims are still looking for means to survive. There’s the need for meals within the day, and the bills they have to pay.
Pressing national issues should be the priority of public officials since it’s the taxpaying public that put them in their current position. But it seems nothing is going to deter these honourable gentlemen from catching their flight.People who were mostly affected by the devastating two typhoon in a span of one month, is just starting to reconstruct all the damages and yet here comes the lawmakers embarking on their trip just to get a glimpse of their ring idol.
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