No public funds used–BSL
LAKBAY-ARAL
MAYOR Benjamin Lim has categorically denied that public funds were used to finance the five-day tour of some city and officials and 30 barangay kapitans in Singapore last week.
In a statement, Lim said that as far as he is concerned the delegation of punong barangays and four Sangguniang Panlungsod members who went with him in the journey paid their individual fares from their personal funds.
The group travel became the object of speculation in local media last week owing to circumstances that surrounded the travel.
There were initial reports that the barangay officials were invited to a group air-sea-land tour on condition that they use part of the P250,000 allocation granted them by the city council for various projects in the city.
“To set the record straight, no public funds were used contrary to wild speculations circulated in the local media,” he said.
“As far as I know, I paid for my own air fare and as far as I know, Councilor Vallejos paid for his own fare and so with Councilors Brian Lim, Red Erfe Mejia, and Chester Gonzales,” the city mayor said.
“Are you telling me that Punong Barangay Saysi Samson cannot spend P25,000 for his air fare and so with the others para makapunta sa abroad? Excuse me, iniinsulto niyo sila. They can afford, in fact ang alam ko diyan noong last election, may gumastos ng half million.” continued Lim.
Lim also defended that the punong barangays who went with him, purportedly for a ‘Lakbay-Aral’ trip, learned how the government of Singapore revived their dead rivers.
The statement however, did not describe the itinerary of the Lakbay-Aral trip to Singapore and there was no mention of any official meeting of the group with their counterparts or any official of the reported host city-country.
“So they have all agreed that we really have to protect our rivers and we can use the rivers to be a tourist attraction where people can have special place to dine and to shop,” said Lim. (With report from CIO)
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