Senators spend P50,000 for ‘pasalubong’ in Geneva

Despite calls for austerity and sacrifice on the part of every public official amid a looming fiscal crisis, senators who went to Geneva, Switzerland for a conference spent P50,000 for pasalubong or token gifts to friends there.

The lawmakers did not spend their own money for the gifts they would present to fellow legislators attending the conference. The money came from the pockets of Juan de la Cruz.

Senate President Franklin Drilon, Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Sen. Richard Gordon left for Geneva over the weekend to attend a five-day meeting of heads of parliaments in preparation for Manila’s hosting of the 112th International Parliamentary Union Assembly on April 3-8, 2005.

They brought with them three Senate staffers: Oscar Yabes, the chamber’s secretary-general; Carmen Arceno, who heads the Office of Inter-parliamentary Relations and Protocol, and Antonio de Guzman of the same office.

A counterpart group from the House of Representatives that is larger than the Drilon contingent completed the Philippine delegation to Geneva.

Before the group departed for Switzerland, Drilon issued Special Order 2004-049 authorizing Arceno to make a P50,000 cash advance "for the purchase of native sweets and delicacies to be brought to Geneva."

The sweets and delicacies were obviously intended as pasalubong or gift to other lawmakers attending the conference.

On the eve of his departure, Drilon said the Geneva meeting would determine the agenda of next year’s IPU Assembly in Manila, which is expected to bring together some 1,500 lawmakers and their staff members from 145 countries.

"We are preparing for this very important meeting that will provide our country with the rare opportunity to host more than 1,500 senators, congressmen and parliamentarians from all over the world," he said.

He said the five-day Manila conference "should give trade and tourism a shot in the arm."

The Drilon group left for the land of milk, cheese and chocolates amid denunciations from the Senate employees’ union of the frequent travels of members of Congress.

In a manifesto, the union, which calls itself Sandigan ng mga Empleyadong Nagkakaisa sa Adhikain ng Demokratikong Organisasyon or Senado, said the call for austerity and sacrifice "affects lowly employees, not elective and appointive officials who, unlike their subordinates, enjoy perks and privileges."

"These officials are free to roam the world to attend official engagements and other international appearances, including study grants, mostly at taxpayers’ expense. But in truth and in fact, these are mostly junkets," it said.

The union urged these officials to set the example "in making some sacrifice if they are really serious in moving the country forward."