SINGAPORE ? Who wants to keep President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo company in her final attendance at a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Singapore, while Manny Pacquiao is shooting for a record seventh world title on Sunday in Las Vegas?
Ms Arroyo will fly to this small city-state Friday afternoon, towing a ?very lean? delegation composed of four Cabinet secretaries and a handful of lawmakers, according to Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, who will be part of the entourage.
Never so few
A total of 28 members of the House of Representatives went with Ms Arroyo during her trip to the United States three months ago.
Joining Remonde will be Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves and Trade Secretary Peter Favila.
A member of the Malacañang office arranging the trip said no more than 10 congressmen were scheduled to be booked in hotels here as part of the official delegation.
Asked about it, Remonde said that ?most likely,? only that many lawmakers would accompany the President to Singapore, adding: ?[There will be] very few [of them].?
The APEC summit is to be held on Saturday and Sunday. Pacquiao?s fight with Puerto Rican champion Miguel Cotto fight is scheduled on Sunday (Manila time).
Obama not good enough
A Palace staff member said the Las Vegas fight might have caused the number of lawmakers going to the APEC meeting to dwindle.
?I think that?s the reason,? the staff member told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, asking not to be identified for lack of authority to speak to the media.
Apparently, not even the presence of US President Barack Obama at the APEC leaders? gathering seems enough of an attraction for the Philippine lawmakers to attend the summit.
Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD Thursday said he believed about 20 lawmakers were going to the United States to see Pacquiao?s fight with Cotto. They include Speaker Prospero Nograles.
Palace advice
Malacañang has advised lawmakers planning to fly to Las Vegas to ?know what their priorities are.?
Lorelei Fajardo, Ms Arroyo?s deputy spokesperson, gave the same piece of advice to Cabinet officials who might be planning to see the fight in person.
?If there?s more work in Manila, [they] can always support Manny in some other way. We don?t have to go there,? Fajardo said.
Remonde said he did not know if he could catch the telecast of the Pacquiao-Cotto bout, which would coincide with the closing ceremonies of the APEC meeting.
It is on the last day of an APEC summit that the leaders of the 21-member group are scheduled to issue a joint statement before donning the traditional costume of the host country for a photo opportunity.
Backlash from US dinners
Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, a fixture in Ms Arroyo?s foreign trips, said he would be unavailable for the APEC meeting. So is Palawan Rep. Antonio Alvarez, chair of the House committee on trade and close ally of Ms Arroyo.
Suarez and Alvarez made it clear they weren?t flying to Las Vegas, either. Alvarez said he would be in Palawan.
?I have another engagement,? Suarez said.
The Quezon lawmaker admitted that the size of Ms Arroyo?s delegations had become smaller since controversy flared over the supposedly lavish dinners she had in New York and Washington during her last US trip.
The Palace denied that taxpayers? money was spent for the dinners.
Not people?s money
Suarez has said it was he who paid for the $15,000 dinner at Bobby Van?s Steak House in Washington. He said the dinner was his gift to the First Couple on their wedding anniversary.
?Lately, the delegation has become lean,? he said, citing the controversy generated by the US dinners. ?We also showed that we paid for our trips whenever we joined the President.?
