Another village training in Boracay

ILOILO CITY—Barangay captains of Iloilo City spent three days in Boracay Island last week for an “educational tour” , despite a government memorandum on austerity measures and out-of-town trips.

Roberto Divinagracia, president of the Association of Barangay Captains and ex-officio member of the city council, confirmed that 120 of the city’s 180 barangay captains were in Boracay from Thursday to Saturday for the group’s annual congress and a seminar on solid waste management.

The barangay captains spent P10,500 each, or a total of P1.26 million, from their barangay funds for the three-day, two-night stay in the world-famous tourist destination. This includes P3,400 for food and the same amount for lodging, Divinagracia told Inquirer in a phone interview on Monday.

The officials were billeted at the La Carmela de Boracay resort. The hotel, with a swimming pool, has an “AA” resort rating. The highest rating for resorts is “AAA.”

Divinagracia said the three-day trip involved a lecture on ethical standards and moral values, and an orientation and tour of Boracay Island’s solid waste management program.

He said Boracay Island’s solid waste management program has been lauded as a success story, and serves as a model for the city’s barangay officials.

The trip did not violate government regulations because the officials first sought a legal opinion from the Department of the Interior and Local Government before they went to Boracay, explained Divinagracia.

The seminar, he said, did not violate Memorandum Circular 2011-59 issued on April 25 by Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo.

Robredo’s memorandum “strongly discouraged” local government officials and employees from conducting training sessions, seminars and meetings “outside of their territorial jurisdictions.”

Divinagracia said the expenses were “modest” because they did not stay in a posh hotel.